Copyright: Copyright © 1997 by Resource Communications


Contents

Kidnet Explorer

Version 1.0

Copyright © 1997 by Resource Communications

Contents:

About Kidnet Explorer

Starting Kidnet Explorer

Browser Buttons

Questions and Answers


Options
 Kidnet Explorer: General Options

Previous Topic

When you have the Options tab selected, the setup screen looks like this:

The settings on this screen control various functions of Kidnet Explorer.  Each setting has a check box; click a check box to toggle the setting. If a check appears in a box, then the corresponding feature is enabled.  When all boxes are checked, then the settings provide the most restrictions for browsing when using Kidnet Explorer. To set all restrictions, click the button Most Restrictive. To clear all restrictions, click the button Least Restrictive.  Otherwise, check the boxes individually to customize the restrictions yourself.

Following is a description of each feature:

Prevent Kids From Using E-Mail Links

This option, when enabled, prevents your e-mail application from starting when an e-mail link is clicked.  This prevents the user from sending e-mail unless he or she knows how to start the e-mail program manually. This option does not affect feedback forms, which do not require the use of a separate e-mail program.

Prevent Kids From Using File Transfer (FTP) Links

This option, when enabled, prevents files from being downloaded from FTP sites. Most files available for download on the Web are via FTP sites.  URLs for files from FTP sites can be embedded in Web pages.  These URLs start with "ftp:" instead of "http:".  This option does not prevent downloading files from a Web Server (via links starting with "http:").

Prevent Kids From Using Predefined Blocked Links

This option, when enabled, prevents the user from following a link to any site forbidden according to the contents of the Predefined Blocked Links list. This list can be viewed from the Predefined Blocked Links tab.  Although a user cannot type in a URL, it is still possible for a user to follow a link to a site where the user can potentially reach a site not suitable for children. For example, a link to a search engine from an approved children's site can potentially allow a child to end up at a site that is not suitable for children. The Predefined Blocked Links are a set of sites that the browser will not go to.  This list is automatically updated by Kidnet Explorer whenever the program is started. It is updated by automatically downloading the update files from our Web server. When the update has been completed, a green dot will appear in the lower left corner of the Kidnet Explorer browser window (not the setup window). If the green dot does not appear, then either the update files could not be retrieved for some reason, or Kidnet Explorer has been configured to not automatically download the update. If the update file cannot be downloaded, then any new sites added to any Cool Sites links cannot be viewed until the update file is downloaded.

Prevent Kids From Using Parent-Defined Blocked Links

This option, when enabled, will prevent the user from following a link that you have added to the Parent-Defined Blocked Links list, which you can do from the Parent-Defined Blocked Links tab.

Disable Opening Links In New Window

This option, when enabled, will prevent Kidnet Explorer from opening any sites in a new window. To open a site in a new window, a user would right-click on a link and select "open in new window...". A site opened in a new window is NOT opened in a Kidnet Explorer window, but rather it is opened in a normal Internet Explorer window, which has none of the restrictions that Kidnet Explorer has.

Enable Verification Of Links In Left Browser Window

This option, when enabled, checks each link in the Cool Sites list in the left browser window to see if the most recent update information has been downloaded for that site. When the update information is not downloaded (indiciated by the absence of the green dot in the lower left corner of the Kidnet Explorer browser window), then the most recently added Cool Sites cannot be viewed if this option is checked.

Next Topic


Predefined Blocked Links
 Kidnet Explorer: Predefined Blocked Links

Previous Topic

When you have the Predefined Blocked Links tab selected, the setup screen looks like this:

This setup screen displays the information used to determine if a link clicked on by a user will be followed. It also contains the settings used to determine how Kidnet Explorer will retrieve updates for the Predefined Blocked Links list (shown on the right side of the screen).  The digit preceding each URL in the list is used internally by Kidnet Explorer to determine how each URL is used.

The settings on this setup screen should be left in their default positions:

Download Update From: Default Web Server

and

When To Update: Automatically

should both be checked.

When Kidnet Explorer is started, it will try to automatically download the most recent setup files from our Web site to update the Predefined Blocked Links list. When the update has been completed, a green dot will appear in the lower left corner of the Kidnet Explorer browser window.  If the green dot does not appear, it will indicate that the update has not been accomplished for some reason, and any new links added to our Cool Sites lists since the last time you ran Kidnet Explorer will not be shown, as if they were Blocked Links.

When you start Kidnet Explorer, you should either already be connected to your Internet Service Provider, or you should connect when the Connection window is displayed shortly after starting Kidnet Explorer. The Connection window will be displayed only if you are not already connected.  The update files for the Predefined Blocked Links list may not be retrieved if you do not connect to the Internet as described above.

Next Topic


Parent Defined Blocked Links
 Kidnet Explorer: Parent-Defined Blocked Links

Previous Topic

When you have the Parent-Defined Blocked Links tab selected, the setup screen looks like this:

Because the Internet is constantly changing, it is impossible to be 100% certain that your children will not accidentally stumble into Web sites that are not suitable for them.  Also, sometimes what many parents may consider suitable for children may not be considered suitable for children by other parents. For this reason, you can add URLs to the Parent-Defined Blocked Links list, and these URLs will not be opened by Kidnet Explorer. You can even enter URLs for Cool Sites that you don't think are suitable for your children.

The list on the right side of the screen shows the URLs that are blocked. To add a URL, type the URL in the edit box in the upper left corner of the screen and press the Add To List button. To remove one from the list, select the URL to remove by clicking on it (so that it is highlighted) and click the Delete Selected URL button.

URLs added to the list should start with the correct protocol. For instance, Web site addresses should start with "http://" (but without the quotation marks). You may also add URLs that start with other protocols, such as "ftp://" and "mailto:".

Next Topic


Buttons
 Kidnet Explorer: Buttons

Previous Topic

When you have the Buttons tab selected, the setup screen looks like this:

This setup screen lets you change the settings for the Cool Site Links buttons which are displayed near the upper left corner of the Kidnet Explorer browser window (not the setup window). You can add or remove buttons (up to 9 buttons can be displayed), change the labels and pictures shown inside each button, and change the Web site address to which each button is linked.

All nine buttons are shown in the scrolling box of this setup screen. Use the scrollbar on the right to see all of the buttons. Each button that will appear on the normal Kidnet Explorer browser window has a check mark next to the button.

To add a button, make sure the check box next to the button is checked, and then type in the Web site address in the edit box to the right of the button. Make sure the address starts with "http://" (but without the quotation marks). If only the name of a file is in the edit box, then the file is an HTML file on your hard drive in the Kidnet Explorer directory.

To remove a button, make sure the check box next to the button is unchecked.

To change the appearance of a button, click on the button itself to show another setup screen where you can change the appearance of the button. See the next topic: Button Appearance.

If you have changed the settings for a button and wish to restore the default settings for that button, click the Default button on the right side of the button for which you want to restore the default settings. This does not change the label and picture; click the button to change the label and picture.

There is a Verify check box for each button. If you add your own list of Cool Links, you should uncheck the Verify box for the button you have customized. Otherwise, the sites in your customized list may not be accessible.

Next Topic


Button Appearance
 Kidnet Explorer: Button Appearance

Previous Topic

When you click on a button from the Buttons tab, the setup screen looks like this:

This setup screen allows you to preview and/or change the appearance of a button. Once you have clicked on a button in the setup screen described in the previous topic (Buttons), then you will see the selected button in the setup screen shown above.

To change the picture that is shown on the button, either type in the file name of a Windows Bitmap file (with the extension .bmp) in the edit box on the right or select a bmp file by clicking the Browse button. The file name must contain the complete file path, starting with the drive letter. Otherwise if you specifiy a file name without any path name, then the file must be located within the Kidnet Explorer directory, such as is the case for the default pictures. To change the picture to the default picture for the corresponding button, simply click the Default button. Once you have selected a new picture, you can preview the button by clicking the right Preview button.

To change the label that is shown on the button, type in the label you want in the edit box on the left. Only a few characters will fit on the button. To preview the button, click Preview. If the picture and label will not both fit on the button, you can remove any text in the edit box for the label, and this will make more room for the picture.

To apply your changes, click OK; otherwise click Cancel.

Back To Parent Setup General Information


Passwords
 Kidnet Explorer: Passwords

Previous Topic

When you select Parent Setup from the File menu, the setup window will open and show the password screen:

To access the setup options, enter your password on the left, and click OK.  The password is case sensitive; for example, "PAPERROUTE" is different from "paperroute" (you don't need to enter quotation marks unless they are actually part of the password).

When you first install Kidnet Explorer, the password is set to:

changeyourpasswordnow

Use this password exactly as shown above: no spaces, all lowercase. Also, as soon as you install Kidnet Explorer, you should start Kidnet Explorer in Parent Setup mode and change your password.

Changing Your Password

To change your password, enter your current password in the upper right of the screen. Next, enter your new desired password twice, as directed in the instructions on the screen. Be sure to write down your password in a secure place because Resource Communications cannot help you figure out what it is if you forget it. Click the Change Password button. Select Parent Setup again from the File menu to access the setup options using your new password.

If you lose or forget your password, you may uninstall Kidnet Explorer and reinstall it using the original installation files, and the password will be reset to the default password, as described above.

Next Topic


Parent Setup
 Kidnet Explorer: Parent Setup

There are two icons installed in the Kidnet Explorer folder in your Start menu.  One is labeled 'Kidnet Explorer' and the other is labeled 'Parent Setup'.  They both start the same program (i.e., kidnet.exe), however the Parent Setup icon can be used to start Kidnet Explorer in the Parent Setup mode. You should be connected to the Internet to start Kidnet Explorer in either mode.

When Kidnet Explorer is started in Parent Setup mode, the Parent Setup menu option in the File menu is enabled. Otherwise it is disabled. When the Parent Setup menu option is enabled, you can open the setup window for Kidnet Explorer.

Although a password is required to open the setup window, if you would like to remove the Parent Setup icon from your Start menu so that your child cannot run Kidnet Explorer in Parent Setup mode, you can delete the icon and run Kidnet Explorer in Parent Setup mode using the following method:

1. Click the Start Button

2. Select 'Run...'

3. Within quotation marks, type in the path to the file 'kidnet.exe'

 or

    Press the Browse button to help you find 'kidnet.exe', then click Open

4. At the end of the path within quotation marks, but outside the quotation marks, type PARENT

5. Click OK

For example, if you installed Kidnet Explorer in the directory c:\program files\kidnet explorer, then you should have typed (including quotation marks):

"c:\program files\kidnet explorer\kidnet.exe" PARENT

Once Kidnet Explorer has been started in Parent Setup mode, then click on the File menu, and select Parent Setup.  If the Parent Setup option cannot be selected, then Kidnet Explorer was not started in Parent Setup mode, and you should try again. If you have deleted the Parent Setup icon and cannot get Kidnet Explorer to start in Parent Setup mode, you can uninstall Kidnet Explorer, reinstall it again using the original installation files, and the Parent Setup icon will be reinstalled.

When you select Parent Setup from the File Menu, the setup window will open and ask for a password. Once you have entered your password and clicked OK, the setup options will be available for you to modify. When you modify any settings, click the button Save Setup & Close to save the new settings. Closing the window using the X button in the upper right corner will cancel changes to the settings in the same way that clicking the Cancel Changes & Close button would.

Click on one of the following links for information about each part of the setup window:

Passwords

General Options

Predefined Blocked Links

Parent-Defined Blocked Links

Buttons

Button Appearance

Other Topics:

Upgrading This Software

Registering This Software

Contact Information & Technical Support

Kidnet Explorer Contents

About Kidnet Explorer


Upgrading This Software
 Kidnet Explorer: Upgrading

The setup files used by this program are automatically updated when Kidnet Explorer is started (in either normal or Parent Setup modes).

Registered users of this software can receive unlimited free upgrades for the version of the software you registered. These upgrades can be downloaded free from our web site.  Upgrades may be made available to fix bugs in the program or to add features.

For our web site addresses or more information, select one these topics:

Contact Information & Technical Support

Registering This Software

Back To General Parent Setup Information


Registering This Software
 Kidnet Explorer: Registering

If you purchased this software as an end-user from Resource Communications or one of its authorized sellers, then to register this software, you only need to send us your registration form. If you filled out a registration form when you purchased the software as described above, then you do not need to send us your registration form.

If you downloaded this software for free or received it for free as shareware, then you may use the software for evaluation purposes according to the license agreement which you accepted when you installed the software (usually 30 days). To use the software after the evaluation period, you must register.

To register, send us your name and address, the version of the product you are registering (found by running the program and selecting About... from the Help menu), and a check or money order for the registration fee which is $20.

Mail to:

Resource Communications

P.O. Box 1674

Newport News, VA 23601

Back To General Parent Setup Information


Contact Information & Technical Support
 Kidnet Explorer: Contacting Us

Registered users may receive technical support via e-mail. Also check our Web site for technical support and other information for this product.

Our Web Site can be accessed from one of these URLs:

http://rescom.home.ml.org

http://members.tripod.com/~rescom

For questions, comments, or technical support, we can be reached at one of these e-mail addresses:

resourcecom@usa.net

rescom@geocities.com

Our Mailing Address:

Resource Communications

P.O. Box 1674

Newport News, VA 23601


 About Kidnet Explorer

Kidnet Explorer is an alternative interface for use in place of Microsoft Internet Explorer.  It provides all the multimedia functionality of Internet Explorer, but is safer for kids because it limits what web sites they can see.

There are 3 main features of Kidnet Explorer which allow it to limit what kids can see on the Internet:

No URL Box.  Kids can't type in web site addresses. They can only browse the sites which can be accessed by one of the Cool Sites list.

Cool Sites Lists.  These are lists of links to web sites.  These lists show up in the left browser window, which is permanently built into the browser and cannot go away. These links make it easy for kids to begin browsing, and it prevents kids from beginning their surfing with the online search engines.

URL Blocker.  This feature blocks kids from accidentally browsing into sites such as search engines, preventing them from ending up at sites that are not appropriate for kids.

More On Cool Sites

Cool Sites Lists are stored at various Web sites on the Internet and are maintained and updated by Resource Communications. They are stored on the Internet and retrieved as Web pages in the left browser window. This is so that they can be updated, and the browser will automatically load the new list whenever you click one of the Sites Lists buttons.

If you have questions or comments about Kidnet Explorer or would like to recommend a site to be added to a Cool Sites list, please contact Resource Communications.

Microsoft and Internet Explorer are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.


Starting Kidnet Explorer
 Kidnet Explorer: Starting The Program

Kidnet Explorer requires a connection to the Internet. Any connection that works with Microsoft Internet Explorer will also work with Kidnet Explorer, since Kidnet Explorer is just a different interface for Internet Explorer.

To connect to the Internet, you can either connect before you start Kidnet Explorer, or after. When you start Kidnet Explorer, by clicking on its icon in the Kidnet Explorer folder of the Start menu, a connection window will be displayed if you are not already connected to the Internet. You should connect using the displayed connection window, otherwise if you click cancel, you should shut down Kidnet Explorer as soon as possible and restart it when you are ready to connect to the Internet, otherwise error messages may appear.

Once Kidnet Explorer is running AND you are connected to the Internet, Kidnet Explorer will display a list of Cool Sites to browse in the left browser window.  Also, a small green dot will appear in the lower left corner of the Kidnet Explorer window. The green dot indicates that the most recent information used by Kidnet Explorer to help you browse the Cool Sites has been automatically downloaded. If the green dot does not appear, you may not be able to view some of the Cool Sites.


Browser Buttons
 Kidnet Explorer: Browser Buttons

The buttons on the left side of the Kidnet Explorer window change the links shown in the left browser window. The buttons on the right side are used to help you navigate web site in the right browser window.

The buttons on the left are links to lists of Cool Sites. There may be as many as nine Cool Sites buttons. Whenever you click a different button, the list of Cool Sites shown in the left browser window will be updated. If the left browser window does not update, then the web site that has the Cool Sites list for the button you picked may be temporarily broken.

The buttons on the right are labeled Last, Next, Stop, and Reload.

Last

Pressing this button will make the browser go back to the last Web site you were looking at since you started the program.

Next

If you pressed the LAST button at least once, then pressing the NEXT button will make the browser go to the Web site you were looking at right before you pressed the LAST button.

Stop

Pressing this button will cause the browser to stop loading the Web site it is currently loading.

Reload

Pressing this button will reload the Web site you are currently looking at so that you can see any changes that were made to the Web site since the last time it was loaded, or so that the whole page can be loaded if for some reason it was not completely loaded the last time the browser tried to load it.


Questions And Answers
 Kidnet Explorer: Questions And Answers

Q: Why do some lists of Cool Sites have the same sites in them?

A: Sometimes one of the Cool Sites lists may not load properly because of problems on the Internet. Problems likes this are usually temporary, but having the same sites in different lists lets you look at those sites without waiting for the Internet to be fixed.

Q: Why do I see a box that says I can't go to the site I clicked on?

A: Some sites can take you to places where you can get to other sites that are not suitable for children. If you click on a link that could possibly take you to a site where you could see something that is not suitable for you, then a box will pop up that says you can't go to that site.

Q: Aren't all the Cool Sites ok for me to see? When I click on one of the Cool Sites, why do I see a box that says I can't go to that site?

A: Kidnet Explorer automatically gets information from the Internet that it uses to determine which sites you can see, including the Cool Sites. Sometimes Kidnet Explorer can't get this information. This problem is usually temporary, and you will eventually be able to see all of the Cool Sites.

If you have other questions, or if you have comments about the way Kidnet Explorer works, you can contact us by e-mail at either of these e-mail addresses:

resourcecom@usa.net

rescom@geocities.com