The Surf Monkey Browser is a free kids' browser that can be used instead of traditional Browsers like Netscape. With the Surf Monkey Browser, your kids can visit only those sites on the Web that pass the safety check points, hang out in monitored chat rooms, and send and receive email only to people on their Friends List.

Browsing the Web
Surf Monkey was designed for kids from the ground up, with parental control and other safety mechanisms built into the heart of the browser:

• Surf Monkey Starsites Directory -- Kids are encouraged to visit these hand-selected kids' sites.
• Blocking of Inappropriate Sites -- Before downloading any web page, the browser makes sure that it's appropriate for kids by checking the URL against a list of blocked sites provided by SurfWatch®. This list is updated on a daily basis. If the site is suitable for kids the browser navigates directly there. If it's on the blocked list then access is blocked. This whole process happens in the blink of an eye and does not affect the performance of the browser.
• Blocking of newsgroups -- Some Web pages contain links to newsgroups where people can anonymously post messages, images, and other content. The Surf Monkey browser disables the links to these newsgroups in each page that is viewed.
• Blocking .exe file downloads -- The Surf Monkey browser blocks the download of executable files that may enable children to access inappropriate Internet content or bypass the Surf Monkey parental controls.

Email
Surf Monkey has various safety features implemented in its kids' email program, keeping strangers out and giving parents the ability to screen all incoming and outgoing messages:

• Friends List -- Your child can freely exchange email messages with people on their "My Friends" list. All other incoming and outgoing messages to 'strangers' are locked until you approve them or add them to your child's "My Friends" list. You create and control the Friends list with your parental password. This is a simple and effective way of preventing your child from receiving email from strangers and blocking unwanted junk mail.
• Locked mail control panel -- You can unlock messages on an individual basis or you can access all locked mail from this control panel. Once you've read the message, you can unlock it, add the sender to the Friends list, or delete the message.
• Email profanity filter -- Obvious profanity is blocked out of all incoming messages on the fly.
• Web-based email sites -- Some Web sites offer free email that is unfiltered and offers no parental control whatsoever. These sites are added to the SurfWatch® list of blocked sites and blocked by Surf Monkey.
• Block email entirely -- You have the option of blocking email altogether with Surf Monkey.

Chat Rooms
Kids love to chat with each other in live Internet chat rooms. Messages are sent back and forth in only fractions of seconds for lively and interactive conversations. Surf Monkey can restrict your child's access to chat rooms with various safety features, ensuring that they're chatting in monitored rooms:

• Exclusive chat rooms -- Surf Monkey chat rooms are available only to authenticated Surf Monkey customers. Access is blocked without a valid Surf Monkey username and password.
• Monitored chat rooms -- Chat rooms are monitored by Surf Monkey staff on the server and individuals can be ejected from a room at the touch of a button.
• Profanity filter -- bad words are filtered out before they reach the room and the child is warned not to use that word again.
• Restricted only to Surf Monkey chat rooms -- There are lots of chat rooms on the Internet dedicated to discussing content that is inappropriate for children. When Surf Monkey is installed on your PC, all non-Surf Monkey chat rooms are blocked from access. This is done by identifying the chat protocols (IRC, MIC, etc.) and filtering out all uncontrolled chat traffic.
• Block non-standard chat rooms -- Some Web pages have embedded chat rooms (sometimes built in Java) that do not use standard chat protocols (IRC, MIC, etc.). These sites are added to the SurfWatch® blacklist and access to these pages is blocked.
• Creating new rooms is disabled -- Children are not allowed to create their own Surf Monkey chat rooms. They are restricted to chatting in the monitored rooms made available by the server.
• Block chat entirely -- Although Surf Monkey offers multiple levels of protection, chat is the most difficult activity to control. Some parents may want to block chat entirely and this option is available in Surf Monkey.

Surf Monkey has made safety an integral part of its product. Surf Monkey and you can make the Internet a safe place where your kids can be free to learn and have fun.