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Norton launching Safety Minder app for Android to “keep kids safe on mobile phones”

By on February 7, 2012 at 1:16pm in Mobile News

Norton, the folks behind the famous antivirus software, is launching today an Android app meant to keep kids safe from malicious content on their smartphones.

It allows parents to apply what they call “House Rules” and filters, and can be applied from the Norton Online Family web portal on a PC or Mac. According to the press release,

The application provides web monitoring and blocking features for free, allowing parents to see what sites their kids are visiting and block content they feel is inappropriate. Applied through their Norton Online Family account, parents can use the same set of web filtering settings for the child’s PC and apply them to the child’s Android phone. The service tracks up to seven days of content for free, and up to 90 days for those with a paid Norton Online Family Premier account.

This monitoring consists of websites, text messages and app usage, though the Premium paid service which monitors the latter is not currently available in Canada. As it stands, the service allows parents to keep track of the “open web,” which may make them more comfortable purchasing their kids a smartphone in the first place.

To sign up for the free service, which monitors seven days of web filtering and monitoring, head to onlinefamily.norton.com and click on “House Rules.” Then head to the Android Marketplace and install Norton Safety Minder: Mobile Edition. The app requires Android 2.2 or higher to use.

Related posts:

  1. Global TV reports: Kids and Cellphones “Dialing into Danger”
  2. Norton survey: Toronto/Mississauga has the highest rate of cell phone loss or theft
  3. Kids Help Phone and Bell receive “Connected to the Community” award
  4. A great cause to be involved with: Bell Walk for Kids Help Phone – May 4th, 2008

Discussion

11 comments for “Norton launching Safety Minder app for Android to “keep kids safe on mobile phones””

  1. Ridiculous waste of money. Kids will find a way to get around it.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5

    Posted by Money is Everything | February 7, 2012, 1:25 pm
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    • A kid that can find their away around a security software is a kid that does NOT require a security software. This is obviously aimed at the “preteen” group that must have a phone for safety reasons.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1

      Posted by LOL | February 7, 2012, 1:35 pm

    • In other news hackers have stolen the source code of “Norton Safety Minder” Norton advises all their customers to uninstall the application as its deemed unsafe.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1

      Posted by Paul | February 7, 2012, 7:48 pm

  2. this app is tooooo expensive $30.00

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 4

    Posted by SAM | February 7, 2012, 1:35 pm
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  3. This opens up a whole new can of worms, of “Protect our kids from the dangers of the world!” vs “Let them learn for themselves”.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 4

    Posted by Adam | February 7, 2012, 1:44 pm
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    • In what way is this a new can of worms? Parents have been struggling with this one since the dawn of man. And with the monitoring part, you can let them learn for themselves and do your best to make sure “the worst” doesn’t happen.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

      Posted by OPDoesntHaveKids | February 7, 2012, 7:12 pm

  4. Oh yay, a bad site blocker (and more) for Android!

    The more important question is: does this work on third-party browsers, like Opera, Firefox, or the newly-released Chrome?

    Not a fan of Symantec (they donate software to Planned Parenthood) but it is great to see software to protect people from harmful websites. It would be really useful if it worked outside the stock browser. There’s plenty of apps that use the Internet without it!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 2

    Posted by Alex Perrier | February 7, 2012, 1:45 pm
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    • Sounds like software aimed at over-protective control-freak parents.
      But since they support planned parenthood… I hope they succeed.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1

      Posted by shoo | February 7, 2012, 5:19 pm

  5. Is Symantec even relevant these days?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 2

    Posted by ToniCipriani | February 7, 2012, 2:14 pm
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  6. “Hi, welcome to Norton Smartphone App. Please try out our 7 day free trial on us. The objective is to target dumb authoritative parents who are likely to buy into our product. This App will monitor your kids’ smartphone so we will be monitoring your kids’ usage, sites visited, talk and texts just like Carrier IQ. The data will be sent to the parents so parents will be able to filter content on the smartphone thus kids of the next generation will eventually have no freedom and privacy. In addition to giving you your kids’ data, we will also be selling the info to advertisers so we can make money.

    After the free trial period, you will have to pay us every month so we can make even more money off your kids’ data.”

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2

    Posted by Big 3 | February 7, 2012, 5:29 pm
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  7. Android is laggy enough without using this turd, Symantec and speed dont go hand in hand

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1

    Posted by -DTECH | February 8, 2012, 12:33 am
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