Norton has notched up another award; this time its OnlineFamily.Norton, a free online safety service, which has walked off with the iParenting Media Award in the Best Software category.

Norton is the brand name of Symantec, the US NASDAQ quoted group, and is one of the main players in the computer security industry.

OnlineFamily.Norton is all about creating a service, based on the internet, that hands parents the power to connect with their children’s online experiences. The idea is to understand what the kids are seeing, learning and actually doing whilst online. And this process is known as ‘The Talk’ – the communication between parent and child to help keep the latter safe on the internet.

Created in 1996, iParenting.com is a parents and parents-to-be online community website. It is part of the Disney empire and sits alongside such other sites as FamilyFun.com, Kaboose and DisneyFamily.com. Indeed, it is part of a 40 website network which grew from one single website, www.PregancyToday.com.

And iParenting Media is the team behind the iParenting Media Awards Programme which is certified as a product review system.

Marian Merritt, Norton Internet Safety Advocate, said:
“We are extremely pleased that iParenting Media has recognized OnlineFamily.Norton as the best solution to protect kids online. Unlike existing parental controls software, which focus primarily on blocking objectionable sites and applications, OnlineFamily.Norton helps protect kids online by fostering a dialogue between parents and kids about their online lives.”

An iParenting spokesperson said:
“Unlike many parental control products, OnlineFamily.Norton aims to create dialog between parents and kids, not assert draconian control.”

Symantec is behind the Norton Antivirus series of products which protect computer users from cybercrime in all its manifestations, including viruses, spyware and phishing. It develops software programmes to combat such nasties, whilst trying not to absorb too much computer power to run them in the background.

Guest Article by Neil Camp