Securing the iPad: A Step-By-Step Guide

Unless you’ve been on a submarine for the past few weeks you have heard about Apple’s latest game-changer:

The iPad™!

After playing with one for a couple of weeks I have go to tell you that “game-changer” is not an understatement!  I feel no fear in “prophesying” that the iPad will soon become the delivery method of choice for textbooks in college and high-schools in just a few years!  It will also replace the printed newspaper!  Trust me!  Go to an Apple store and play with one!

Depending on the version you have the iPad connects to the rest of the world via either WIFI or 3G cell service.  That means you have the World at your fingertips (literally).

That’s where the problem shows up.

The iPad is an awesome multimedia device and the first “iPad optimized” porn sites were ann0unced less than 36-hours after the launch of the iPad.

Why “iPad optimized?”  Because both the navigation systems/screens and the media have to be different for the iPad.  This is especially true for the media as, like the iPhone/iPod Touch, the iPad does not run FLASH VIDEO, the type of video we find on YouTube and 99.9% of the porn sites on the planet.  Apple, for good or bad, has decided to embrace a new emerging standard called HTML5.  So, porn sites (and other media sites) have to reformat content to be compatible with the iPad.  (This is a huge indicator of Apple’s power in the market!)

So, if we want to protect family members who may use the iPad we have to consider several things:

• There aren’t any “filters” that are all that great, so far.
• Just turning off the browser (SAFARI) is pretty much useless because you need it, and because kids can just go to the APP STORE and get another browser.
• There are “adult” APPs for Apples devices.  Apple has “age ratings” for APPS.
• The iPad, like the iPhone and iPod, can play digital music, movies, and TV shows.  Fortunately, these have ratings in Apple’s iTunes Store, as do APPS.

So, to secure our iPad we need to do the following:

• Set up “secret code” access to the settings.
• Set the acceptable ratings for music, movies, TV Shows, and APPS.
• Restrict the ability to download/install APPs.
• Restrict the iPad to using DNS Servers managed by OPENDNS.COM.(You may want to read the post on OPENDNS that can be found here.)

This won’t be a perfect, 100% effective system, but it is vital that we take these steps.

Because this may be unfamiliar territory for some of you I have created a step-by-step visual guide for you.  It is  available  in PDF format at this link:

Steps to Securing Apple’s iPad™

Enjoy your iPad!

Check out these other popular posts:

• Filtering Your Home Network via OpenDNS: What Parents Need To Know Part I – What is OpenDNS?
• MOMMY!!! DADDY!!! What Are Ya’ll DOING????
• iTunes – What Parents Need To Know… Part I – What All Is Available
• Amazon KINDLE: What Parents Need To Know – Part I
• Temptation: Shifting From Defense to Offense!!!
• HELP! My Child Hit A Porn Site! What Do I Do NOW????
• Protecting YOURSELF From Online Porn!

Help us continue to help you!
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