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16 - WAanLoo canomcu - THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 3, 2016 , ' ~â€"~â€"â€" t;;‘*,;;‘,i,‘1'_'."‘l‘ ‘f I! â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"~â€"* Filtering Ollt the ba Stllff O l O C l O C Waterloo-based Frbemetws develops thstfi device to give parents peace of mmd By hues Mason . Special to the Chronicle he internet is home to vast sums of? human knowledge and is a place for kids , and adults alike to learn new things and ‘ develop creative solutions for how to make the world a better place, But the web also has a darker side where ; online predators lurk in the shadows. looking , Q to expose kids to a world of danger and deceit. b ' including violence and sexual material. ‘ ‘- Now, a Waterloo Region telecom company says it has developed a tool to ensure children _ andyouth have access toallthe benefitsofthe , o « - x lntemet. without the risk of exposure to the WW \ ‘g‘i » x f? " . more malicious side of the web. A. f" l at," ‘ \\‘ \ , 1 Fibernetics recently released KidsWifi, a “ , s - M t? .; ., den/ice that plugsinto yourwalllikeanairtresh w“ ~ ‘ ’ a ' ~ ener and allows parents or guardians to manage ‘ 7 m 1 \\ J g \ " my 5 ' ‘ how their kids use the web by syncing it with to“ Q5 3.5“ , *‘ w the wireless lntemet signal that connects with -. " ‘, - 4‘th , ' “it ”f -' , ”A laptops, desktop computers, tablets, cell phones , 1” ye . , 97" """ a ~ ’ it” - and other devices, L is é 545th- 'Wbat this device will do is monitor. control 5" $2 if " , , ‘ is? . g and filter all of their devices and keep (kids) 5 a ‘ n‘ f "’ . f _ from harmful content on the internet by fil- "' ’ ' . \ ’ f‘ tering out adult mature content, or social net- ' i L“ 4 ‘ . \ ' in . i \ , ' -\ x W g l \ \ ‘ \ o ' \\\ \ \ , - .\| Id New KidsWifi device allows parents to control when kids have Internet access and filters out sites they shouldn't be exposed to online. . S "I YRO GIANK . u. -. works or even gambling sites,” said Mike Brown. ters this year following parental ooncems about on how many they've sold all tgether, but said IFl ctr-founder olFibemetics. what kids may be able to View online while at there's beengreat excitement surrounding it. 1“ The device can also be wired into an inter- school, Kidszfl has even had celebrity endorse 1 net router ifyou don't have a wireless signal at Brown said Fibernetics has been talking ments from brand ambassador lustin Bieber ii home. and can even be taken on vacation and with church groups about the potential for the and his brother hasakiotweeted about the prod linked with the wireless networks at hotels or device, but not school boards. It's available for uct. . . resorts, allowing parents to bring that peacerofv sale on their website, kidswifi.com, and costs ‘Celebrities are really drawn to this because 5 mind while travelling. 599. it can help kids and they believe in the product.' ~_ f“ Brown uses it in his own home for his two Compared to similar products on the mat? said Brown. - ‘ kids, both under the age of it). and it can con- ket. Brown said the simplicity of KidsWifi really 'Reactinn globally has come in very post ' f u nect to multiple devices at speeds of up to 300 sets it apart. it comes with one page of slm- five" 1 3; -' megabytes per second. KidsWifi can even he ple instrunions and the company handles all He also stressed KidsWifi isn't meant to . a}. programmed to mm oft the Intcmet signal after program updates. meaning parents who aren't replace the parent's responsibility to know what . Lt ', . a certain number of hours ol activity or at a cer computer savvy can easily use it and not have their kids are doing online, and it can open up a . “9 tam time of day to worry about downloading updates or patches dialogue between kids and parents about why ‘ f it?! “We use it at home (and) at seven o‘clock my like other web blocking software. certain sites are blocked j g; ' Intemet shuts off," Brown said [he company did a soft launch of the prod lhcy've even got a nickname for it . KiWi l f Internet safety has ht en in the news in m1 more than three months ago and sold bun which harkens back to this region's tech roots l l Waterloo Region in recent months after the pub dreds of devices before its official launch at the with BlackBerry. "We wanted to be the next big lit school board implemented stricter web fil end of September Brown declined to comment fruit out ofWaterloo," Brown said with a laugh. - a www.waterloochronicle.ca . . ' From the latest information on local politics. to minor sports scores. .- g m to what's going on down the street, visit mmaterloochronicleca for it all. 55} for?“ ‘ Sari/mgyour mmmumtysince "156 a ll.‘ " r-‘w ' ‘ r . J W i