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Video - Safe Chat Introduction Video - How to Guides Manual - User Guide (PDF Format)
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the minimum system requirements for using Safe Chat?
A: 500 Mhz CPU
128 MB RAM
Internet Connection (Cable or DSL or equivalent)
Windows 98 2nd Edition, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003
Internet Explorer 5.0 & higher

Q: Does Safe Chat work with firewalls and routers?
A: Yes! Safe Chat has been extensively tested and is compatible with all known firewalls and routers.

Q: How come my video and audio do not work?
A: For the protection of our users, we currently are not supporting video chat or audio chat.

Q: How do I stop & start Safe Chat child protection function?
A: For a step-by-step on how to activate and deactivate this function, click here.

Q: Why are some words in my text message displayed as ****?
A: For your protection, Safe Chat has a “keyword” masking feature. Should you happen to type or receive any word that is in the list of prohibited keywords, those words will be masked with four asterisks. You can modify or disable this feature by going to the parental control section.

Q: Can I change my network availability status?
A: Yes, There are 2 ways to change your network status.
1) You can globally change the status of all of your connected networks at once by clicking on the
“Set Status” button on our main screen, or
2) You can independently change each network status by right-clicking on the network icon

Q: Why can't I start up the original client Instant Messenger (ie. Yahoo Messenger)?
A: As a safeguard against circumventing the parental controls of Safe Chat, we
prevent all other instant messengers from being launched as long as Safe Chat is active.

Q: Why can't I start up other web browsers applications (ie. Netscape)?
A: As a safeguard against circumventing the parental controls of Safe Chat, we
prevent all other browsers from being launched as long as Safe Chat is active.

Q: How can I use other instant messengers without having to uninstall Safe Chat?
A: To temporarily “stop” the Safe Chat Parental Control feature, simply right-click on our icon green “check” in the systray,
and select “Stop Safe Chat Control”. You will be asked to enter your password (this is the
master password you entered on the Parental Control screen).

If Safe Chat is NOT running, simply right-click on the round green icon with a check mark in
the systray area and select to “Stop Safe Chat Control”. It will ask for you to enter the
password for verification.

NOTE: The Safe Chat Parental Control will remain OFF until you restart the service again, or
restart Safe Chat or restart your computer.

Q: How can I use browsers besides MS Internet Explorer?
A: See answer above.

Q: How come I don’t see other contacts, and they can’t contact me?
A: Check to see if you have activated the “Authorized Contacts” feature. If you have, make sure
that you authorize the contact name.

Q: How come I can’t start a chat conversation with my contacts?
A: Check to see if you have activated the “Authorized Contacts” feature, and check to see if you
are within the “access hours” (By default: there is no time restriction)

Q: In which user account should I install the program on my computer?
A: Safe Chat must be installed in the Administrator account to ensure that it can not be circumvented. It is highly recommended that you create separate accounts for your children as this will provide assurances that the program can not be uninstalled or circumvented without the parental controls password.

To set up other user accounts in XP, simply choose Start>Settings>Control Panels>User Accounts

Q: How do Alerts work and what will they provide for me?
A: When you set up parental controls with a password, you can enter your email address for alerts. This can be any account you designate. Anytime someone logs into or out of Safe Chat, an alert message will be sent to you. Anytime someone attempts to circumvent Safe Chat by trying to crack your password, you will receive an alert notice to this affect, including a time stamp.

Q: When typing a message, why does the cursor stop and begin replacing text as I type?
A: Safe Chat has a set message length limit for each message window. Shorten the message, send and continue the message in the new message window. This is the same approach taken by each IM service currently in use. The length of the message limit varies between services.