Comet kicks off seminars to make parents web-wise

Comet is continuing its drive towards safe and sensible family computing with the announcement of three in-store seminars aimed at educating parents about how they can protect children using the family PC.

Last month Comet announced plans to pre-install security and monitoring software on all PCs and pre-configure it to take some of the headaches out of the process for parents worried about what their kids might access online, but unsure of what they should do to protect them.

In total there are 13 UK stores Comet stores taking part in the scheme.

Simon Fox, Managing Director at Comet said in a statement: "Internet safety is a serious issue that the industry cannot ignore, particularly as internet use is becoming more prevalent via mediums such as television, gaming and mobile phones as well as PCs.

"As a responsible family friendly retailer that provides a range of multimedia products to families, Comet wants to do the best it can to educate its customers and free seminars in selected stores are a great way for a large number of existing and potential internet users to benefit from direct interaction with internet safety experts."

Children's charity NCH is one organisation which is firmly backing Comet's plans.

A spokeswoman from the NCH said: "The internet is a fantastic resource for parents and children, and with the new term starting, every child of school age will have access to the internet at some point, whether in class or at home. It is therefore imperative that parents know about the technology, in particular the potential and how to advise their children on being safe."

The Comet seminars are taking place at the following stores: Comet, 113 Glasgow Road, Maybury, Edinburgh - Tuesday 26 August
Comet, Longtown Road, Dundee - Wednesday 28 August
Comet, Abbotsinch Retail Park, Washington Road, Paisley - Friday 12 September.

Seminars in England and Wales are being run at the following stores:
Hull, Stockton, Norwich, Southampton, Exeter, Bristol Cribbs, Swansea, Oldham, Cast Vale, Greenwich. Anybody interested in attending should call 0845 6007002 or visit www.comet.co.uk/comet/internetsafety for more information.