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Guidelines for Including Products or Services

The goal of the GetNetWise resource is to provide consumers with a comprehensive, accurate, timely and useful guide to the technological tools available to help them ensure that they have safe, educational, and fun experiences using the Internet.

In order to promote that goal, we have asked the manufacturers of these tools a series of questions about their products. We have limited inclusion to those that meet the following criteria.

1. The product is primarily designed (1) to promote safe and appropriate online experiences for children; (2) enhance privacy while online; (3) keep a computer system and its data secure; or (4) fight spam.
2. The product is reasonably up-to-date. If the product requires ongoing maintenance or selection of content, the manufacturers routinely do so. The company's web site is regularly updated.
3. The product is currently available in the United States. Information about it is available on the web and is current. Where applicable, this information should clearly indicate how consumers can purchase the product in stores, by phone, online, via fax, or by mail order.
4. If the GetNetWise staff learns that the product does not actually and reliably perform functions that its manufacturer claims to perform, it will be removed from the central resource.
5. The company web site has a posted privacy policy, as does the product web site if it has a unique top-level domain name. (For example, www.toolcompany.com and www.childsafetytool.com must both have posted privacy policies.)