Is there any way to set things up so a child can safely search the internet for school work without harming the computer?
I’ve had great luck with using Firefox and installing the NoScript add-on. Basically it shuts off all Java scripts globally and then allows you turn them back on on a website-by-website basis. You can surf most of the web just fine with scripts turned off, and if your kid does need to access to a site that requires Java they can ask you to check it out before switching scripting back on.
Use sandbox software such as Sandboxie or the paid version of Avast!.
However, the downside is that the child will not be able to save anything to the computer permanently. When the session ends, everything written to the disk will be lost.
Second that. Installing AdBlock plus isn’t a bad idea either.
The first thing to do is to not let them run as an admin-level user. Secondly, turn UAC on full for the child’s user id if the computer runs Vista or Windows 7.
Yep, a non-admin account would be the best security measure (assuming a modern OS like vista or windows 7/8).
I believe most modern browser sandbox their sessions, but I’d turn off flash before bothering with javascript.
Flash is usually the gateway to hackers, Javascript not so.
Java, is different, it requires a plugin just like flash, and could be exploitable.
Second this. If they don’t need to download files, Sandboxie is awesome. It will keep the browser completely separate from the rest of the PC.
User account control isn’t a reliable way of preventing viruses. I’ve gotten malware from the major newspaper website in my city with a non-admin account and IE sandboxing enabled.
Install Linux!
Well, somebody had to say it.
All my grandchildren can use Ubuntu with no problems whatsoever and no tuition, in fact they show Granny how do do stuff.
Viruses? What viruses!
Agreed, but it’s a vital part of a layered defence.
I 100% concur that by far the best thing to do is to give them their own user account, make sure it does *not *have administrative permissions, and never, ever give them the password to your (administrative) user account. That’s 90% of the battle right there, and that advice applies equally well to Windows, OS X and Linux.
Beyond that I’d ask what OS you’re using, because they all have different features and problems that come into play here.
Don’t confuse Java with JavaScript, though. They are separate entities.
Writing a reply on this board with JavaScript turned off, for example, causes paragraph problems. There aren’t any, at least with Firefox on my Mac, though it may look like there are when typing. Java, though, on or off, makes no difference.
Probably the very best way is to spend time with the child and teach them.
I second giving them a limited account.
If the PC is infected, only the limited account is compromised. You can move the saved stuff, delete the limited account and make a hew one. This is one of the last resorts I use at work, but I have to dealt with irate users. 
Another similar approach: Install a virtual machine, and work in that. Last I looked, you can still get a freeware version of Oracle (formerly Sun) Virtual Box from https://www.virtualbox.org/
The entire virtual machine constitutes a sandbox, and when it gets contaminated you can just delete the whole thing and start over. You can also transfer files into and out of your VM (between it and the surrounding “host” machine, or even between your VM and other machines on your LAN), once you decide that a file is safe.
It’s called dial up. Text loads slow but it loads fast enough to read. And viruses will download too but it’ll take a long time and be fairly obvious that that’s something is wrong.
Of course it’s not fool proof but it helps a lot.
Dial-up even has the side bonus of being so worthless now that the child won’t even want to be on the internet.
that’s true. a users account could prevent you from having to redo the computer from the start though.
also user account for kids keeps them from causing damage to programs or data. if you care about the condition of the computer even if the kid is the only user, they should be in a user account.
This is a damn near bulletproof way to do things and its a little techie, but you can get the PC to open a VM as part of the start sequence. You keep a Clean copy of the VM set aside and if Jr viruses out a VM, delete virused VM, make copy of clean VM, launch clean VM…
Another fairly simple method for bulletproof browsing in a live CD, no matter what happens you are a reboot away from back to normal.
But there’s no way to force your kid to use the VM. With a user account, you can force them to use it by not giving them the password to any other account.