Google has joined the board of directors for the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Google’s board of directors seat will be held by the company’s Head of Anti-malvertising, Eric Davis.

Davis leads efforts to develop and implement policies, processes, and tools to protect the Google network, the company’s consumer and advertising products, and its users.

"For Google, there is no higher priority than the safety and security of our users," Davis said. "We look forward to becoming an active member on the NCSA board and helping users more safely enjoy all the benefits the Internet has to offer."

The NCSA is a nonprofit organization that includes government, corporate, academic, and other non-profit organizations together to spread education and awarenes about Internet safety.

"The NCSA is proud to welcome Google, one of the foundational pillars of the Internet, to its board of directors," said Michael Kaiser, executive director of NCSA. "We look forward to partnering with Google as we plan and implement new comprehensive education and awareness efforts. Google’s unique perspective will be invaluable."

Google joins other major technology forces on the board like Microsoft, Cisco, McAfee, Symantec, EMC, and SAIC. The NCSA operates StaySafeOnline.org.

Symantec has officially launched OnlineFamily.Norton, an Internet safety service designed to help parents monitor their children’s online activity.

The launch coincides with the start of Internet Safety Week, which began today. The service is available for free until January1, 2010.

OnlineFamily.Norton is different than traditional parental control products that focus on just blocking and monitoring kids’ online activities. The service helps parents manage the gray areas of the Internet while encouraging communication and education.

Some of the key features include allowing children to view rules they established with their parents at any time and notification when OnlineFamily.Norton is active, making the service transparent.

Janice Chaffin

Parents can control Web content by blocking more than 40 topic categories and receive email alerts when a child has reached a time limit or tried to visit a blocked site.

The service monitors activity on social networks like Facebook and MySpace with the ability to see how kids represent themselves online, when they login, and how often.

All online activities can be viewed in chronological order and only show Web sites a child has visited.

 "Online safety should be a top priority for every parent, but it can be a daunting task if they don’t have the resources they need to get started.  That’s why we’re offering OnlineFamily.Norton to families for free this year," said Janice Chaffin, group president of Symantec’s Consumer Business Unit. 

"OnlineFamily.Norton is truly unique because it was designed to foster more communication between parents and kids, which is essential for creating rules toget