Be-Bratz Keylauncher Information For Parents

This article does not have anything to do with personal computer security but still needs to be posted somewhere so here goes. This past weekend I was trying to register a couple of Be-Bratz dolls online using the key launchers that came with the dolls. The idea is to make it easier for kids to log on to their accounts by using this colourful key instead of having to type in their username and password each time. Well, when we tried to launch the registration screen it would automatically load an error page and even when we manually typed in the URL, the same "error page" would load on the Be-Bratz site. I then searched for technical support help or contact info, which was minimal. In the past, I've received wonderful technical support dealing with the folks at Disney so thought that I would try to get some help from MGA Entertainment. I sent an email asking them how I could bypass the launcher for registration. Before receiving a reply, it suddenly dawned on me that when you add a new USB device to your computer, Windows needs to install the new hardware and then you need to restart your PC in some cases. Once the PC was rebooted, the key launcher worked so we were off to the registration screen. Be-Bratz did not mention this part in their instructions or troubleshooting info so perhaps it is assumed. For the record, Be-Bratz did finally respond to my email advising me that the key launchers were not compatible with Windows Vista at this time as they were created prior to the Windows Vista launch. They suggested that we register on someone else's computer using the key launcher then we would be able to access our accounts on our own PC once registered. This was not our issue as we were using Windows XP but I thought that I should include their answer here in case any of you are trying to register using a Vista platform. Now that the girls are all squared away with Be-Bratz, they are having lots of fun using this product online. It appears that the Be-Bratz site have taken the necessary security measures to help make their site a safe place for children to play so I am happy with that. However, as I have written before, the Internet is not a babysitter so children of ALL ages still require PARENT SUPERVISION to some degree depending on their age no matter what sites they are visiting or playing on.