Parental control software

[Makaveli2007]

Does anyone of you guys on here have children? If so, do you do anything to restrict their internet access? Like make sure they can't access certain sites or can only use the PC for a limited number of hours?

P.S.:I couldn't fit a better place on WebmasterWorld for this, hope it fits in here.

[Rosalind]

Yes, and I have it all enabled. My main concern is not so much censorship, although I'd rather he didn't see disturbing images like the Goatse guy, but viruses and other malware. It's hard to be explain all of the scams, so it's easier just to put parental controls in and use that to cut out a lot of the web's wilder frontiers.

[Makaveli2007]

Hi Rosalind,

Is the time control-part of the software you use working effectively?

I've heard that some of them could be cracked by simply changing the date on the computer...

[Rosalind]

No, I'm not using time limits at the moment. It's more a case of word filtering, site blacklists, and so on. If your kids have figured out they can just change the clock, it's probably time to be a bit more hands on: remove the whole computer, or just take away a vital component for net access.

[Makaveli2007]

I dont have any kids, yet. This is for myself...lol...I'd give the password to somebody else, of course.

Does word filtering work? or do a lot of sites not show up because of some pages being flagged incorrectly? because if it does, I could try to filter out all words that I could type into a search engine to find a way to change it lol.

Isnt it possible touse a password for bios or something like that so the clock cannot be changed, though?

thanks

[Rosalind]

It's hard to judge, because I don't have access to the master list of filtered words. I suspect it's a bit hit-and-miss.

But if you're trying to do this for yourself, that's just crazy. You've already figured out one way around this, it's just a matter of time before you figure out other methods. Perhaps you need to include "escalate privileges" in your list of filtered words.

[piatkow]

A colleague at work with teenage boys used an effective low tech solution and moved their PCs out of their bedrooms and into the living room.