Parental Control Software

[LeviF]

That's assuming he's using the OS installed on the machine. There's nothing to stop him from burning a boot ISO from the internet, popping it in the DVD tray, and booting off of that instead. Best part - no logs for dad to be able to see. Can do the same thing with USB.

 

Yes, you could potentially block booting from anything but the harddrive -- but he could reset the CMOS to avoid that...

 

#1 rule in security - if you can't stop the bad guy (the son, in this case) from having physical access to the box, you can't protect the box.

I knew some of that, but how many 12 year olds will? Once he's 14, 15, 16, he'll be much more likely to know those things, but at the same time the risk of him doing something catastrophic will be smaller, as he'll be more mature and worldly.

[DrDawkinstein]

12 year old boy + Internet....

 

you parents stand no chance. do not think you can rely on software. it's already been pointed out many times in this thread. if he really wants to, he'll easily have a wide open connection to the internet. if you install a bunch of software that he knows about, he'll only go further out of the way to hide it, and then you'll never know.

 

i agree with BB27. and i agree with Sage, that he wont be as clever at hiding it as he thinks he is if you just let him go.

[DrDawkinstein]

I knew some of that, but how many 12 year olds will? Once he's 14, 15, 16, he'll be much more likely to know those things, but at the same time the risk of him doing something catastrophic will be smaller, as he'll be more mature and worldly.

 

when needing something technical answered, always default to the youngest one in the room. youd be amazed at what 12 year olds know about computers these days, having NEVER lived in a world without the internet...

[LeviF]

when needing something technical answered, always default to the youngest one in the room. youd be amazed at what 12 year olds know about computers these days, having NEVER lived in a world without the internet...

I have to disagree. I just think that while most 12 year olds will have a cursory knowledge of computers and the internet, enough to fix small problems, etc, they will not be able to find, or even think about the possibility of, stealthy programs that you installed while they were sound asleep.

 

I don't have kids, nor do I interact with any around the age of 12, so maybe I'm wrong at this point.

[GoodBye]

Nanny cam?

[DrDawkinstein]

I have to disagree. I just think that while most 12 year olds will have a cursory knowledge of computers and the internet, enough to fix small problems, etc, they will not be able to find, or even think about the possibility of, stealthy programs that you installed while they were sound asleep.

 

I don't have kids, nor do I interact with any around the age of 12, so maybe I'm wrong at this point.

 

you need to get acquainted with some modern 12 year olds then.

[Booster4324]

you need to get acquainted with some modern 12 year olds then.

 

Please, my son is pretty savvy, met all his friends and they know some stuff. But genius hackers, not yet. Hmm, what is this in the DVD tray? <yell>"Matthew"</yell>

[meazza]

Please, my son is pretty savvy, met all his friends and they know some stuff. But genius hackers, not yet. Hmm, what is this in the DVD tray? <yell>"Matthew"</yell>

 

Depends on the kid. My nephew is 14 but isn't very tech savvy. He's actually a jock.

[NoSaint]

I have to disagree. I just think that while most 12 year olds will have a cursory knowledge of computers and the internet, enough to fix small problems, etc, they will not be able to find, or even think about the possibility of, stealthy programs that you installed while they were sound asleep.

 

I don't have kids, nor do I interact with any around the age of 12, so maybe I'm wrong at this point.

 

 

I know -- its not like he could read this message board and learn all about them.....

[Booster4324]

Depends on the kid. My nephew is 14 but isn't very tech savvy. He's actually a jock.

 

Completely kidding, my son is 14 and I would consider him a competent user, unlike many of my co-workers , but he hasn't surpassed me...yet. I am sure there are kids out there that are capable of what Fez described. I doubt most would even think of Googling "work around keystroke logger" though.

[NoSaint]

Completely kidding, my son is 14 and I would consider him a competent user, unlike many of my co-workers , but he hasn't surpassed me...yet. I am sure there are kids out there that are capable of what Fez described. I doubt most would even think of Googling "work around keystroke logger" though.

 

 

no, most probably wouldnt, but how many might google buffalo bills news and come to a site like this and read enough to start them on their way to bypassing it. thats the beauty of the internet, you find things you wouldnt even think of looking for pretty easily.

[The Dean]

The boy wants his own computer, mostly for playing MMO games. He does have a Facebook page and has gotten some interesting friend requests.

 

He's 12.

 

Anyone here have any first-hand knowledge of tools that can at least monitor, or even better control how the internet is used on a PC?

 

 

Since I have no kids, I have no first hand experience with any of these products. But I thought I might try to give you SOME help since the other responses don't seem to want to give you the kind of info you asked for.

 

Some recommendations from a decent review site with no stake in any of the products:

 

http://www.consumersearch.com/parental-control-software

 

Some advice from PC World:

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/165522/keep...slefree_pc.html

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/167514/most...s_for_kids.html

 

A couple of sites that give an overview of many competing options:

 

http://www.safefamilies.org/SoftwareTools.php

 

http://www.parentalsoftware.org/

 

And, for what it's worth, I have heard pretty good things about this one (it may be targeted at younger children, though):

 

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

 

 

Good luck!

[The Dean]

BTW, PF, dunno if you are looking to buy the boy a desktop, but if you are it's tough to beat this deal:

 

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/con...td3ys&s=bsd

 

$399 for a whole lot of computer. Sale is today only, though.

[Just Jack]

One place I worked at we used VNC which one feature is the ability to watch what people are doing on their PC. So while you're still at work you could connect to his computer and see what he is seeing on the screen.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Since I have no kids, I have no first hand experience with any of these products. But I thought I might try to give you SOME help since the other responses don't seem to want to give you the kind of info you asked for.

 

Some recommendations from a decent review site with no stake in any of the products:

 

http://www.consumersearch.com/parental-control-software

 

Some advice from PC World:

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/165522/keep...slefree_pc.html

 

http://www.pcworld.com/article/167514/most...s_for_kids.html

 

A couple of sites that give an overview of many competing options:

 

http://www.safefamilies.org/SoftwareTools.php

 

http://www.parentalsoftware.org/

 

And, for what it's worth, I have heard pretty good things about this one (it may be targeted at younger children, though):

 

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

 

 

Good luck!

Thanks for the linkage, Deano. I know that PCWorld likes NetNanny best. Actually that seems to be pretty common.

 

I was just wondering about some "here's my experience" stories from the good peeps here at OTW.

 

And at this point, I can still make the internet "go away" by unplugging the wireless network adapter so he's not all that savvy...

[stuckincincy]

Thanks for the linkage, Deano. I know that PCWorld likes NetNanny best. Actually that seems to be pretty common.

 

I was just wondering about some "here's my experience" stories from the good peeps here at OTW.

 

And at this point, I can still make the internet "go away" by unplugging the wireless network adapter so he's not all that savvy...

 

Kudos to you for investigating protecting your kid from the crap on the I-net. You are a good parent.

[shrader]

Completely kidding, my son is 14 and I would consider him a competent user, unlike many of my co-workers , but he hasn't surpassed me...yet. I am sure there are kids out there that are capable of what Fez described. I doubt most would even think of Googling "work around keystroke logger" though.

 

I say that if a kid can do all that stuff Fez outlined he should be rewarded with all the porn he can dream of.

[ricojes]

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

I second this one. I do a lot of work with Blue Coat appliances and software and they are for the most part solid. The commercial-grade version of the software is free, so you can test it out and see if it meets your requirments.

 

Blue Coat did a training session at my company for a week and touched on this software a bit, the statistics were pretty scary.

 

for kids ages 15-17 who use the internet, 70% have viewed pornography online, 23% often.

1 in 5 kids age 10-17 have received a sexual solicitation over the internet

 

and these stats were a few years back, so it's most likely higher now. I would definitely try to do anything possible to protect what your child views, that's about all you can do, the rest is up to them...

[DrDawkinstein]

I say that if a kid can do all that stuff Fez outlined he should be rewarded with all the porn he can dream of.

 

and this is my point exactly. what sounds complicated to most adults, is actually simply burning a disc and putting it in the PC in the eyes of our youth. making a boot disk is not all that complicated and as long as ONE kid in the class knows how to do it, they all do.

[dib]

My Dad had parental control hardware. It was called a belt.