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Thread: Good Parental Control Software

  1. #1
    Senior Member wiskic10_4's Avatar
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    Question Good Parental Control Software

    Hey AO,

    As I was finishing up a job last night, a customer asked me how they could control what their daughter did on the computer I had just put online... I didn't really know what to say - I told them that I would do some research and find out for them.

    The kid is about 8 or 9 I would guess. I think they basically just want to keep her screened from porn sites, etc. I could probably set up something that would only allow her to access certain sites using the hosts file, but meh - I know there is software out there that can do a better job than that.

    So what do you guys think? Any experience using filtering software? I'd like to stay under $50, and cetainly not go over $100. Something that is user-friendly too - these people are not expert computer users.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
    My Corner of the Intarwebz: Jeremy Dean Online

  2. #2
    Only african to own a PC! Cider's Avatar
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    Hey Buddy,

    Content advisor in IE could work for you. There are some parent control products that you can use. We have one built in with our AV software , I can find out the company. Basically it locks into the user profile and then filter on category (pron , educational etc) and whitelist / blacklist.

    Alternatively you can go a proxy / web filterting story but for the home user its not viable.

    Best thing is content advisor then.
    The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
    Albert Einstein

  3. #3
    AOs Resident Troll
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    Some ISPs offer safe filtering....

    Also you can set Google safe search.

    The best monitoring is a parent present ....because they could go to a friends ...where there is absolutely no monitoring or filter....

    Teach your children well

    MLF
    How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

  4. #4
    Senior Member wiskic10_4's Avatar
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    Thanks for the quick replies guys!

    Cider - well, I guess I could look into IE Content Advisor... Although I have Firefox set up on it right now... complete with the tabs, bookmarks and a cool Persona that the little girl loves...

    I'd much rather just have them buy some software that I can just slap on - maybe something that kind of blacklists everything except for "known-to-be-kid-safe" sites with a simple interface to add other sites w/ a password (in case she needs to log on to one for school or something) and that can be disabled via a password too...

    morganlefay - yeah, Google safe-search is well and good, but doesn't stop her from clicking on links - you know how fast an inexperienced user can pull up a malicious or "dirty" site by just getting a little "clicker-happy"

    As far as the parents, they're very good about keeping an eye on her, but they'd like for her to be able to use the computer without them having to look over her shoulder the entire time.

    I found this after a little Googling and reading: Online Family Norton. It's free (for now). The downside? Well, it's made by Norton *shudders*

    I tried to install it to test it out myself, but it "encountered an error" during the last phase of the installation, and I was advised to "try again later" (real shocker there... )

    Might be just what I'm looking for - and the price is right. If I can get it to actually work, I might just have them go with this...

    I was kind of hoping someone who actually uses a similar program to safeguard their youngsters might pop in...

    Well, thanks again guys... I'll keep searching, and please, keep the replies coming! Thanks!
    My Corner of the Intarwebz: Jeremy Dean Online

  5. #5
    AOs Resident Troll
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    Looks like its built into Windows 7

    http://www.microsoft.com/canada/home...-controls.aspx

    MLF
    How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

  6. #6
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    Use the Winpcap library. Just drop any site with forms. This way if we can't protect a child... we can atleast save the rest of the internet from having to read pre-teen drivel, blogs, ect.

  7. #7
    Antionline's Security Dude instronics's Avatar
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    If they have static ip, you could give http://www.opendns.com/ a try. They have a load of filters by category. I have used it on a web cafe that i administrate with alot of success.
    Ubuntu-: Means in African : "Im too dumb to use Slackware"

  8. #8
    Dissident 4dm1n brokencrow's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by instronics View Post
    If they have static ip, you could give http://www.opendns.com/ a try.
    I use OpenDNS more often than anything. I simply create a new user
    acc't for the client, then program their DNS servers into the router as
    well as installing the client app on the parents' PC, and you've got decent
    filtering on the whole network. Once you've created an account, OpenDNS
    gives you quite a few filtering options.

    A caveat; I've seen it defeated by smart kids who manually edit their
    DNS settings, but they got the message. Any technology comes with
    caveats though.
    “Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.” — Will Rogers

  9. #9
    Only african to own a PC! Cider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The-Spec View Post
    Use the Winpcap library. Just drop any site with forms. This way if we can't protect a child... we can atleast save the rest of the internet from having to read pre-teen drivel, blogs, ect.
    LOL

    On another not , check out this website for steps with the built in Parental control in Windows 7. Im running Enterprise and I cant find it on my system, going to have to dig abit.

    http://www.techtalkz.com/windows-7/5...ndows-7-a.html

    EDIT: Prob because im on a domain, dont know yet. Will check it out at home and let you know.

    However I presume its very limited.
    The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.
    Albert Einstein

  10. #10
    Senior Member wiskic10_4's Avatar
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    Well, it's a Windows XP machine, so no built-in filtering system. The problem with OpenDNS is that the little girl's computer is on a network with her parents' computers - and I don't want to restrict their access.

    I really think what I need is a software solution on the local machine. I've heard of NetNanny and others, but I'm not sure how helpful they are - and I don't want something that is going to give a ton of false-positives - I want her to be able to have as much access as possible without coming across porn and the like...

    I'll research through the weekend and post back what I decide to go with. More suggestions are welcome of course.
    My Corner of the Intarwebz: Jeremy Dean Online

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