Children using a PC - Best way of 'protecting' them?

NeilF

NeilF

NeilF

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OK, my eldest son is now starting to use our PC more often. What is the simplest/cheapest way to stop him seeing stuff we'd rather not want him to see?! ie: Some sort of net nanny?
 
iDroid84 said:
Open DNS, you can configure the webpage from anywhere in the world so that you can control what goes on.
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You will need to make sure he is also running in a standard user account for this to work. Otherwise he will just change the DNS IPs! :p
 
As for locked down user accounts, I struggled with that on Windows XP before as all of my stuff that ran on startup like ATI CC, Speedfan etc, needed admin rights to startup silently without errors. I seriously need to spend some time sorting my kids out as well. I do fear for their safety. It's more about accidentally clicking on links on say youtube etc. My requirment is basically:

Allow kids to use my/the main PC in the lounge without ****ing anything up, so very basic access. I want them to be able to run a select couple of programs like the office suite and save to their area only, and also things like MS paint. I want them to be able to have internet access but I'm not sure how best to implement that. They generally use internet for kiddy game sites like moshimonsters.co.uk etc. I like them to be able to have fun watching the occasional funny youtube vid, but as you know, youtube is plagued with all manner of tat and offensive material. What scares me is that they know how to go to google and type what they want in to search. Even my 5 year old can do that. Soon their imagination will take them places as they grow so I need to sort it as well.

Any advice very welcome on experiences with this. Is is easier to setup a virtual machine? Seperate physical machine?
 
Education, it is your only hope. They will see all these things you don't want them to see and sooner than the previous generation, you can lock down your PC's as much as you like but there will always be a friends parents who are not as interested or a friends elder sibling that doesn't care etc etc.

If they are that young that this really is a concern perhaps you should be supervising them?
 
Supervision is the simplest and cheapest way to stop access. Costs nothing but time, and will allow father/son bonding like the old days of football in the park that modern parenting doesn't seem to have time for :(.
 
El_Watcher said:
Supervision is the simplest and cheapest way to stop access. Costs nothing but time, and will allow father/son bonding like the old days of football in the park that modern parenting doesn't seem to have time for :(.
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Afraid you can't sit by them all the time...
 
Have a look at Windows Live Family Safety, part of the Essential for Windows 7/Vista.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-family-safety?os=other

Needs a standard account on their PC, but you can stop access to every website or program and they have to make requests for access which you can review. You can also set time limits, contact management et al. All of it online so you can control it from any PC with the main control. And it's free.

 
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Do they do the live essentials for XP though?

Surely you can do the 'allow only websites I say' inside explorer itself?
 
a1ex2001 said:
Education, it is your only hope. They will see all these things you don't want them to see and sooner than the previous generation, you can lock down your PC's as much as you like but there will always be a friends parents who are not as interested or a friends elder sibling that doesn't care etc etc.

If they are that young that this really is a concern perhaps you should be supervising them?
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This in my opinion... They're always going to find out somehow, through someone, no matter what you try and do to stop it.... :s

kd
 
VeNT said:
would you let them go to town without you?
then you shouldn't let them go to the internet without you.
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Point in question <-----------------------------------------------------------> Your analogy

Thanks for the help!
 
King Damager said:
This in my opinion... They're always going to find out somehow, through someone, no matter what you try and do to stop it.... :s

kd
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Indeed, but youngsters are likely to, through no fault of their own, and by sheer accident, wonder into some rather questionable material. A mispelt search for example...

I'm all for education and frank discussions, but I'd rather didn't venture into some of the internets more colourful areas simply by accident.
 
NeilFawcett said:
Point in question <-----------------------------------------------------------> Your analogy

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

no it's not.
The internet, like the real world, is filled with people and places both good and bad that you may or may not want your children to encounter unsupervised.
the only difference is that children cannot be directly physically harmed by the internet, that is not to say they can't be damaged.
 
VeNT said:
no it's not.
The internet, like the real world, is filled with people and places both good and bad that you may or may not want your children to encounter unsupervised.
the only difference is that children cannot be directly physically harmed by the internet, that is not to say they can't be damaged.
Click to expand...

Would I put my child in the middle of a town so they were utterly lost, and out of their depth, without me there, and surrounded by strangers?

Or would I let my child sit in the room next to me doing some maths exercises?

Hardly the same thing is it, and is a ridiculous unrealistic analogy.


I simply want to ensure if my child happens to type a word into their browser they're less likely to venture into something they really shouldn't. Seems a fairly obvious request, but it seems this gives some folk the excuse to mount that old moral high horse :rolleyes:
 
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