Friday, January 22, 2010

Help

Can anyone tell me of a really good internet blocker for kids? Have a friend with a teenager getting on inappropriate sites as well as, my sp ace, etc. I've spotted several but looking to all of you to give me expert advice that has your stamp of approval.

Thanks bunches!

10 comments:

Hannah_Rae said...

Hehehe...we just password all the computers and block the internet completely from other devices (PSP etc...) so Gabe is only allowed to use the internet when we are in direct supervision.

Focus on the family has some good suggestions. Just search their site for internet safety.

Blessings!

Hannah

Shanti said...

i was gonna suggest focus on the family, too!

Annie said...

I have had the same desire to find something useful....particularly as it is so easy to stumble on "bad" sites quite by accident. But the one blocker program I used was awful - for example, it made me go in and "approve" every single post by every single blog responder...same with a yahoo group response. Totally useless.

The parish had one once that would put a huge reg X (think Scarlet Letter!) across the screen if you attempted to enter something inappropriate...the problem was, I'd get the red X looking up something as innocuous as "Children's Examination of Conscience" (I always wondered what the heck sort of sins those children were supposed to have committed!) And when Aidan couldn't do his paper on Alfred Hitchcock, or Lydia her research on John Hancock, I finally figured out it was a big PAIN....and hardly worth the benefit.

Ashley said...

My family used McAffe Privacy Centre. Not sure how well it worked.... well enough to frustrate my sister....

The Accidental Mommy said...

Not a clue. But I will need to know soon so keep us updated!

Tracey said...

We use Safe Eyes. It does exactly what it's supposed and it won't break the bank.

Lindy said...

There isn't really anything a kid can't figure a way around. We have had to take the keyboard and mouse to bed or bring it with uswhen we have left the house when we have had that problem. You can also take the modem or router to bed with you but it is more of a pain.
Remember that many public library (and some school) computers don't have blockers either.
Kids are much more savy than we are when it comes to this type of thing.

Annie said...

Oh, Lindy - you've made my day! I thought I was the only parent who'd ever slept with a router.

Jenna said...

As a teacher of teens, I can tell you that Lindy is correct. Kids can figure out ways around blockers and filtering systems. Our school has a pretty strict filtering system and when I need to access something, the kids can tell me pretty quick how to get around it.

My kids aren't old enough for computers yet, but I think putting the computer in the room where everyone is generally hanging out is a good idea. So is password protecting your wireless or switching it off an on is good too. Unless you need to use it, it's not really that big of deal.

Linda said...

I use Spector Pro. $100 It gives you every keystroke, alerts you on your computer if anything blocked is attempted, and a whole slew of other stuff. Plus, it doesn't show up as software on your computer so nobody knows it's there. But you have to be careful when running spyware/virus checkers so you don't delete it. I've done that more than once. Duh.