Parents, What web blocker/access program do you use?

[Rot 911]

My daughter is 9. I like her to use some of the internet learning sites to keep up on her math, science, etc. over the summer, but like any kid if left unsupervised who knows where she might end up. What is a good blocker/access program that will allow her to only go to the internet sites I choose? Thanks!

[legion]

Don't know the name of a specific product, but at that age you might consider something that uses a "white list". In other words, you tell it what websites are okay to go to and it blocks everything else.

[Rot 911]

Originally Posted by legion

Don't know the name of a specific product, but at that age you might consider something that uses a "white list". In other words, you tell it what websites are okay to go to and it blocks everything else.

Yes that is exactly the type of program I am looking for! Now hopefully someone here has used a good one.

[fuelie600]

We have been using http://www1.k9webprotection.com/index.php for a couple of years now. Very easy to setup and use. Also free.

[jyl]

We put the family Mac in the kitchen, so we see whatever website the kids are viewing. You can also check the "history" in the browser every now and then. My daughter leaves her Gmail open so every now and then I check who she is emailing to/from. We also disabled text on all our cellphones. Those measures have been enough, for us. The location of the computer is the most important thing.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The way a lot of web sites are set up these days is rather complicated - there are lots of redirects and embedded links to information on other sites. Just curious - do these kinds of programs have the sophistication necessary to link to that information or does it just come up with a big blank spot on the screen (as happens with a few of the Firefox add-ins I have to block ads and scripts)?

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by fuelie600

We have been using http://www1.k9webprotection.com/index.php for a couple of years now. Very easy to setup and use. Also free.

I did a stint with CA in their consumer spyware division.

We did a deal to integrate k9 into our product suite.

Top notch product and as noted, free. I still use it on my kids machines.

Scott

[Don Plumley]

Clearly the most important tool is parental involvement, etc. For younger kids, I think you are more concerned that when they search on "Bill Clinton" the first image that shows up isn't someone getting a BJ. I think this opens a great opportunity for dinner table discussion - if you walk into a public library you can find pictures/information about anything, it's just not as fast (or in high res close-up video!) as online.

Most good routers provide white list/black list and other control functions. By IP or MAC address you can set allowable times for access, disable IM, keyword blocking, etc. Newer netgear routers list these as parental controls for example. As a first line, I'd rather work at the router level than through filtering software.

I believe that a product called NetNanny is well-rated for the individual PC and has a very rich feature set (e.g. facebook monitoring, etc.)

[Burnin' oil]

We use cybersitter. I'm not real thrilled with it.

[DavidI]

I use "Net Nanny" and have been very happy, David

[Rot 911]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. My daughter is supervised and we keep the computer right in the dining room with the screen facing out where you can always see what is on it. But any of you with kids knows what happens when you step out of the room for a few minutes! Next thing you know she has got a friend over, smoking dope, drinking beer and watching porn.

[Burnin' oil]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

Thanks for the suggestions guys. My daughter is supervised and we keep the computer right in the dining room with the screen facing out where you can always see what is on it. But any of you with kids knows what happens when you step out of the room for a few minutes! Next thing you know she has got a friend over, smoking dope, drinking beer and watching porn.

And the next thing after that the friend's hot mom comes over and its pelvic thrusts, etc. That STILL cracks me up.

[syncroid]

Originally Posted by jyl

We put the family Mac in the kitchen, so we see whatever website the kids are viewing. You can also check the "history" in the browser every now and then. My daughter leaves her Gmail open so every now and then I check who she is emailing to/from. We also disabled text on all our cellphones. Those measures have been enough, for us. The location of the computer is the most important thing.

This is the approach we use in our house as well. Our computer is in a room centrally located in the house where anyone at any time can see what is being done on it. Also a prerequisit is that my daughter gives us ALL of her user names and passwords on all sights she goes to. Other then that she has zero restrictions on the computer except for a set time limit per day. She is almost 11and has been using the computer since the age of 3.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Top notch product and as noted, free. I still use it on my kids machines.

Scott

Even though they are 26...

[dentist90]

Besides a "net nanny", make it known that if she ever deletes the browsing history there will be consequences. If she doesn't yet know that browsed sites are temporarily stored all the better. You can check once in a while to see where she's been.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by slodave

Even though they are 26...

Huh? They are 9 and 6.

Was in FL 2 weeks ago.

Ray drives the P Car pretty much every day.

Car looks better than when he bought it last year.