Bill Spencer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi there, me again. Now that my son is 12 and doing a good deal of Internet > stuff, I am thinking about the dreaded topic of Internet filtering. > > Okay, okay, please calm down. > > Does anyone have any recommendations, pro or con, for software or services > or whatever that would help with keeping him from going places he shouldn't? > I am well aware that the best filter is really parental involvement and > presence, but unfortunately the computer is in the basement and out of > general view. We're on a B&W G3 using 9.1 and IE 5.1 if that makes any > difference. As always, my thanks for your input. > > ************ > > Bill Spencer
The August '04 edition of MacAddict gave Freeverse's BumperCar <http://www.freeverse.com> kid safe web browser a four star rating. I haven't tried it myself (no kids, but nieces and nephews I love dearly) but MacAddict are usually pretty spot on. You'll need 10.2.8 or later however. But perhaps that's a good thing - with MacOs X you'll be able to give him his own account with the any level of access you desire. You can individually restrict which applications he can use, which folders he can access and his ability to install software in certain places or at all, unless he calls you over and gets you to type in your admin password. Still, I think it does some good to give a certain degree of freedom and hand out punishments if he breaks the rules. It's learning to be sensible and not abuse the freedom given and your trust that teaches the important lessons, IMHO. If you lock down everything even remotely dangerous or objectionable you run the risk of having him become disenchanted with the technology and your rules as well. What I'd do is give him his own user account with access to only his User folder. That way he can install whatever he wants, try out stuff and generally explore computers and the net without feeling constricted by suffocating restrictions or affecting your own work environment. I'd just stop by randomly during the day to ask about what he's doing, give advice, provide encouragement, and make sure he's not doing anything bad. Then if he breaks the rules you can clamp down on his permissions in MacOS for a while or ban him from the Mac temporarily. MacOS X is way better than classic for kids and parents who want to look out for them. Permissions are a wonderful thing :-) I'd go mad having others use my Mac if it wasn't for X. Regards, Jamie Kahn Genet -- If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate. -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
