Possible recommendations would be cyber patrol, cybersitter and net
nanny all come to mind.
The solutions I would use personally?
1) Mac OS X Leopard http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/parentalcontrols.html
2) Computer location (in the most traffic'd area of the house)
3) Subtle, unobtrusive and complete monitoring of child's activities,
keystrokes, surfing
4) Ability to control computer use and network use independently of
each other
5) Secure passwords and hints regarding a users password
6) The understanding that no matter what I do it does not remove my
parental obligations nor can any software / hardware anticipate future
improvements such as wifi enabled DS's etc.
7) Constant communication with my child (even if all you get is a ping)
I have gotten this question a lot when in the past because often times
family members, or parents have come asking questions that cause the
issue to come up with. All of the above I usually tell them and I
usually underscore the idea that there is no perfect solution and will
never be a one. That ultimately even if they feel or know less than
the child about computers normal detective work, trouble shooting and
parental vigilance can ultimately make the difference.
As for the secure password/hint one parent I knew had gotten the
"speech" from me regarding good passwords and swore up and down her
children could not guess her password. The hint? "What am I?" The
password? "nurse", she found out that her children had immediately
guessed the password and had been able to bypass all her purchased
controls.
And before Mac OS X Leopard I did not have a firm opinion of what OS
parents should get, with the built-in parental controls it allows even
the most computer illiterate parent a fighting chance to shape how
their child approaches computer use in the house hold.
Though none of the above will be effective if not used correctly.
That is my 2 cents on a very thorny issue.
- Brian
On Apr 15, 2009, at 5:24 PM, Randall Whitman wrote:
Today I received an inquiry as to what "Parent Control Software"
I could recommend. While I would lean toward self-control and
computer positioning in easy view of the whole household, the
person asking wants parental control software. They run MS-Windows
(presumably XP - i didnt ask that detail), and DansGuardian does
not run on MsWin. What can list members recommend?
Thanks in advance.
/Randall
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