Handmaiden Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 (cross-posting this from the general forum) One of our sons is easily DISTRACTED by the computer. He doesn't play online games, but he does like to visit certain geeky forums or check email, etc. We can't ban computer use altogether because he has online classes and assignments, but my dh and I are looking for parental controls that will help him become a better time manager. I've done some online searching but the only ones I've found have mixed reviews (unreliable, crashed a computer, hard to use), so I am turning to the Hive for help! Is there a tried-and-true parental software or app that would allow us to limit the time a child spends on the computer or a certain website, by setting a block, time parameters, or a timer of some sort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dulcimeramy Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Yes! Google "K9 web protection" You can set up filters (many different layers/levels), create 'white lists' of sites that he is allowed to go to and block everything else, keep a log of all the activity on the computer, and even set up times for the computer to lock/unlock. We set the kids' computer to shut off at a certain time of night and not turn on again until a certain time in the morning. We love K9. And it is totally free. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Thank you so much! I will check that out right away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela in VA Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 We've been using this for about a year. It allows for multiple computers, multiple users, and a large variety of filters to choose from. Everything can be customized by the administrator to fit the needs of each user. Users are not restricted to a particular computer either. We have a home network with 3 PCs and 2 laptops and anyone can use any computer. To use internet or email, the user must be signed in to Net Nanny. You can set times of availability per user and then manage what types of information can be displayed for that user. There are even different levels of filters v. yes or no. The administrator can see full details on a variety of different reports and this can even be viewed remotely. See www.netnanny.com for more details. Blessings, Pamela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigail4476 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Not sure what OS you're using, but Windows 7 has very easy to use parental controls that lets you select certain hours to block computer use--they can't even log onto their profile during those times. (Let alone get online.) Your child will have to have their own profile on the computer for it to work, which is also pretty easy to set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Not sure what OS you're using, but Windows 7 has very easy to use parental controls that lets you select certain hours to block computer use--they can't even log onto their profile during those times. (Let alone get online.) Your child will have to have their own profile on the computer for it to work, which is also pretty easy to set up. Same for Vista. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handmaiden Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 PameLA, thanks for the recommendation! Abigail, the son in question has Windows 7. I had NO idea that there were parental controls built in!! How do I access these controls? Sue, thanks! Our other computer has Vista, so that's good to know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 PameLA, thanks for the recommendation! Abigail, the son in question has Windows 7. I had NO idea that there were parental controls built in!! How do I access these controls? Sue, thanks! Our other computer has Vista, so that's good to know!! In Control Panel, look for Parental Controls, then choose the profile you want to put controls on (ds has his own profile). Time limits under there is what I use. I've played around with the others (liking blocking certain websites) as well. Note that there is a password on the parent's profiles, otherwise the dc could get to the parental controls and change at will. My son has made himself an administrator on occassion <sigh> when dh didn't log off his profile, so have to keep parents profile off limits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greensa Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 How do you work with a kid who likes to stay on one page long enough for the automatic timeout to kick in? My daughter loves fanfiction (one of her big time suckers on line) and if a story is long, she may be able to sit on the story page for an hour or more without changing pages. At that point, Net Nanny has timed her out of her monitored internet usage due to "inactivity." She can, in effect, read fan fiction on line for far more than her allotted time. We've had several arguments this summer, especially since she had grand and glorious plans of what to do with her summer and NONE of them are moving forward. She's just sitting on the computer! Our agreement was that I would unrestrict the specific times she could be on for summer (she's not allowed on the computer during school unless she has a specific assignment) and limit the total amount of time instead. But unless I watch and time her myself, which I got Net Nanny so I WOULDN"T have to do, she can and does spend hours on end reading! She's not really aware of the amount of time she spends on-line. It just flies by and the day is over. So what do I do???? Renege and strongly limit her time? Or is there a way to set up parental controls not to time out?:confused: And oh, by the way, in just the length of time it took me to compose this response, Net Nanny timed ME out! When I went to add a smiley, I had to log back in to recording my internet time! Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Word of warning: If your son is *really* geeky, he'll figure out a way to get around the parental software. We tried using a program when my son was younger, and he quickly learned to work around it. My husband said that there was nothing on the market powerful enough to thwart a determined true geek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Word of warning: If your son is *really* geeky, he'll figure out a way to get around the parental software. We tried using a program when my son was younger, and he quickly learned to work around it. My husband said that there was nothing on the market powerful enough to thwart a determined true geek. I was going to say something similar. A friend's child put net nanny in the trash twice on his parents. Once he opened simply dragged NetNanny to the trash, an admin password window opened up. He opened something else that would also need a pw, that his parents would put in for him. Put the NN pw window on top, asked his dad to input the pw and then after his dad walked away, he emptied the trash. Net Nanny was gone. And this is not a kid I think of as all that bright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 Word of warning: If your son is *really* geeky, he'll figure out a way to get around the parental software. We tried using a program when my son was younger, and he quickly learned to work around it. My husband said that there was nothing on the market powerful enough to thwart a determined true geek. Yep, take it from the voice of experience. My boy has thwarted parental controls on Microsoft, safe eyes and Norton. So basically, he is only allowed to be on the computer if I am in the room. So when he did his online classes, I sat behind him and did my bills, balanced my checkbook, read to my daughter, etc. He is WAY too smart for me. He wants to do computer programming. I have to have him show me how to do things, so there is really no way for me to set things up so he can't mess with them. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 We just have a rule...no computer time until 8pm on school days...if they are doing subjects, we have one computer dedicated to school subjects where my husband has closed off links to anything other than the approved sites (we do Rosetta Stone mostly) but Windows/Mac has a system built in to limit it without buying a different program..you can go to OpenDNS (it's free) and it will only allow you to visit sites you pick. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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