s/o porn thread. internet security

[Mom2Five]

What do you use to filter adult content? I went to one that was named in the thread already but can't figure out how to get it on our wifi, lol.

 

 

[happypamama]

You mean OpenDNS Family? You have to be able to access your router (or the part of your modem that is the router, if you have a combination). My modem/router has two places where I can put a password. The first is the basic password, so that outsiders can't access my wifi. That one can be reset by turning the modem off and on again, which means kids can bypass it, so that's not the important one. But if I access the address of my modem, there are a bunch of settings. Under one of them, I can set a second password. This one, only I know, and it doesn't change of the modem is reset. Under those settings is a place where I can change the DNS settings. OpenDNS Family has its own set of numbers for the DNS. So I put those in and now everything runs through their DNS instead of my regular one. I have found it to be very helpful in preventing adult content, and it does not slow my internet connection. I've searched for the same term on my tablet with OpenDNS and without it, and it's markedly different. OpenDNS will show the link (which I don't love), but it won't let you access it.

 

Qustodio is the other program we use. It has time management stuff built into it, but it will filter content also, but on a case-by-case basis. OpenDNS is all or nothing -- it seems to block p*rn (not that we've really tried much, so maybe there are ways to get around it), but Qustodio will let you set different settings for each member of the family. So I can enforce SafeSearch for the kids so that they can't turn it off and block not just p*rn but gambling, weapons, etc. for them as well, but I can choose to block just p*rn for the adults. Qustodio will tell you things don't even exist. For instance, before I set up OpenDNS, I searched for "naked girls" (which was the least harmful p*rn I felt like exposing myself to) without Qustodio and, of course, got lots of hits. After I set up Qustodio, the same search on the same machine said, "no hits found," which is obviously not true. Qustodio only works on machines where you've set it up, and it blocks a wider range of sites, but it doesn't work for the smartTV, a kid's friend's tablet that visits the house, etc., whereas OpenDNS works on anything using our wifi. Together, I have been really pleased with the two. Could a savvy teen get around them? Maybe. But it wouldn't be easy. And I feel pretty confident that searching for "Padme Amidala dress up," as my daughter innocently did a few years ago when she was into Star Wars costuming (thankfully, she didn't click on any bad sites, but a few came up in the list), isn't going to find anything too yucky, so I don't think my kids will be exposed accidentally.

[StephanieZ]

OpenDNS. 

 

AND, you must lock down ALL admin accounts for all internet devices/computers. Kids must NOT have admin accounts.

 

AND, any tablets/phones/etc need to have good parental controls in place. 

 

Honestly, I wish I'd hired a pro to help me with this stuff when my son hit 10 years old. It's been an arms race all along, and I'm at a handicap because he's much more motivated than I was . . . and he has more free time . . . and he's young and tech-savvy. 

 

 

Best bet, is NO internet capable devices for kids except a desktop in a public space. I wish I'd stuck with that for longer than I did. (And, that means no iPods, tablets, smart phones, etc . . . )

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I unplug the modem at night.  Literally nothing else truly works.  A smart kid can circumnavigate a lot of the controls.

 

[Upward Journey]

I unplug the modem at night.  Literally nothing else truly works.  A smart kid can circumnavigate a lot of the controls.

 

Yup.  This is our go-to control as well.

[Karen A]

We don't homeschool, and in our district each child needs and uses an iPad for school and homework.  The school recently had a cybersafety consultant in to talk to both students (during the day) and parents in the evening, which was hugely informative.

 

Some things that hit me as important, which we will do:

 

On Computers and tablets have Google Safe Search set to ON and YouTube Safety Mode set to ON

 

http://www.cybersafetyconsulting.com/how-to-set-google-safe-search-settings/

 

On iDevices disable Safari and install Mobicip Browser instead.  We haven't done this yet, but it has much better parental controls, apparently.

 

For cell phones this woman does not allow iphones for her minor children, because they are not as easily monitored.  For Android she recommends My Mobile Watchdog, which allows monitoring in real time of chat, apps.  For iPhones, she recommended TeenSafe.  Biggest drawback is that parent can only monitor what's on the phone when it backs up to the cloud, so pictures/texts can be deleted easily and parent would never know.