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I finally broke my rule on no internet at the house for my kids but I'm not 100% ready to give them free reign over everything. So currently I have them using Firefox with No Script (allowing pages for them to use at my discretion) and Team Viewer 7 to monitor what they're doing.

The problem is, I can't be watching Team Viewer all day long and I need something that will just help me know the websites they visited and any usernames/passwords/IM messages they may use while I'm not viewing. So I need something else.

Anyone have any experience in this area to lend some advice on what to use instead?

How old are your kids?

This is relevant in knowing how long it will take them to bypass whatever is recommended.

I was wondering the same thing.

13, 12, 11.

They know better than to try and bypass anything and they will be told ahead of time exactly what I'm putting on there anyway as right now they need my permission to allow anything through No Script and they know that I'm watching on Team Viewer. (Could they just enable websites with No Script anyway? Sure, but if I ever caught them on a site I didn't allow, they know they'd lose it)

Basically I want them to know the "video camera is watching", I don't mind if they know exactly what I'm putting on there, so it doesn't have to be a secret keylogger or anything like that. Sure they could try and bypass it, but then they'd know I knew they did that and lose all the computer privledges.

You might try rescuetime. It's meant to help workers and managers understand how their computer time is being spent, but would probably work well for your situation. It build reports of what programs and urls a user is using, and how long for each use. You can categorize urls and programs so you could list known safe ones and then look at only those you didn't specifically list.

I believe it's free for simple use. There may be versions you can buy that aggregate reports over multiple systems and users, but you should be able to try it out for free.

Would it record IMs inside of games? They play mostly online games with side chats, but definitely sounds useful. Is it something that can be set to start when the system starts or does the program have to be turned on everytime the computer is?

I believe it can be set to start when the user logs in, but its been years since I used it.

I does not record any chatting conversations, inside or outside games. You'll need another utility for that. Same for email.

All this program does is attempt to gauge how much time someone spends in each application and at each website.

It's definitely a great start, thank you stienman , I will look into it.

Keep the suggestions coming though everyone.

If I may ask, what are you hoping to protect your kids from? Online predators and/or scammers? Objectionable material? Excessive gaming or other stuff that might hurt their schoolwork?

I ask because while I don't have kids myself, I have lots of experience circumventing any blocks, filters, or other measures implemented by my parents and schools. Chances are, whatever measures you take, your kids are going to find ways around them sooner or later.

Fortunately, in addition to the rules regarding usage, my parents and schools also taught me how to use my brain and recognize predators and scammers. They tried to foster healthy attitudes towards sexuality and other potentially objectionable material. (Whether they were successful is another matter altogether, teehee) They told me that I could play games as long as my schoolwork didn't suffer.

Basically, instead of watching me all the time, they taught me the online equivalent of not accepting candy from strangers. I think, regardless of what software you choose to use, teaching your kids how to protect themselves online is probably necessary too.

bhamv3 said:

If I may ask, what are you hoping to protect your kids from? Online predators and/or scammers? Objectionable material? Excessive gaming or other stuff that might hurt their schoolwork?

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All of the above.

bhamv3 said:

I ask because while I don't have kids myself, I have lots of experience circumventing any blocks, filters, or other measures implemented by my parents and schools. Chances are, whatever measures you take, your kids are going to find ways around them sooner or later.

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Again it's not a matter of them trying to find a way around the protection, because I'm not trying to hide it from them. If they get around it, I will find out and they will lose the computer. Simple as that.

bhamv3 said:

Basically, instead of watching me all the time, they taught me the online equivalent of not accepting candy from strangers. I think, regardless of what software you choose to use, teaching your kids how to protect themselves online is probably necessary too.

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Of course I teach them how to avoid things they should and people they should. However, are you more likely to do something bad/wrong if you're not being watched? The answer is absolutely. They're amazing kids, but everyone makes mistakes of judgement. I want to know if it happens so I can help them avoid it again in the future.

I'm sorry if that sounds like I don't trust my children, I simply don't feel comfortable giving them 100% un-supervised internet access. I simply don't want to tell them they can't use the computer if I'm not home (which is happening now since they can only use it if I'm monitoring on Team Viewer, which I can't do if I have to go out for an errand)

Gilgamesh said:

All of the above.

Again it's not a matter of them trying to find a way around the protection, because I'm not trying to hide it from them. If they get around it, I will find out and they will lose the computer. Simple as that.

Of course I teach them how to avoid things they should and people they should. However, are you more likely to do something bad/wrong if you're not being watched? The answer is absolutely. They're amazing kids, but everyone makes mistakes of judgement. I want to know if it happens so I can help them avoid it again in the future.

I'm sorry if that sounds like I don't trust my children, I simply don't feel comfortable giving them 100% un-supervised internet access. I simply don't want to tell them they can't use the computer if I'm not home (which is happening now since they can only use it if I'm monitoring on Team Viewer, which I can't do if I have to go out for an errand)

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Oh I absolutely agree, simply telling them what to do or what not to do isn't going to be enough. The mischief I got up to in my youth is proof enough for me. I was just suggesting that, in addition to the blocks and filters and other software measures, it's probably also necessary to teach them how to protect themselves. A double thrust, if you will.

Gilg doing the right thing as a parent. Kids need to learn how to sneak porn on the computer. If it's just there for the taking, they never develop problem solving skills.

Ravenpoe said:

Gilg doing the right thing as a parent. Kids need to learn how to sneak porn on the computer. If it's just there for the taking, they never develop problem solving skills.

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I have no idea how to rate this so I'm going to reply with:

Some online games (especially MMOs) give you a way to transcribe your game chat into text files in the options. Look in the options for the games they play if it's there. If it is, tell them your turning it on and will be looking at them every once in awhile. If the logs stop, so does their gaming time.

However, there is nothing you can do to stop your kids from doing what they want online. They will beat any program, often with just a Google Search. You might catch them, but that's not the point. What they REALLY resent is the fact that you didn't trust them to begin with and that lack of trust is going to make your life HELL. It will bleed over into every aspect of your lives and YOU will be the one to suffer for it, not them.

So my advice? If you actually feel that your children aren't mature enough to use your PC without being monitored, don't let them use it to begin with. If you think it's time to let them on it, just check the history/logs every once in awhile. If it starts disappearing or an actual issue comes up, THEN you bring the hammer down. But you need make it clear to them that your not going to be doing this all the time.

AshburnerX said:

Some online games (especially MMOs) give you a way to transcribe your game chat into text files in the options. Look in the options for the games they play if it's there. If it is, tell them your turning it on and will be looking at them every once in awhile. If the logs stop, so does their gaming time.

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All it would take is seeing in the log, a google search for the log breaker or again, if I saw them gaming and didn't see it in the log etc.

AshburnerX said:

However, there is nothing you can do to stop your kids from doing what they want online. They will beat any program, often with just a Google Search. You might catch them, but that's not the point. What they REALLY resent is the fact that you didn't trust them to begin with and that lack of trust is going to make your life HELL. It will bleed over into every aspect of your lives and YOU will be the one to suffer for it, not them.

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Um, excuse me? My kids have always had monitored gaming, be it Xbox Live, PSN, even their NDS online. It's never been an issue and there's never been a -resentment backlash- so I'm not sure where you're coming from with that.

AshburnerX said:

So my advice? If you actually feel that your children aren't mature enough to use your PC without being monitored, don't let them use it to begin with. If you think it's time to let them on it, just check the history/logs every once in awhile. If it starts disappearing or an actual issue comes up, THEN you bring the hammer down. But you need make it clear to them that your not going to be doing this all the time.

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I appreciate your advice and the time you took to write it, but until you're a parent, you can't really see where I'm coming from with this. Again, I never said I was going to monitor it 100%, the problem is that right now I have to because Team Viewer is the only program I have to keep an eye on them. If I had a -keylogger- or some kind of nanny watch program then I could just review it every now and then and it wouldn't be a problem. It's a problem now BECAUSE I have to watch them 24/7.

Again, don't take that the wrong way, I'm not saying people without kids can't give advice to those with it, I'm simply stating that this situation isn't comparable to the scenario you presented.

Please don't be condescending and then try to pretend you weren't. It's an insult to both of us.

It seems like you just need a key logger and those are free and plentiful online. Seriously, just Google for them and you'll find them. Do your kids use a voice chat program on the PC? If they do, you might want to look into some Voice Monitoring software. I don't think RescueTime comes with that and I don't know how available this is going to be online. You may have to shell out some money for it if you need it.

Just a warning: If your kids are gaming on your PC, expect your logs to be mostly incomprehensible and HUGE.

I wasn't being condescending. I'm not pretending anything. I simply said that it's not possible to understand the psyche of a parent if you are not one. I didn't want you to think that I felt your advice was rendered pointless, it just takes on a different meaning to someone with a different psyche. I am sorry you took it that way.

No voice chat programs. I honestly don't know what I -need- because I'm not familiar with the -nanny tech- that's out there. Hence my attempt to reach out.

Nanny Tech can range from really simple to pretty draconian. Your really going to need to do actual research on specific programs to find out what you need, but I've seen...

- key logging
- individual program lockouts (and timers for them, if you want them to stop after a certain amount of time)
- website filtering
- total video recording (I don't recommend this, it takes up SO MUCH MEMORY)
- email and phone notifications for when they do something they shouldn't

The more you want, the more your going to have to pay. You can probably find some very basic stuff for free but anything else is probably going to cost you.

AshburnerX said:

What they REALLY resent is the fact that you didn't trust them to begin with and that lack of trust is going to make your life HELL. It will bleed over into every aspect of your lives and YOU will be the one to suffer for it, not them.

If you actually feel that your children aren't mature enough to use your PC without being monitored, don't let them use it to begin with.

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Trust is to be earned, not given.

And I really, really disagree with the second statement. Even overlooking the fact that children aren't in complete control of their browsing experience ( some ads, some websites, and some misleading links will take you on unexpected journeys) you have to let children try and fail at things that they need to learn. The younger they are when they learn the consequences of their actions the better trained they will be at making choices later knowing the possible consequences.

If you wait until they are teenagers to let them have access to potentially dangerous things, you may be setting them up for failure, and at that age some of these failures can have life altering consequences.

You don't give the kid a bike at the top of a hill and walk away. You teach them how to ride it, you then observe them for awhile until they gain your trust then you observe them infrequently to give them additional tips and assistance as needed. If they routinely run into other walkers or ride in the street despite warnings you take away the privilege and only offer it under direct supervision again until they gain your trust again.

Computer and Internet usage is no different.

I was literally given a bike at the top of a slope (my grandparent's farm) and told by my grandpa to go at it. I learned to ride a bike when I was 4.

I just thought that example was funny.

I became lodged in a pine tree when I learned to bike on my own, and I used the internet in a way my parents approved of from the ages of 9-11.

Gusto said:

I became lodged in a pine tree when I learned to bike on my own, and I used the internet in a way my parents approved of from the ages of 9-11.

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I wonder what you discovered at age 11.

Ravenpoe said:

I wonder what you discovered at age 11.

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I'm pretty sure we all know what is to blame.

Make sure you block Halforums. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy on the internet.

I was going to say you should give them some freedom, but hell, at that age I was doing all KINDS of objectionable stuff on the computer, with and without other parties involved. Plus I know people around that age now that do even more than I did. Sexting is surprisingly big in 13-year-old land.

Sounds like a keylogger is your best and easiest bet. Watch out for them phones, too, that's where a lot of the shit happens.

Ravenpoe said:

I wonder what you discovered at age 11.

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Geocities. Millions and millions of pages of filth.

doomdragon6 said:

I was going to say you should give them some freedom, but hell, at that age I was doing all KINDS of objectionable stuff on the computer, with and without other parties involved. Plus I know people around that age now that do even more than I did. Sexting is surprisingly big in 13-year-old land.

Sounds like a keylogger is your best and easiest bet. Watch out for them phones, too, that's where a lot of the shit happens.

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They don't have personal phones and won't for a good while yet either.

I'm leaning toward a keylogger too at this point, but it'd have to be able to exclude button presses like arrow keys etc. Unfortunately that's also probably going to be a huge log to look over whenever I do, but it'll give me the peace of mind I need to let them enjoy the online world. The next worry is where to safely get a keylogger that I can install on the laptop and read the results on my PC.

Emrys said:

Make sure you block Halforums. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy on the internet.

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EMRYS![DOUBLEPOST=1350201829][/DOUBLEPOST]I wish Shego and Sera would come back....

Ravenpoe said:

Gilg doing the right thing as a parent. Kids need to learn how to sneak porn on the computer. If it's just there for the taking, they never develop problem solving skills.

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Heck yeah! In my day we had dumpster dive for our sticky Playboy rags.

heh parents today, I dont know why but my parents biggest gripe was finding out I had found porn on the internet at 14, which while I dont blame them it was hilarious in hindsight. my parents had always given me free reign of the computer, which I guess makes me an exception to this parenting you all seem to be doing. I imagine I will be upset when my children start to explore the questionable parts of the internet, but I am hoping I will have taught them well enough to stay away from the truly nasty places. Other than standard monitoring of who they are in contact with and where they go, I dont think I would have a lot of fear. then again I am much younger than the current generation of parents on here so my viewpoints are different.

Spectorsoft.

I know it's pricey. $100 now. (When I first bought it it was $70.)

But it records everything and you can play it back like a VCR. You can look at IMs, see what they download, check times & sites they were on. I did this to my kid's computers and told them that it was there recording. They knew it was on there. And every so often I would go in and play what they had & go from there.

What I discovered/stopped:

• My son was visiting porn sites. I didn't really care about that, but they weren't safe ones. So I showed him where to go to not kill the computer.
• But the biggest one was probably when my daughter was IMing strange men. I got screen caps of the chats and contacted each of them telling them if they ever contacted my 12 year old daughter again these transcripts were going to the police and I was contacting their ISPs. Never heard from any of them again. Then I educated my daughter about online predators and showed her how to be safe.

There are a couple more things I did with it that shall not be named, but suffice it to say that it paid for itself in piece of mind for a long, long time.

Dave said:

Spectorsoft.

I know it's pricey. $100 now. (When I first bought it it was $70.)

But it records everything and you can play it back like a VCR. You can look at IMs, see what they download, check times & sites they were on. I did this to my kid's computers and told them that it was there recording. They knew it was on there. And every so often I would go in and play what they had & go from there.

What I discovered/stopped:

• My son was visiting porn sites. I didn't really care about that, but they weren't safe ones. So I showed him where to go to not kill the computer.
• But the biggest one was probably when my daughter was IMing strange men. I got screen caps of the chats and contacted each of them telling them if they ever contacted my 12 year old daughter again these transcripts were going to the police and I was contacting their ISPs. Never heard from any of them again. Then I educated my daughter about online predators and showed her how to be safe.

There are a couple more things I did with it that shall not be named, but suffice it to say that it paid for itself in piece of mind for a long, long time.

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And yet you still let your daughter create an account here.

What kind of monster are you?

Quotemander Prime said:

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Vs the kinds of parents who don't care/try/check? What kinds of kids do those parents have?

Gilgamesh said:

Vs the kinds of parents who don't care/try/check? What kinds of kids do those parents have?

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As opposed to teach kids what to do vs what not to do.

But contrary to what the image implies, I approve of this. Fortunately for me, my dad instilled paranoia in me despite he and my mom not being strict, so I learned to be discreet. Other kids aren't so lucky, and if their parents aren't strict, they're not learning to hide things from their parents. And if they're not learning to hide things from their parents, they're not learning to hide things from people in general once they get out in the world. Part of being a parent is giving kids the training wheels versions of the challenges they'll face during adulthood so they can be prepared when their parents aren't around.

Quotemander Prime said:

As opposed to teach kids what to do vs what not to do.

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Gilgamesh said:

Of course I teach them how to avoid things they should and people they should.

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Gilgamesh said:

Vs the kinds of parents who don't care/try/check? What kinds of kids do those parents have?

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This is flat out a false dichotomy, and you know it.

My experiences are with how I was raised (of course, seeing as I don't actually have children, that apparently makes anything I say invalid). My mother instilled in me a core value system and trusted me enough to let me use that value system in situations where she is not there.

Bowielee said:

T (of course, seeing as I don't actually have children, that apparently makes anything I say invalid).

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Gilgamesh said:

I wasn't being condescending. I'm not pretending anything. I simply said that it's not possible to understand the psyche of a parent if you are not one. I didn't want you to think that I felt your advice was rendered pointless, it just takes on a different meaning to someone with a different psyche. I am sorry you took it that way.

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Bowielee said:

My mother instilled in me a core value system and trusted me enough to let me use that value system in situations where she is not there.

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Gilgamesh said:

Of course I teach them how to avoid things they should and people they should.

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I'm wondering why I have to keep repeating myself as if others aren't reading what I wrote and are instead putting words/scenarios in my mouth/situation.

I'm not getting how installing what's effectively a 24-7 monitor is instilling the feeling in your children that you trust them.

The point is not about how the kids see it or even if others have good advice or perspective on the situation, but on what's going to set his parental mind (his particular psyche) at ease. He's not saying "you know nothing about kids or raising them, etc. because you're not a parent" so much as "you know nothing about how I'm feeling concerning this because you're not a parent."

Net nanny stuff is all well and good, but what happens when your kids are at school, out at a party, etc. Do you feel they need to be consistantly monitered there as well?

Bowielee said:

Net nanny stuff is all well and good, but what happens when your kids are at school, out at a party, etc. Do you feel they need to be consistantly monitered there as well?

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This is my point, you're assuming how I parent my children 100% of the time, and not simply how they're online, here in the home.

What makes the internet really different from the rest of the outside world?

My point is, I find the rising culture of paranoia that people are perpetuating is slowly eroding bonds between people as a whole.

Bowielee said:

What makes the internet really different from the rest of the outside world?

My point is, I find the rising culture of paranoia that people are perpetuating is slowly eroding bonds between people as a whole.

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I teach them values, and protection every single day. I have since they were old enough for comprehension. They've always known that if they do something bad in school, I will find out because I talk to all their teachers through email. I go to every open house and speak with their teachers in front of them.

I'm an involved parent who isn't strict with his kids, my children have ALOT of freedoms most children never have. I do however, attach those freedoms with a warning (I will know what you did). I do not see how that's -Not trusting them- vs telling them their actions have consequences.

Bowielee said:

What makes the internet really different from the rest of the outside world?

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Exactly. I don't let my kids go to bars and raves. They aren't old enough to understand or handle themselves in the situations that arise in those locations.

Likewise I don't let them visit online sites that aren't age appropriate.

For the "real world" I know where they are at and with whom through a variety of means - mostly because we are their source of transportation and we know the people they travel with as well.

For the internet I use a router that allows me to adjust each individual connected device's settings. I keep the computers which have internet connections in an open area of the home.

I'm not talking about 17 year olds here - these are 3 to 12 year old kids. Yes, the three year old uses the computer to visit nickjr, watch netflix, and play flash games. Yes, there are ads which can take him to lots of places I don't want him to go. It's not merely an issue of trust.

I suppose if you're the kind of parent that allows your elementary school children to decide where to go, and with whom with no oversight, then you might also allow your elementary school children to go to any website with no oversight.

I simply choose to parent my children in a different way - by teaching them little by little, and exposing them to more advanced situations while monitoring them so I can understand and discuss with them where they may be making choices I believe they should more carefully consider.

It's not a leash, or a lash - it's a watchtower and a bullhorn. After they understand a principle they may make a choice I disagree with - but I'm going to keep yammering at them until they at least understand the principle and consequences.

I can't do that if I turn a blind eye, and I don't understand how observation and discussion is bad parenting as you appear to imply.

Besides, 20 years ago you couldn't as easily bring the strip clubs and predators into your own home, but the internet does that for you. Forgive me for believing that your experience as a child regarding online safeguards is likely useless. Yes, I too used BBS's, online services, and the internet two decades ago and there's no comparison to the ease with which one can find -anything- online today. Even the late nineties are relatively benign compared to right now. We didn't even have google, and altavista and yahoo are pale comparisons for search. Internet advertising was still in its infancy and more often consisted of simple scams (punch the monkey!) than today's predatory sites intending to install malware and expose a little skin.

Not that I'm trying to teach you how to parent, but I think you're laying it on a bit thick about how paranoid parents are ruining their relationships with their children.

If you have a bad relationship with your child, it's more likely because you paid them too little attention than because you paid them too much attention.

Let me also make it clear that the only reason I have Team Viewer (a camera pointed at them) the entire time they're online is because I don't have anything better at the moment just to know where they went/who they talked to. That's all I want to know, and that's all I want out of nanny-tech.

In the real world I have their teachers and their friend's parents. Online, I have nothing like that without a nanny tech.

I dunno, I understand restricting access, which is what Steinman is talking about, but 24-7 monitoring of their activity seem awful draconian to me.

Bowielee said:

I dunno, I understand restricting access, which is what Steinman is talking about, but 24-7 monitoring of their activity seem awful draconian to me.

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Gilgamesh said:

Let me also make it clear that the only reason I have Team Viewer (a camera pointed at them) the entire time they're online is because I don't have anything better at the moment just to know where they went/who they talked to. That's all I want to know, and that's all I want out of nanny-tech.

In the real world I have their teachers and their friend's parents. Online, I have nothing like that without a nanny tech.

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Bowielee said:

I dunno, I understand restricting access, which is what Steinman is talking about, but 24-7 monitoring of their activity seem awful draconian to me.

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It's all about stages. You don't let the 2 week old out of your sight. It's 24/7 monitoring. When they start toddling you put up gates and you still keep an eye - or ear - on them 24/7.

When children take their first steps on the internet you do the same thing. It amazed me to see what my kids did with the computer and the internet - they did things I had never imagined. Just like my most recent child went straight from rolling and scooting to walking, completely skipping the expected crawling stage. I put one of my kids on a trusted site, and they ignored the animated ads, and the colorful pictures of activities they could do, and clicked on a star on the page. It took them to an interesting part of the site I didn't know existed, and obviously the publisher left it there as a treat for those kids that allowed this thing to catch their eye.

You simply can't anticipate what children will do online, nor what other users and publishers (and predators) will do online.

While it may seem draconian (rigorous, unusually severe or cruel) to you, it is the bare minimum one can do to keep tabs on what their children are dealing with. I suppose if one has extraordinarily intelligent, thoughtful, forward, and adaptive children, then one will feel comfortable letting them plumb the depths of the walled garden unaccompanied. However each of my children have been very different, and after 6 of them I know for certain can't assume or anticipate anything. Some of them will find something that disturbs them and come and ask about it. Others will see something they don't understand and may scare them, and rather than trying to resolve it they'll lock it away mentally, and try to avoid it in the future.

The problem with that is that it becomes a stumbling block to them later. They may suddenly have trouble doing their book report, and won't explain why, but after some significant work with them we find out they once saw a strange medical procedure on wikipedia, and thus they avoid wikipedia altogether with this tiny little worry that could have been resolved in seconds if we had known they saw it. If you've worked with children before, you understand this isn't them trying to hide something - they often themselves don't know why they do something in a particular way after they've been doing it that way for awhile.

You can, in fact, wall off the garden and still give a child enough rope to hang themselves. I don't think that one should restrict children without also monitoring them for the above reasons, but also so you can learn when to expand the garden, or grant some access outside the garden for a field trip with the parent.

stienman said:

you can learn when to expand the garden, or grant some access outside the garden for a field trip with the parent.

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Giving them the internet access alone was my expansion. I've put off giving them their own computer to use online for a very long time. They've been asking for a couple years now and to ease the issue I'd take them to the library 2-3x a week and let them use those computers.

So finally I decided to get one here at the house and I was absolutely crazy with worry. So I got Team Viewer as it was the only program I was already familiar with but I don't like -being over their shoulder every second- so that's why I made this thread, to find alternatives.

Great advice all around. Thus far and I think I'm probably going to go the spectorsoft route (Thank you Dave ) and see how that works. It'll be nice for them to use the computer when I'm not home or too busy to sit at my own system.

Yeah, I'm basically lazy. I could (and perhaps should) be monitoring them more, but instead we keep the computers in an area of the home we can see and hear what's going on, and our children's schoolwork requires internet access anyway, starting with second grade.

But with 6 computers the kids could possibly be using at any given time, it's an impossible task, so we give them a lot more latitude simply due to logistics.

Put 'em on Halforums. We'll ruin the internet for them.

BananaHands said:

Put 'em on Halforums. We'll ruin the internet for them.

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Minotaur Penis.

Gil I did not get to read every post here, what I did read showed many good people with the right idea on parenting. There are many things you can do, including spending time with them as they surf or play (or get onto a forum and have the internet ruined for them). My kids did not get huge monitors because as an IT guy I wanted them to have the luxury of huge monitors. No, they got those because I could see what they were up to and when they tried to minimize a screen as I passed by. They also have a very open area in which their computers reside, not hiding in the bedroom with a notebook allowed. You have a good system going and you might want to consider adding Bluecoat's firewall to the mix, it is free and filters content though I have found it to be too restrictive. For example blocking breast also blocks breast cancer research for school papers. Security is always a balancing act with functionality. I have set up Spectorsoft for friends and clients and it does a nice job of capturing IMs, emailing regular screen captures to you. It would allow you to review their contacts\content\destinations online also providing the opportunity to review later and show them anything you don't like as well as letting them know when they show proper behavior. There is no substitute for good parenting and there is no substitute for making them vividly aware that you know what they are up to. Mention an IM or a remark made online that they don't think you know about once and they will be certain you see all.

Neon Pirate said:

Gil I did not get to read every post here,

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Pretty much everything you wrote got addressed in the posts.

Thanks for the advice though, Spectorsoft is mst likely what I'm going with.

What's really funny is that when we got my daughter her computer for graduation she just assumed that Spectorsoft was on it. It wasn't. When she found out she thought it was funny, but it did have an effect on what she posted online. Like the time she told her friends on Facebook that I was abusing her. She was young and did it for attention, but kids just don't understand the ramifications of what they say and do all the time. To rely on their judgement on anything is like asking for trouble.

I'm just saying, I know what -I- did online back then, and I know what 13-year-olds do online now, and I wholeheartedly agree with trying to slow it a bit.

I don't even mean looking at porn and such, I'm talking about things that involve other people. That's where touble can come from.

It's true, my first experience with cybersex was on AOL, back when I was like 13 or so.

I was really bad at it back then, by the way. I'm much better in the cyber-sack now.

No, he's not.

Do tell.

I was faking all of those fake orgasms.

Oh, Ravenpoe, you just broke my heart. <sob>

He just throws a pint of warm yogurt on your back and goes, "UGH!"

Dave said:

He just throws a pint of warm yogurt on your back and goes, "UGH!"

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You know this from personal experience?

Emrys said:

You know this from personal experience?

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Who do you think taught him?

At least I'll keep ya regular.

Nothing keeps you silky smooth like old man splooge.

(And this thread has officially taken a weird turn to the dark side.)

Dave said:

Nothing keeps you silky smooth like old man splooge.

(And this thread has officially taken a weird turn to the dark side.)

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Around here, how would anyone know the difference?

Touche.

Quotemander Prime said:

No, he's not.

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Oi, I'll have you know...

Yeah, you're right, I'm still bad in the cyber-sack.

Monitoring your child's internet usage is always a good idea: