Welcome beemooney, So glad you're here. Loved your park analogy - hopefully more and more parents will see it that way. How do parents generally respond to your message? Here in the US, for example, parents are still very concerned about online predators (see this article about a recent poll) even though cyberbulllying is a much, much more common problem.

Maureen

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Maureen Kochan
ConnectSafely community manager

I actually used SentryPC to block some unhealthy websites ,it is very powerful .

Another one of these posts, nice. This is why I just HAD to register on this site.
Read my rambling on

http://www.blogsafety.com/topic/Family-Tools-For/New-Filtering-Option/1200001547

Yeah I bring bad news. Where theres a will theres a way. If your kid wants to access whatever site he wasn't supposed to be accessing, as long as theres a net connection of any sort on his/her PC, he'll be able to find a way around it should he/she want.They don't have to be an expert. You'd be surprised how many calls I got from KIDS calling in for their family members when I worked for a major PC manufacturer here in the US (which I won't name) because they knew 1000 fold more about PCs and the net than their parents who were maybe doctors, lawyers, or COMPUTER engineers for that matter (a BSCmp doesn't make you a pro with PCs just shows you theory/practice on building computer parts, very different). There are SOOO many little intricacies and things going on in and around a PC that , I dunno maybe as we get older our brain looses its ability to capture all this information all at once. Sort of like as we get older we loose our ability to learn languages with ease.On the other hand children, while far from being a TRUE pro at something, WILL put 1 and 1 together no matter how many times they have to add 1 and 1 to get their desired result.

I wish I had better ways to describe what I know and how I feel with my experience with PCs to try to convey to everyone on here, whether a pro, someone that really believes they're a pro, or a total newbie the depth and scope that a kid will undertake to reach their desired result on the net. But it is nearly impossible it seems.

And it seems VERY silly to me that no one has ever done anything to REALLY REALLY affect security for children on the net that hits a little closer to actually being "SECURE" for children and giving you some legitimate peace of mind rather than a small patch that can be easily jumped like a hurdle only meant to fool the uninformed. (emphasis on little above because like I said elsewhere, nothing is 100% secure ever but I have some good ideas I'm thinking of patenting and pitching to Cisco)

Anyways here I am rambling again sorry i take up so much space. Thanks.

I actually use Sentry Parental Controls. It's really easy to use and actually has a feature on it meant to be undetected. You can't even delete it through add/remove programs.

and here's a review of it:

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=109146

I used Content Protect, or now called Net Nanny. It cost about $30 and I can choose my kids sites they visit, what level of protection, etc.

Spector Pro is primarily a monitoring product but it also contains blocking features.

The monitoring allows you to see everywhere they go and everything they do online. You can choose to block those activities that you find inappropriate, so basically you have the best of both worlds.

It does not have the traditional filtering, where you can say block all sites of type porn or whatever. IMO that type of solution is dated and very easy to defeat for any child with even a little computer knowledge.

As for the stealth issue, it is completely hidden, it does not even show up in the task manager. Unless you tell your child it is there they will never know or be able to find it.

FWIW: I have used Spector Pro for years and am very happy with it.

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Edited by Manfred at 09/25/2008 1:57 PM

[post deleted for violating our rule against advertising] 

Post was edited by: Maureen