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In my last post here on the WePC site, I discussed some security-related notebook features and wrote of nefarious characters and physically protecting a PC and its data. But there is a whole other aspect to PC security that requires a totally different mindset and entirely different solutions to the problems at hand--child-proofing a PC.
I recently had a beautiful baby girl, and plan to foster any and every tech-centric idea that enters her head. My parents did that for me and my passion for computers turned into a fantastic career. But things are very different today. Back when I was a youngster banging away on a keyboard, cutting notches into 5.25" floppies to make them double-sided was about as scandalous as computing could be. Today though, a misspelled word in a URL could result in a barrage or pornography pop-up, or worse. Setting a kid free on a PC and the Internet today is just plain scary.
Whoa! That's Not The WePC Site!
At the very least, parents should monitor a child's activities when using a PC. Creating a restricted account for the child is also a good idea, as is blocking known bad URLs and keywords via a broadband router's security configuration menus (most modern routers have this ability built-right in). Only allowing a child to use the PC at certain times is also smart move. And installing a child-safe browser is a no-brainer.
These are just some thoughts that have entered my head as a new parent with virtually no experience, however. I'd be very interested to hear what you tech-savvy parents out there have done to protect your children when using a PC or otherwise browsing the web, and I'm sure there are others out there like me that would like to hear from you as well.
What have you done to protect your children and do you have any tips and tricks for the rest of us? Inquiring minds want to know...
Some kind of net nanny software is good for starters. A separate account or their own computer is good too. But kids these days are tech savvy too and can get around separate accounts. A way that I prefer to protect my PC at all times is with a ghost key-logger. You can program key-loggers to record everything that is typed into a computer and have it send the information to your email. That way you have all of your kids passwords, user names, and everything they say online.
Look at Kidzui, we use with our 3yo and it is great. He cannot exit the browser/program without a password, even ctrl-alt-del does not work!
Children are very receptive but they're also curious about the things that they don't know. I do make it a point to be at their side most of the time that they go on the web (or even when they watch TV) but as they grow older it gets harder to keep tabs. Therefore, the information that you provide them about the do's and don'ts on the net would also help. My child is honest enough to ask about what he doesn't understand and I guess that comes from having a good amount of trust and an open relationship with them.
For the tech part, I guess I would yearn for a computer that would recognize if my child was the one using it (aside from the usual password and account restriction because older kids are really good at getting around these things).