Anti-porn software for windows (block porn sites and stuff)?
I've been passed a netbook to fix (it's overrun with malware, like most of the non-workbased PCs I fix) and I've also been asked to put anti-porn software on it, as the fifteen year old son has been looking at porn site. I was staggered to realise that in all the hundreds of home PCs/laptops/netbooks I've cleared of malware/reinstalled Windows/etc, I've never once been asked to stop the machine from accessing porn.
Alright, so if the PC is used by one person, then it's not important, as they decide what sites to visit, but many (most) of the PCs I fix away from work are family machines, as in used by kids and adults, yet no one's ever even asked me about anti-porn software, let alone asked me to install any. Until today, I'd have said I'd installed all types of programs that a home user was likely to ask for, but now I can think of at least one area that I'm totally new to.
So, what good (and free) porn blockers are there for Windows PCs (XP, in this case)? And how do they work? I imagine most use black-listed lists of sites that they block, but some probably also search for adult words or whatever. How effective are they?
And only Internet Explorer is currently installed, so it will have to work with that (although since IE is the default browser then I suppose all such software will). I always install Firefox on machines I sort out, but some people just don't like leaving the comfort and safety of the programs they are used to, and stick to IE instead.
There's no anti-spyware on the netbook, BTW, just a timed-out Norton, and Windows firewall.
Alright, so if the PC is used by one person, then it's not important, as they decide what sites to visit, but many (most) of the PCs I fix away from work are family machines, as in used by kids and adults, yet no one's ever even asked me about anti-porn software, let alone asked me to install any. Until today, I'd have said I'd installed all types of programs that a home user was likely to ask for, but now I can think of at least one area that I'm totally new to.
So, what good (and free) porn blockers are there for Windows PCs (XP, in this case)? And how do they work? I imagine most use black-listed lists of sites that they block, but some probably also search for adult words or whatever. How effective are they?
And only Internet Explorer is currently installed, so it will have to work with that (although since IE is the default browser then I suppose all such software will). I always install Firefox on machines I sort out, but some people just don't like leaving the comfort and safety of the programs they are used to, and stick to IE instead.
There's no anti-spyware on the netbook, BTW, just a timed-out Norton, and Windows firewall.
Post edited by ewgf on
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anti porn my furry butt :lol: ....even my 70+ year old dad sends me email jokes on hotmail that include pictures that might be considered porn - if a randy 15 yr old wants to see pics of nekkid ladies then he will do - just like his father did and his father did before him....
Seems a pretty futile excercise to me
Net Nanny is a commercial product that's somewhat more robust and configurable, although again I'd think that anyone with a modest amount of technical know how would be able to bypass it.
http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/parental-controls/
it's free
The other PC is where I can see it... parental control shouldn't be left to a piece of software - its called parental control for a reason! If he is looking at sites he shouldn't be, then stop him using the PC!
Don't forget the Bluetooth and you should probably take out the USB ports as well.
Unless they're willing to completely lock down the system, pretty much anything can be circumvented. For stopping younger children from accidently stumbling on something they shouldn't, the tools you can get online (or the built in Parental Controls in more recent versions of Windows) would probably suffice, but in all cases it's never a great idea to delegate the responsibility for what your children are up to to a machine.
It was filled with porn, MP3 and other files downloaded from just anywhere. I ran a virus check on it and there were over 1,000 viruses, trojans, malware, etc. I told my cousin that to deal with it, I had to wipe the hard drive, then discard and replace it. He refused to allow it (he was 15/16 at the time) and so I rang my aunt (who was his guardian since his mother died) and she told him it was going to be done and got me to get a new hard drive (she later refunded me for that purchase) and reinstalled Windows, Office, etc from my own master files.
In the meantime, I had to use a mini-vacumm cleaner to clean out the insides - it was that dusty. I also had to replace the keyboard - it was that sticky. I suspect it was due to his own produce, but I could never prove it.
To cut a long story short, I fixed up the machine and put new virus-killers and related blockers on it and that put paid to his exploits.
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As for my own children, my eldest is the only one who uses the net by herself, although she does know that checks will be made to see where she's been. She's also been told that if we find out she's been on websites that she shouldn't be on, her net access will be restricted to when she can be supervised. She's proven herself trustworthy so far.
My middle daughter plays Gardens of Time and Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook but always with one of us.
Unless it's the babysittertron 5000 with laser guided discipline delivery system.
and while your at it cover up them piano legs.
They have porn in your doctors? Lucky you, most they normally have round here is a three year old copy of Woman's Weekly.
had that with a business machine I fixed for someone.. hubby was looking at site.. and it emailed ALL their customers pr0n links etc. :lol:
his wife chucked a mental (she was part of the business).
http://www.google.co.uk/familysafety/
might have info.. but having the pc in a family room is the best parental control.
Maybe they've got a subscription to Cosmo?
If the answer is no tell them sod off and let him watch the porn, infact you should even suggest some high quality sites which may interest him. When the dad gets angry say you've looked at the computers files, and that you know it was infact him browsing the porn, and that he's blaming his son because the missus found the auld Franky Vaughn on there.
Then you should hand the mother a book on dealing with serial masturbators, and hand both the dad and son a big box of Kleenex, and a bottle of Johnsons baby oil, and a lifetime pass to redtube premium.
Problemo solved!
Of course I wouldn't be too happy about it, but porn will always defeat anti-porn in the end. It's a losing battle all the way :D
Your tech support suggestion is a load of w@nk. I bet you'd make a fortune as a porn adviser masquerading as tech support. What would you call such an enterprise?
Siemens?
I also set up an irc server for them so i could keep an eye on who their friends where
All it needed was an old Pentium 1 with about 8 meg of ram (but that was a few years ago)