If you've ever been to Nottingham you know never to go back there...
I went there once. My bike club did. We caused chaos at the self service tills in ASDA, on account of being a bunch of blokes able to adjust the timing on a motorbike at the side of the road, but unable it would seem to check out our own lunch.
This will all end in sprouts again....or marriage guidance ;)
I'm only thankful there's an ocean between us apparently he's been issued with enough restraining orders from Simon Cowell's lawyers to outweigh War And Peace...
The problem with any software solution on a PC is the user can boot off e.g. a Ubuntu CD or USB drive, surf away, remove boot media. Reboot into windows. No history of what went on. So as Winston said "good luck with that".
id have thrown the hard drive too if someone was gonna buy a new one, its not zeropolis's fault it was full of ****e, he was the one doing them a favor. it teaches people a valuable lesson that if you dont take care of something you might have to buy a new one.
Thank you for the kind words.
I was doing both my aunt and cousin a favor by dealing with that bloody machine and little thanks I got for doing it too.
And anyway, why wipe it and then get rid? Why not just drive a 6 inch nail through it???
You do have to question someones proficiency in computer repair with acts like that.
Because my friend, I was not going to let him give the drive to his friends who COULD put it into their computer and mess it up. Anyhow, I didn't say HOW I got rid of it.
Also, my late aunt was the main user of the machine before her death and she password protected her part of it, so when the drive was discarded, I wanted to make sure any private data like bank numbers, etc were wiped before discarding the drive and she was never one for proper security.
As for proficiency in computer repair, I'm actually not qualified - I'm self taught. The closest I got to a qualification in any sort of computing was an A-Level in Information Technology and I failed it.
MrCheese - my cousin knew nothing about external booting on a PC.
As for proficiency in computer repair, I'm actually not qualified - I'm self taught. The closest I got to a qualification in any sort of computing was an A-Level in Information Technology and I failed it.
I learnt a lot since then.. But, I still earn a few pounds now and then fixing up PCs and selling them along with fixing neighbours' PCs. Never had a desatisfied customer yet..
The problem with any software solution on a PC is the user can boot off e.g. a Ubuntu CD or USB drive, surf away, remove boot media. Reboot into windows. No history of what went on. So as Winston said "good luck with that".
Presumably you mean to avoid logs of activity? It would still get logged via the installed software proxy / filter and it could still block your activity. Booting into e.g. Ubuntu would avoid all software filters and logging.
Presumably you mean to avoid logs of activity? It would still get logged via the installed software proxy / filter and it could still block your activity. Booting into e.g. Ubuntu would avoid all software filters and logging.
Good point, it probably would get logged. Presumably a Virtualised OS within Windows would work fine.
To be honest, parents should probably be more concerned if their 15 year old boy isn't looking at porn sites.
Totally. Then again, the internet isn't like the soft-porn magazines of the 1980s, with their innocence and titillation, if it was just nude pictures of women then I think most people wouldn't vilify the 'net so much (though some idiots would).
Computer owners and users are just like some car owners, most don't know how a car works, never have it serviced or even pump the tyres up properly.
True. But the difference is, people buy cars expecting to them to need occasional maintenance and care, even if (like most people) they rely on someone else to do the necessary work. Whereas most people who buy PCs seem to expect them to be like televisions or fridge-freezers, in that they give trouble free usage without needing maintenance or care.
The problem with any software solution on a PC is the user can boot off e.g. a Ubuntu CD or USB drive, surf away, remove boot media. Reboot into windows. No history of what went on. So as Winston said "good luck with that".
The problem with any software solution on a PC is the user can boot off e.g. a Ubuntu CD or USB drive, surf away, remove boot media. Reboot into windows. No history of what went on. So as Winston said "good luck with that".
Yep. I don't know the lad in question (his mum passed me the netbook, and I don't know her - friend of a friend), so I don't know his level of PC competence. It's probably not high, as she gave me the netbook to fix (corrupted files due to malware and installing any rubbish offered to him on his net travels, mainly), but even so, he no doubt has school mates who'd no enough to get around any software I put on there. I only asked here in case there was some software that (somehow) claimed to be bullet proof. It's made worse by the fact that it's his machine, which he uses for 'net access and schoolwork, so locking him away from the netbook (via a BIOS password which only his parents know) is not an option.
I'll just give the netbook back (it's fully working now) and admit that any software anti-porn is essentially pointless, as he or his mates could bypass it, and just say that if they're concerned then they should take a closer look themselves at him and his net habits.
Thanks again for all the help (and off topic ramblings).
ewgf - in my youth, a youth club I attended had a program called Futurelock on their machines but they were running Windows 3.1. The person in charge of the computers told me that the producers were having problems getting the program to run properly on Windows 95. However, the program was 'bullet-proof'. He ran an after school computer club on Tuesdays and invited me and some of the members to try and bypass Futurelock, just to see how secure it was.
I need hardly say that we failed!
That is the main problem with computers these days - even if you know someone who doesn't know a thing, there is a chance they know someone who does and knows how to bypass these things. I find it a stupid thing when the Microsoft password prompt for Windows 95 can just be cancelled by pressing the CANCEL button.
You can also crack Windows admin passwords using OPHCrack... Windows operating systems are probably the worse for security imho.
Given unrestricted access to a computer, it's generally trivial to bypass OS security and passwords, regardless of what operating system is used. You need to be going down the route of hardware encryption (TPM) of the harddisk and a full UEFI style secure boot only scenario before you're even close to the right ballpark.
Which is one of the reasons that assuming you can buy bit of software X to stop a kid porn surfing on a machine he has in his room is pretty much futile. Where there is a will, there's a way and it's inevitable that a teenage boy looking for boobs will find it. :razz:
Comments
Yeah, I hear it's getting more crowded by the minute!
Ahh, so you have a price!
Now please stop hassling me...
Awww, you're just a lovey-dovey teddy bear. Roses and chocolates, is what it sounds like then.
I don't want your used, second-hand scrap!!! :-x ( Besides, that's no way to talk about other forumites! -Ed )
Mark my words
This will all end in sprouts again....or marriage guidance ;)
Unless it's shaved then it's bummed within an inch of it's life, along with Normski :lol:
I went there once. My bike club did. We caused chaos at the self service tills in ASDA, on account of being a bunch of blokes able to adjust the timing on a motorbike at the side of the road, but unable it would seem to check out our own lunch.
Thank you for the kind words.
I was doing both my aunt and cousin a favor by dealing with that bloody machine and little thanks I got for doing it too.
Because my friend, I was not going to let him give the drive to his friends who COULD put it into their computer and mess it up. Anyhow, I didn't say HOW I got rid of it.
Also, my late aunt was the main user of the machine before her death and she password protected her part of it, so when the drive was discarded, I wanted to make sure any private data like bank numbers, etc were wiped before discarding the drive and she was never one for proper security.
As for proficiency in computer repair, I'm actually not qualified - I'm self taught. The closest I got to a qualification in any sort of computing was an A-Level in Information Technology and I failed it.
MrCheese - my cousin knew nothing about external booting on a PC.
I learnt a lot since then.. But, I still earn a few pounds now and then fixing up PCs and selling them along with fixing neighbours' PCs. Never had a desatisfied customer yet..
Even easier, run the browser in sandboxie.
Presumably you mean to avoid logs of activity? It would still get logged via the installed software proxy / filter and it could still block your activity. Booting into e.g. Ubuntu would avoid all software filters and logging.
The answer would only be a goggle or altavista away to the user.
Good point, it probably would get logged. Presumably a Virtualised OS within Windows would work fine.
A Virtualised OS still has to use the host NIC for communications so it would still get logged.
Mind you, you'd then have to password the BIOS and security screw the case to make sure nobody changed it back.
Totally. Then again, the internet isn't like the soft-porn magazines of the 1980s, with their innocence and titillation, if it was just nude pictures of women then I think most people wouldn't vilify the 'net so much (though some idiots would).
True. But the difference is, people buy cars expecting to them to need occasional maintenance and care, even if (like most people) they rely on someone else to do the necessary work. Whereas most people who buy PCs seem to expect them to be like televisions or fridge-freezers, in that they give trouble free usage without needing maintenance or care.
Actually, he's neither. He's is a friendly and helpful person, though somehow I suspect you're not.
Well I started the thread, so presumably it went off topic in my second paragraph...
Yep. I don't know the lad in question (his mum passed me the netbook, and I don't know her - friend of a friend), so I don't know his level of PC competence. It's probably not high, as she gave me the netbook to fix (corrupted files due to malware and installing any rubbish offered to him on his net travels, mainly), but even so, he no doubt has school mates who'd no enough to get around any software I put on there. I only asked here in case there was some software that (somehow) claimed to be bullet proof. It's made worse by the fact that it's his machine, which he uses for 'net access and schoolwork, so locking him away from the netbook (via a BIOS password which only his parents know) is not an option.
I'll just give the netbook back (it's fully working now) and admit that any software anti-porn is essentially pointless, as he or his mates could bypass it, and just say that if they're concerned then they should take a closer look themselves at him and his net habits.
Thanks again for all the help (and off topic ramblings).
ewgf - in my youth, a youth club I attended had a program called Futurelock on their machines but they were running Windows 3.1. The person in charge of the computers told me that the producers were having problems getting the program to run properly on Windows 95. However, the program was 'bullet-proof'. He ran an after school computer club on Tuesdays and invited me and some of the members to try and bypass Futurelock, just to see how secure it was.
I need hardly say that we failed!
That is the main problem with computers these days - even if you know someone who doesn't know a thing, there is a chance they know someone who does and knows how to bypass these things. I find it a stupid thing when the Microsoft password prompt for Windows 95 can just be cancelled by pressing the CANCEL button.
You can also crack Windows admin passwords using OPHCrack... Windows operating systems are probably the worse for security imho.
Given unrestricted access to a computer, it's generally trivial to bypass OS security and passwords, regardless of what operating system is used. You need to be going down the route of hardware encryption (TPM) of the harddisk and a full UEFI style secure boot only scenario before you're even close to the right ballpark.
Which is one of the reasons that assuming you can buy bit of software X to stop a kid porn surfing on a machine he has in his room is pretty much futile. Where there is a will, there's a way and it's inevitable that a teenage boy looking for boobs will find it. :razz: