Who has spyware on their kid's computer?

We use cybersitter on our 14 year old twin boys computers. They know it is there and cannot disable it due to the fact that it has a username and password. I thought it would be best to inform them that it is there and why. I always try to be honest with them and explain why we do the things we do. I always hated the statement as a kid "because i said so". Never had a problem with either of the kids, just want to make sure they are not approached by some nutjob.

Dan

 

Are you sure they don't just disable it? I'd bet most 14 year olds are even better at poking through the registry than I am...

To disable CYBERsitter 99 or CYBERsitter 2000:
Change the registry value


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\
Control\SecurityProviders\Net98\E00

from 1 to 0. CYBERsitter will now be disabled. Change the value from 0 back to 1 to re-enable it.

 

Oh...just for Peter's peace of mind:

To disable Net Nanny temporarily:
Press CTRL, ALT, and DELETE simultaneously, bringing up the task manager Highlight "Wnldr32" and click 'End Task'.

This will kill Net Nanny until the next time you restart your computer. After you restart your computer or restart Windows, Net Nanny will be running again.

 

David S,

Thanks for the heads up. My kids, as far as I know, are not that computer savvy. Most of their time is spent outside playing sports than in front of the computer. They use it minimally for word and searching for school information. I am going to look at your suggestion to see if I am able to disable it. I'm not much of a computer guy myself, if it doesn't bleed I can't fix it.

Once again thanks for the heads up.

Dan

 

It isn't even that hard to search for the answer on Google.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=turning+off+netnanny&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=turning+off+cybersitter&btnG=Search

 

So is there anything that can be installed to keep your kids safe on the net? Our oldest is only 8 but she loves to Google stuff (images of Horses, dogs, etc) and we keep the computer in the kitchen which is central, so then we know what she is viewing.

Mike.

 

Hope the kids dont read Fchat!?

 

Not really. The best thing is to just teach your kids to be safe on the net.

My (13 year old) daughter has been drilled for years on net safety. She knows what to avoid and where not to be. She doesn't have a "myspace". We have rules on internet use and over the years I've come to trust that she does the right thing. I'll admit that every once in a while I'll take a look through her internet history, etc. She knows it.

She knows not to clear her history. I should never see an empty history - there is no reason for it.

If your kid wants to look at porn on the internet, installing software isn't going to stop them from doing it. They might not be able to see it on your computer, but they will from their friends. So, IMO, the best thing to do is to let it remain open but have strict rules and teach them basic right from wrong, and teach them how other people might try to hurt them.

 

DialUp helps. Since I reverted back to it from DSL, quick, not cheap thrills went the way of the dodo. Perverted justice moves slow.

 

Only one thing you can install that is pretty foolproof: Integrity. 'Fraid it doesn't come in a box & you have to install (or rather instill) it into your kid instead of the computer.

It isn't the easiest thing to klobber into their brains, but will prove to be worth the effort

 

When I was younger my parents used to use a program called CyberSentinel on my computer. I absolutely hated it; any slight pickup of something vulgar, explicit or offensive and it would redirect to the previous page. It used to drive me nuts. I guess it's really good at what its supposed to do.

 

My friend's new house came with network cabling preinstalled, but he didn't pay the builder to terminate all the connectors. So I helped him finish the wiring. Later, I found out that he blocked Internet access for his girls computers after 9:00pm. He just got a timer that turns off power to the switch that connects the girls computers to the network. All the networking components are locked up in his master bedroom closet. Simple, yet effective.

AND he told his girls I did it and didn't know how to undo. Oh well, I'm the bad guy.....

 

Our ISP has the F-Secure security programs rebranded and free. It works ok and gives us time of day limits. But the most effective seems to be education and integrity. <fingers crossed, praying, repeat, repeat, repeat>.

There's ways around any technology - and with all the im options, it's tough to scan/spyware for everything. I do know a few colleagues that keystroke log their kids.