Internet Content Filters

[kkeller]

Question: What do you consider the best Internet Content filter for a home computer? To protect ALL family members from internet sites NOT to be trusted, or to keep family from surfering to harmful sites that will lead to addictions (i.e. gambling, Pornography)

[HisLeast]

Question: What do you consider the best Internet Content filter for a home computer? To protect ALL family members from internet sites NOT to be trusted, or to keep family from surfering to harmful sites that will lead to addictions (i.e. gambling, Pornography)

If netnanny or cybersitter are still around, those would be good porn blockers, but ultimately there are still tons of easily accessed porn without going to a website.

Is the home computer the "family" computer, or do people each have their own for private use? If its the family computer one solution would be to keep it in a wide open area so anyone in the room can see what's on the screen.

[kkeller]

If netnanny or cybersitter are still around, those would be good porn blockers, but ultimately there are still tons of easily accessed porn without going to a website.

Is the home computer the "family" computer, or do people each have their own for private use? If its the family computer one solution would be to keep it in a wide open area so anyone in the room can see what's on the screen.

We've thought about the "family" computer being in a wide open area...but there's those times when either myself and wife are not at home and the older kids are always jumping on there.

[Followtheway]

You, any crafty child can pentetrate an internet protection in a second, I know cuz I did. Have supervised time.

[DaniHansen]

Make each their own (limited) user account and check their surfing history, per user. You can pull everything up they visited from the Admin account (if you have 2000/XP or Vista).

One infraction and they no longer have access.

Password protect the administrator account(s) and each individual kid's account (so they can't access questionable things under their brother's or sister's account and pass off the blame).

Blocker programs are great for younger kids, but the older ones have to be responsible and prove that they're trustworthy.

That's our rule anyway. We can only police so much, and there comes a point where they have to show that they can be trusted when we're not watching, or they will have no more access. Computer and internet use is a privilege, not a right. :)

[th1bill]

... If you truly wish to secure your computer from all the bad influences on the internet the answer is very simple and it's even free. It is available from www.ubuntuce.com (http://www.ubuntuce.com) and is known as Ubuntu Christian Edition. What you will download is an iso file and that is an image of a CD that is bootable. If you have an advanced CD writer program such as Nero or Roxy all you do to make the CD is to write the image to the disk using the "Write Image to CD" feature. ... I will also make my self available to you for any technical support I can offer to you. (pm th1Bill for further information on this) You should also know that there is free twenty-four/seven support for this system on line. I have not tried the Christian Edition out but it should be the same as the regular Ubuntu in that it will be a Live CD. This is important because it means that you can boot or start your computer, with the CD in the drive and run it in the Ubuntu to test the ability to use it without writting any changes to your hard drive.
... This will scare you but only because the folks at Microsoft have sold the world a huge lie, Ubuntu is a Linux System. The truth is that the learning curve, transitioning from Windoze to Unbuntu is non-existant. Just like Windoze, Ubuntu is a point and click operating system. Outside of the Christian Edition, the big difference between Ubuntu and Windoze is the need for Firewalls, Anti-virus programs, malware tools and the need to defrag the drive every weekend, none of these are required in Ubuntu.
... The last virus known to me to attack any of the better than 170 different flavors of Linux was in 1996 and they rewrote the kernel at that time and locked the problem out. Please, if you need help with this contact me by PM or by email, both are available by right clicking on my ugly mug.

[tom4jesus]

Here is the best filtering solution I have found and it works for both Linux and windows. I am posting this using Puppylinux filtered by it.

I found a much better filtering solution that is totally free and works great for filtering all the computers in my house, "opendns.com".
It is a totally free service that you can set up either on your computer or on a wireless router.
All you have to do is add a couple lines to a dialog box in your wireless router setup or computer and it sends all your traffic to their service and filters it. You make an account and can change the filter any way you like. There are categories like most filters.

How it works is that when ever you type in a web address that is text it is actually sending you to a web address that is a number, all web address work that way.
And your Internet service then uses a dns server to interpret the text and it then sends you to the right place, all ISP's work this way.
In the case of opendns instead of your Internet service interpreting the website name opendns does and will block access to the categories you don't want. I have it on my router and it filters everything in the house; 2 desktops, a wireless laptop. and even the Wii !
The only way to bypass it is to plug a computer directly into the cable router and bypass our wireless router, which the kids have not figured out yet. :pray:
And besides I have everything centrally located in the house, no computers in private places.

This solution works for both Linux computers and windows, and is completely free.
The only thing you might have to install, which I did, was a small program that detects my dynamic ip address and updates the opendns account.
Don't worry, if you don't know what that is there is very easy instructions on the site to set it up that explains it.

Again, I'm an RN and not an IT guy, and not at all advertising a product, I have nothing at all to do with opendns, I just want to see families stay safe!
I think anyone that uses unfiltered Internet with kids in the house hinges on being criminal.
And for that matter I think all Christians should be filtered too, I like to be filtered myself so I don't accidentally run into the wrong sites.

[tom4jesus]

... The truth is that the learning curve, transitioning from Windoze to Unbuntu is non-existant.

Hmmm, I have used Ubuntu and many other versions of Linux.
I use puppylinux now, and I find that statement a bit untrue.

Linux uses a completely different file system then windows, and it takes some getting used to.
Yes, in many respects the Gnome desktop used by Ubuntu is easy to navigate but there is definitely a learning curve.

Sir, I am all for promoting Linux but please don't mislead folks in your zeal to get people to switch. You are setting them up for failure, and rather then promoting Linux you are really hurting it if people switch to it thinking it is will be the same as windows and then quit using it in frustrations when they find out it is not. :B
Linux is Linux, and windows is windows.
They are not them same, and I am glad they are not.
Once you learn the differences I think most people will really like Linux, I don't use windows anymore at all myself.

[turtledove]

Reopening thread..please focus on the topic and question of the original poster only. Thank you.