How to filter your children's home internet connection

[Dos_Box]

Well, seeing as we are pretty much all agreed that the decision to force UK ISP's to filter out what it considers unsuitable content i.e. porn, i though it would be a good idea to utilise our huge Google index results start a serious thread about how concerned parents can filter and monitor their children's internet connection in the home either using free or commercial software. My starter for 10 is this wonderfully written article about the free Windows parental controls:

 

Windows: EduGeek.net - A (Quick) Guide to Windows Parental Controls

 

 

So, over to you guys

[plexer]

OpenDNS here.

 

Ben

[jmak]

Telling my kids I can find out more than I can

 

Played around with BT's parental controls (software for Windows machines) - reckon the Windows ones are better. Played with Meraki for their iPods, but OpenDNS has to be the way. Unfortunately the BT Homehub doesn't let you configure DNS, so will be buying new router. If I'm not happy that's doing the job, I'll try Dans Guardian, but I don't have a server running at home at the minute.

 

I still think the most important issue is education, trust and respect.

[plexer]

Unfortunately the BT Homehub doesn't let you configure DNS, so will be buying new router. If I'm not happy that's doing the job, I'll try Dans Guardian, but I don't have a server running at home at the minute.

 

Perhaps a job for a pi? turn off dhcp on the homehub and let the pi do it with reservations for the kids devices to ensure they have the right settings?

 

Ben

[elsiegee40]

And I would like to point out that the four major providers have provided guides to how to set their parental controls

http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parental-controls

 

And then ruin it by saying, that it's only a tiny part of the solution as every child can access the internet outside their home. So parents need to keep talking to their children about what they do and what is safe, just like they teach their child why crossing the road without looking isn't safe. All the home controls in the world will not protect your child. Your child needs to learn from birth how to stay safe in this world... and that includes the internet.

[timbo343]

What about the data connections on their mobile devices. I guess homes could become more like schools.

[elsiegee40]

What about the data connections on their mobile devices. I guess homes could become more like schools.

 

So they use their devices outside home boundaries... or use someone else's device.

 

Educate!

[dhicks]

Perhaps a job for a pi?

 

The Raspberry Pi only has the one network port, so you can't have it act as a transparent proxy with all traffic being forced to pass through it, and therefore I figured it would be rather more get-roundable. I currently use an RB450 running OpenWRT instead. My plan for a home filtering system was simply to get a home device that could link up to a school's filtering system - unlike ISP-level filtering, a school's filter has someone you can contact to sort out false positives, and it's a good bet that any site a child needs to access for homework is going to be unblocked. I rather feel the government should have mandated a standard for the linking of a home router to a school's (or other institution of your choice) system. A school could, of course, simply provide a DNS server that matches their filtering system, but getting parents to change the DNS settings of their routers without a handy one-click button is going to be tricky.