Dragon Eater,
I think I noticed two specific areas you were addressing in your initial post... the first was around setting limits around the Internet for your children and the second seemed to be more virus protection / system maintenance focused. I can share my observations with the first challenge but I haven't done much with our home network around automated maintenance. For the record, my wife and I have 3 boys in the house right now (6, 11 and 23). Our home has 3 desktops, 2 laptops and 3 netbooks... along with about 5 ipod/touch, a Wii and WiFi enabled Nintendo DS systems.
I approached the challenge of tightening down our home network with a focus on trying to put controls on centralized hardware as opposed to managing something on every device. I settled on the Cisco/Linksys WRT610N router ($175.00) which allows me to block certain Internet sites. The Home Network Defender (HND) software, an add-on to the router, allows me to block sites from the Wii and any other wireless device without loading client software. HND ($50.00) also allows me to also schedule times for allowing Internet access. My understanding from books and other resources is that most kids tend to get in to questionable activities between 3:00pm and 6:00pm... I've got Internet access setup so that they can only get online while we're home. We also do not allow any computers outside of the family rooms downstairs (i.e., no isolated internet, computer usage). The 23 year-old is only filtered by the router and manages his own devices. We only ask they he keep his PC and laptop locked with an account when not in use.
For virus scanning I use BitDefender (3 PC's - $50.00) . This product includes a decent amount of parental control. I'm working on setting up BitDefender in "network mode" which allows me to configure all the PC's from one location but you do have to install the software on each PC.
Network Magic Pro (8 users - $40.00) is another optional add-on for the Cisco router which creates online reports and let's you schedule Internet access times. As you can see there's not a single magic-bullet solution and some products have some overlap with others.
I'm running Windows 7 so I've installed Microsoft Family Safe Filter (free) which gives me the ability to allow and/or block specific sites. This solution is actually pretty neat since it allows the kids to easily send a message to my "MS Live" account requesting a specific site to be "opened". Along with Network Magic Pro the Microsoft Family Safe Filter provides some great online reporting.
It's not as daunting as it seems but I certainly had to spend a little bit of upfront time sorting out the overlap and getting a consistent installation on the PC's, netbooks and laptops.
And of course I help them with their homework, take bike rides, teach them the fine art of open-field tackles and maintain a healthy activity level with our local church. In the end, there is no guarantee but it's good to see other parents taking seriously the responsibility of protecting their children while they establish a character with solid morals and ethics. I pray every night that my kids will make good choices when no one else is around... this world is going to throw them some pretty bizarre options soon enough.
Slashdot Mirror
Dragon Eater, I think I noticed two specific areas you were addressing in your initial post ... the first was around setting limits around the Internet for your children and the second seemed to be more virus protection / system maintenance focused. I can share my observations with the first challenge but I haven't done much with our home network around automated maintenance. For the record, my wife and I have 3 boys in the house right now (6, 11 and 23). Our home has 3 desktops, 2 laptops and 3 netbooks ... along with about 5 ipod/touch, a Wii and WiFi enabled Nintendo DS systems.
I approached the challenge of tightening down our home network with a focus on trying to put controls on centralized hardware as opposed to managing something on every device. I settled on the Cisco/Linksys WRT610N router ($175.00) which allows me to block certain Internet sites. The Home Network Defender (HND) software, an add-on to the router, allows me to block sites from the Wii and any other wireless device without loading client software. HND ($50.00) also allows me to also schedule times for allowing Internet access. My understanding from books and other resources is that most kids tend to get in to questionable activities between 3:00pm and 6:00pm ... I've got Internet access setup so that they can only get online while we're home. We also do not allow any computers outside of the family rooms downstairs (i.e., no isolated internet, computer usage). The 23 year-old is only filtered by the router and manages his own devices. We only ask they he keep his PC and laptop locked with an account when not in use.
For virus scanning I use BitDefender (3 PC's - $50.00) . This product includes a decent amount of parental control. I'm working on setting up BitDefender in "network mode" which allows me to configure all the PC's from one location but you do have to install the software on each PC.
Network Magic Pro (8 users - $40.00) is another optional add-on for the Cisco router which creates online reports and let's you schedule Internet access times. As you can see there's not a single magic-bullet solution and some products have some overlap with others.
I'm running Windows 7 so I've installed Microsoft Family Safe Filter (free) which gives me the ability to allow and/or block specific sites. This solution is actually pretty neat since it allows the kids to easily send a message to my "MS Live" account requesting a specific site to be "opened". Along with Network Magic Pro the Microsoft Family Safe Filter provides some great online reporting.
It's not as daunting as it seems but I certainly had to spend a little bit of upfront time sorting out the overlap and getting a consistent installation on the PC's, netbooks and laptops.
And of course I help them with their homework, take bike rides, teach them the fine art of open-field tackles and maintain a healthy activity level with our local church. In the end, there is no guarantee but it's good to see other parents taking seriously the responsibility of protecting their children while they establish a character with solid morals and ethics. I pray every night that my kids will make good choices when no one else is around ... this world is going to throw them some pretty bizarre options soon enough.