Need help concerning a childs access to the Internet.....

[js415]

I am running a home network at my house with access to the Internet for 3 computers, from my main computer in my office.

My daughter has access via Internet Connection Sharing, which she uses for school, chat, goofing off, e-mail, etc, etc.

I would like to find a way to turn OFF her access at a certain time on school nights, Church nights, or any other time I do not want her to have access.

I am using a Linksys hub to connect all the computers.

Does anybody know if there is any sort of software, that works sort of like a "timer" for access for network computers?

I am doing this because more than once I have found her in the middle fo the night, or way too late on a school night, "chatting" with her buddies!!

At the moment, I am just unplugging her patch cord from the patch panel, but I'm sure before long, she will figure out how to plug it back in!!

Anybody have any good suggestions??

Thanks,

Jerry

[Anthony Caruana]

I'm using a Dlink router on my home LAN and it allws me to specify what times a particular machine can access the internet. For example, I can say that IP Address 192.168.x.x can only use the internet between 9 AM and 5 PM.

Perhaps you could look at upgrading your hub to this sort of device (the Dlnk I have is OK but I wouldn't neccesarily recommend it highly).

If you are on Broadband a device like this would also provide you with a reasonable firewall. You can even get ones with print servers built in so that you don't rely on a specific PC to be running for everyone else on the LAN to print.

[ironguy]

www.dougknox.com


1) Open Help and Support and type "logon hours" (without the quotes) in the search box.
2) Go to Full text matches and click on "Net user". See the examples for setting a user's logon hours. Some examples would be:

net user johnsw /time:M-F,08:00-17:00
net user johnsw /time:M-F,8am-5pm
net user marysl /time:M,4am-5pm;T,1pm-3pm;W-F,8:00-17:00
net user johnsw /time:all (this one means this user can always log on)

3) Open a Command Prompt window.
4) Enter the appropriate "net user" command for the user(s) you wish to restrict access for.

[Janak Parekh]

4) Enter the appropriate "net user" command for the user(s) you wish to restrict access for.
I don't think this controls ICS, though. The problem is he'd like to control her Internet access for a predetermined time period. ICS works on the IP level, not the user level. Your trick would work if he wanted to limit her login hours on her machine altogether...

--janak

[DimensionZero]

Well, if you're technically inclined, perhaps you could get another computer as a server and set up something like WinGate (http://www.wingate.com/product-wingate.php) which will allow you to control internet access.

This would probably be the best solution, there are other software packages similar to this, but I think WinGate is the best...

Alternatively, you could set up a Linux server for even cheaper but it would require more work...

[js415]

Hmmmm,

What do you suppose would happen if I tried this idea on HER computer.

She would only be able to log on during the hours that I specify?

That would limit her access to the Internet, but would also stop her from using her computer all together, right??

Thanks,

Jerry

[JustinGTP]

Or you can remove the computer from her room and set time limits of your own (verbally)

Simple, easy.

Plus you get to show her that you are the boss.

[PetiteFlower]

Not simple if there's nowhere else to put it, I'd guess it's already in the best place for her to be able to do her schoolwork. Not many people have enough rooms in the house that the kids can have their own office as well as their own bedroom!

Unfortunately, kids are tricksy and there aren't a whole lot of foolproof ways to keep them offline....unplugging is probably the easiest way. If you can, put the router in your room so she can't go sneaking off to plug it in in the middle of the night, because you'll be in there!

She'll of course probably find other ways to stay up too late on school nights, kids seem to like to do that, but the only cure I know of for that is maturity....eventually she'll figure out that it really sucks to be tired every day and to have to draaag yourself out of bed every morning, and realize that she feels better when she gets enough sleep! And if not, well then she'll just have to feel crappy, on top of whatever you do when you catch her :)

[js415]

Or you can remove the computer from her room and set time limits of your own (verbally)

Simple, easy.

Plus you get to show her that you are the boss.



I'm betting you do not have a 16 year old daughter!!!!!!!!

She is a straight A student, since 7th grade, for the last 5 years, Color guard in High school for the last 2 years, and extremely active in our Church, and trust me, she KNOWS who the boss is!!!!

However, that said, she is a 16 year old girl, who can find ways to sneak off and chat with her friends, both boys and girls, at times when I would rather she did not!!

Her room is upstairs in a seperate part of the house, next to my office, where the main computer is. Removing her computer is really not an option. Unplugging the patch cords is working for the time being, but I'm sure she could figure out how to plug them back in if she really wanted to.

She's a great kid, no problems, and I trust her 100%, however, remember, she is a 16 year old kid, and those of us with teenagers know EXACTLY what that means!!!!

[JustinGTP]

Ok!!! Im so sorry for suggesting that!!! Pardon me helping!!!

[Brad Adrian]

I'm not an expert on controlling that kind of access -- in fact I'm interested in what suggestions are made, because I have teenagers, too. Another thing you might want to consider is a tool that provides archiving of all instant messages, like Messenger Plus. I trust my kids, too, but letting them know that I can always scan their archived IMs for inappropriate language helps keep them clean. I've never actually read the archives, but they know I can.

But, on one occasion one of my son's classmates started sending him threatening IMs and my son was able to show his parents just how off-the-wall and dangerous he is. My son was glad for the archiving, then.

Okay, all of you who feel this is an invasion of their privacy, pile on now...

[js415]

Ok!!! Im so sorry for suggesting that!!! Pardon me helping!!!


I appreciate the suggestion, and the help, it's just that it was way to simplistic for the given situation.

All suggestions are appreciated.

No harm done!!

Jerry

[mberry]

You may want to think of replacing your hub with a router.
This may solve several issues. One being your wish for restricted internet access.
The router i use on my home network is a Microsoft MN-500 (connects 3 PCs, and 1 IPAQ wirelessly, all sharing a DSL line). This router (as with many others I've seen) has client filtering, meaning you use static IP address for all clients within your LAN and using the filtering option you deny access to those IP address at specified time/dates, etc. They will still have local computer use access, just no IP related traffic (meaning internet, shared folder, shared printers, etc.). This router even allows filtering down to the port level (dont want your daughter to use the IM from 7-10pm, but still want her to get her email... you can restrict the port IM uses and not the port for email).
The other extra bonus is to eliminate ICS and if you get a router with a switch built in as opposed to a hub, you will get better bandwidth management if more than one person is online at the same time.

The other ideas are good and in a perfect world you would tell a 16 year to not do something and they would listen the first time... however... i was 16 once... so were "some" of you... (enough said).

I have a 5 year old that loves getting online to go to Lego and NickJR and lots of other sites... so with client filtering, IE6 content advisor turned on and McAfee internet security web restrictions... i know that he is not going where he shouldnt, even by mistake.

Hope that helps

[Jon Westfall]

Some ISP's offer parental controls that can do this, although they aren't always really visible (like AOL's). I use SBC Yahoo DSL and Yahoo has a nice parental control applet that can't control times unfortunatly, but can do some. (http://ypc.yahoo.com)

Anyway, my only solution would be the MCSE-bloatware involving a Windows 2000 Server acting as a gateway with ISA server installed. Not a cost-effective solution. A router with time access or a program that could be installed on your machine that monitors the ICS traffic would be great, although I don't know if one exists.

[PetiteFlower]

If she can be a straight a student and such a great smart kid even occasionally staying up late chatting, I'd say let her use her judgement, at 16 :) If she does it too often she'll feel the effects, like I mentioned before. But it's not my kid and you certainly have the right to set limits, 16 is still a kid after all(though she'd disagree I'm sure!) My mom used the "I trust your judgement" line with me after I got to be that age and most of the time, I made the right decisions.....and when I didn't, I paid the consequences! Experience is the best teacher, so they say :)

Another advantage of going the router way is that you can go wireless and get rid of the cords altogether! Makes the house less messy I say.

As for invading the privacy of teenagers......well personally I feel that parents shouldn't read personal letters, email, etc of their teenagers UNLESS they have a reason to believe something is really wrong. And I don't mean them using bad words, I mean drug use, serious depression, that kind of thing. Having the ability to do so in case of emergency is fine, because in some cases it could save a life. But I don't think you should make your kids feel like you're always looking over their shoulders, if you trust them then let them know you trust them(that's a big inducer of good behavior in itself) and tell them you won't invade their privacy unless you give them a reason to believe they're acting untrustworthy. But they should feel safe in their rooms and on their computers too. Gotta find that balance :)

Of course, I'm a lot closer to being a teenager then to being a parent of a teenager(yipes! no kids yet I'm only 26!) so take those opinions as you will. I hope I'm lucky and wise enough to raise trustworthy teenagers someday....you guys are doing pretty damn good to have gotten that far!

[Kati Compton]

If she can be a straight a student and such a great smart kid even occasionally staying up late chatting, I'd say let her use her judgement, at 16 :) If she does it too often she'll feel the effects, like I mentioned before.
I don't know this particular teenager... But from being a teenager at some point and knowing other teenagers, it might not affect just her. If she's staying up late chatting and still getting the A's, that doesn't mean she won't get cranky from sleep deprivation. And that's something that everyone around her would have to deal with, not just her, though she may not see it that way. I know I didn't understand why my mom would get mad when I was cranky back then. ;)

[Steven Cedrone]

I think I would go with the router suggestion. Make it a WAP as well. This way you can input and change the access rules as you see fit and you do not have to bother with unplugging and plugging cables etc (not to mention the fact that it is an all around easier setup from the admin point of view)...

Just my .02

Steve

[Korlon]

Non-geeky, I know, but I have to suggest the low-tech approach.

You say you trust her, so just explain your concerns and let her do what she thinks is right. If It isn't a matter of health (she will change her habits long before lack of sleep does long-term harm to her), safety, or money, then it seems like a fine opportunity to let her mature a bit. She can find a balance between sleep and socializing online.

No, I'm not a parent. But I'm also not that far from 16 (closer than PetiteFlower). I know that I appreciate the respect and trust that I got from my own parents, and I strongly believe that making my own decisions and living with the results left me better prepared for the life I am now living.


YMMV. That's just my take on dealing with young people. :)

[PetiteFlower]

I just came across a review of this in the tech section of my paper:

http://www.eyetimer.com/intro.html

Might fill your needs :)

[DimensionZero]

What do you suppose would happen if I tried this idea on HER computer.

She would only be able to log on during the hours that I specify?

That would limit her access to the Internet, but would also stop her from using her computer all together, right??


You wouldn't be able to do this on her computer, it would have to be done on another computer that all internet access would have to go through. The hours that you specify in WinGate would only cut off Internet access. She would still be able to use the comptuer.

The hardware suggestion that was made is pretty good, but there's one problem, and that's if she gets smart enough to change her IP address, then the rules wouldn't apply anymore... Kids are getting tech savy REALLY quick these days... I was helping manage the school network when I was in grade 9 =)

[Steven Cedrone]

The hardware suggestion that was made is pretty good, but there's one problem, and that's if she gets smart enough to change her IP address, then the rules wouldn't apply anymore... Kids are getting tech savy REALLY quick these days... I was helping manage the school network when I was in grade 9 =)

On the router you can filter by IP address. If she were to change the IP address, she wouldn't be able to get anywhere...

Steve

[dean_shan]

I'm not an expert on controlling that kind of access -- in fact I'm interested in what suggestions are made, because I have teenagers, too. Another thing you might want to consider is a tool that provides archiving of all instant messages, like Messenger Plus. I trust my kids, too, but letting them know that I can always scan their archived IMs for inappropriate language helps keep them clean. I've never actually read the archives, but they know I can.

Okay, all of you who feel this is an invasion of their privacy, pile on now...

No offence but I'm glad you're not my Dad. I think that is a huge invasion of privacy.

[dean_shan]

If she can be a straight a student and such a great smart kid even occasionally staying up late chatting, I'd say let her use her judgement, at 16 :) If she does it too often she'll feel the effects, like I mentioned before. But it's not my kid and you certainly have the right to set limits, 16 is still a kid after all(though she'd disagree I'm sure!) My mom used the "I trust your judgement" line with me after I got to be that age and most of the time, I made the right decisions.....and when I didn't, I paid the consequences! Experience is the best teacher, so they say :)

I'd say this is the best option for you. Your daughter will learn how to be responsible and she will not feel like you are taking away her freedom. It's the best of both worlds.

[Kati Compton]

No offence but I'm glad you're not my Dad. I think that is a huge invasion of privacy.
Yes... But to some extent, that's what parents have to do. I'm not sure what I would do as a parent, as I don't have kids. When *I* was that age, I certainly would have resented it. But now that I'm older... It doesn't sound quite so bad.

[js415]

Well, I have yet to find a good "Workable" solution, although many great suggestions have been posted here.

So far, and in the recent past, I have used the option of letting her use her own "good Judgement", however, all that does is create a cranky 16 year old daughter in the mornings!!!! Something her mom really does not appreciate. And trust me, if any of you are around a "cranky 16 year old" you know what I mean!!

I'm starting to lean toward the idea of a router that will let me do a little programming of what I want.

As for the comments about invasion of privacy, trust me, when your kids get to be the age of my daughter, and are exposed to the things on the internet and in the real world, that she is exposed to on a daily basis, a little "invasion" goes a long way!!

Luckily, she tells us all the crazy things the kids do these days, and even the things she is offered and presented with. Imagine having to tell your own daughter to never take even a soft drink from somebody at a party, for fear of what may have been placed in it!

She thinks she is going to have to drink from unopened cans for the rest of her life!!!

Oh well, at least she will be able to grow up and live life to its fullest, even if I am going to have her point fingers at me and roll her eyes for the next couple of years.

Jerry

[Janak Parekh]

Luckily, she tells us all the crazy things the kids do these days, and even the things she is offered and presented with.
I think it's great that she has open and honest channels of communication with you and your wife. :way to go: As long as she's aware of what you guys reserve the right to do, I think there's nothing wrong with controlling her access. I know it's addictive, even for me. ;)

--janak

[DustyLBottoms]

Might wanna try this: http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/parental-internet-control-key-review.html

We're getting for the kiddies at my house.

[js415]

Well, that is closer to anything I have seen that does what I want, except with this, I still would have to walk upstairs every night at 9:00PM, and pull the plug to shut her down. Then go back when she gets home from school to do her studies, and repeat the cycle every night til the weekend comes.

Too much starting and stopping required on my part to use this. I am basically getting this done right now with my patch cords and hub.

I have never written any computer program in my life, but have used some real fancy and expensive ones, and for the life of me, it seems like this would be an easy thing for a good programmer to write. And it seems that this would be a tool that any parent would love to have and would gladly pay for.

On the other hand, maybe I'm the only one who needs this, and maybe it's not that easy to write a program!!!

Still searching for something that I bet she will figure out a way to beat if she wanted to :mrgreen:

Jerry