Parental Control Software

[morgoth_666]

Ahhh...teenagers...

 

Precisely the reason I've registered to this website in the first place!!!

 

I need a bit of help with parental control and download security Wolfy...care to help???

Please!!!

[Goku]

Hello and Welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help Morg. :)

 

We are here to help so please ask any questions you may have. For your question regarding parental controls, you will need a software to monitor your children's activities online. Most of such softwares are paid but below is a free one that will do the job satisfactorily.

 

iProtectYou 3.06

 

You might also find the following site useful for your purpose.

 

Internet Parental Control Tips

 

Hope that helps. :)

 

Administrative Note: I have split your post from the previous thread as it was for tech assistance. This is done to ensure that threads don't get hijacked or go off-topic.

 

-- Goku

Edited August 14, 2008 by Goku

[Dalo Harkin]

Most parental control software is easy to get around if a child has a modicum of intelligence -

I personally would set up another user account and restrict all the options that way - through your (administrator account)

[AdvancedSetup]

ENUFF PC Usage Timer Control

 

Clean Slate and Fortress 101

 

Net Nanny

 

 

 

.

[morgoth_666]

Thanks for the replies Goku, Dalo (cool pic by the way...), A.S but it may not be quite as simple as all that. Allow me to explain...

 

This is the "family" shared PC (Windows XP) with my girlfriend and I as admin users and gf's teenage brother set up as an additional user.

 

Teenage brother has an annoying habit of grinding PC to a halt by treating the PC's hard drive like a memory card or by destroying the PC's setup with the help of those tool programs you can download (useful for those that are PC literate...a weapon of mass destruction for someone who hasn't even heard of "virtual memory".

 

We don't want to restrict the internet as such, we just want to bar him from downloading every piece of software under the sun because asking nicely just doesn't work!!

 

Anyone?

[Dalo Harkin]

There is no easy way to do what you describe - I would just block the net on his account if I were you.

It also depends how he is downloading the software - via the internet or P2P.

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Are you running Windows NT or XP Morg?

 

NT is one old operating system and I'm not sure if it has User Accounts.

 

Can you verify this please.

 

 

We don't want to restrict the internet as such, we just want to bar him from downloading every piece of software under the sun because asking nicely just doesn't work!!

 

If he didn't do what I asked him then I'd throw him off it and stick a bios password on.

[Goku]

Exactly what Wolfey says Morg. Windows NT doesn't have the ability to create User Accounts and has a slightly difficult learning edge too. So, it will be difficult to monitor on your girlfriend's brother's habits if he is savvy enough.

 

To resolve this, I would recommend you to upgrade to Windows XP and creating a limited User Account for your brother. For additional security, limit his access to the internet too as there are some sites which provide instructions on circumventing a password.

 

-- Goku

[AdvancedSetup]

Yes Windows NT does have User Accounts and has since it's beginnings back in the NT 3.1 which was circa 1992. Every NT Operating System supports User Accounts NT/2000/XP/VISTA/2003/2008 etc...

 

You can disable file downloads for a user, but it will disable ALL file downloads for that user account, which I'm not sure if you want or not.

 

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_USERS\<SID>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3]
"1803"=dword:00000003

 

If you're just wanting to protect the system then ensure the account for him is a normal or restricted user and he will have very limited access to damage the system. His own profile might get screwed up but not the main PC.

 

The software I provided links for above will actually manage this VERY well and can even restore it back when the user is an Admin and is installing damaging software on purpose. Not free, but good software that WILL do the task.

 

 

.

[RandyL]

The above REGEDIT4 is a file that would disable downloads using IE. It would not disable downloads using a different browser.

 

Furthur after copying to NotePad it would have to be saved with a .reg file extension. The other problem with it is that should you choose to undo it you would need another regedit file.

 

Of course you could also navigate the registry manually to change the value data. Change the dword to 00000003 to disable downloads. Put the 3 back to 0 to enable downloads.

 

Do not edit the registry if you are unfamiliar with it unless you have created a backup.

[AdvancedSetup]

Yes, agreed - a pain to manually manage. Limited/Restricted User is much easier.

 

If you have XP Pro and know how to setup policies you could use file hashes to prevent downloads from any application, but very advanced knowledge required to do.

[morgoth_666]

Well, that just about goes to show how good I am with computer's these days...(never had all these problems on my Amiga!!!)

 

For the record, I'm running Windows XP Pro. Had the foresight to create two separate user accounts at the time it was installed. I'd never noticed his user status was (default?) set to administrator...unless of course, he's reset his own account when the missus has left the computer on (AGAIN!?!).

Will downgrading the account completely remove the capability to download any file types as that user?

 

Gotta remember to switch the password protected screen saver on again too!

 

Thanks for all your help guys!!!

[RandyL]

I don't know about XP Pro but in Vista Home Premium (Standard account) I can't even update flash players. It seems to be extremely restricted.

 

With XP Pro you have more options then XP or Vista Home Premium on setting policies. I'll let the experts elaborate more but again it's not a one click option.

[AdvancedSetup]

No, down grading to a NORMAL user will NOT prevent him from downloading anything. All it will do is prevent "most" software from being installed once it is downloaded. Though some older applications that don't adhere to standards might still attempt to install but won't be allowed to install to main keys and folder locations, but it's not 100% effective - but for a free solution it is the best thing to do for the account.

 

 

 

.

[Dalo Harkin]

I must strongly state that messing in the registry can cause you some serious issues and is not recommended for average users.

for the benefits it would give (ie only in IE) - I would recommend an alternative route.