How to block porn sites

[flip]

Seems my 2 boys have developed a healthy thirst for the opposite sex in an unhealthy way . Need some advice on the best way to blacklist these sites without using a lot of resources.

[AlphaDoG]

Disconnect your internet.

Actually saves resources, ie. your money.

[CDN_Merlin]

Nifty thing I saw on my step-daughters vista laptop, it has parental controls built in.

[flip]

Heh at the moment AD thats exactly what has happened. Does XP have any kind of parental controls? I guess I could use the hosts file but then again that's not gonna be 100% and alot of work to keep it updated. I need some system admins to step in here.

[CDN_Merlin]

Buy some parental software. They aren't expensive. XP doens't have it built in.

[Krom]

x2 the disconnect solution. But since that isn't really practical, go with some parental control software. Sadly for parents, the Internet is for porn.

I strongly recommend setting a password they don't know on all the administrator accounts, keeping them on limited accounts and supervising their time on the internet. Also beware that with \"free porn\" comes \"free malware/viruses/etc\", it would be wise to check over your whole machine with a good virus scanner AND spybot/etc.

But of course boys will be boys, and eventually they will get what they are after regardless of what you load on the machine if they are determined enough, so never let your guard down...

[ccb056]

OpenDNS

OpenDNS is the leading provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. OpenDNS services enable consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, reduce costs and enforce Internet-use policies. OpenDNS is used today by millions of users and organizations around the world.

[VonVulcan]

Use the \"block sites\" feature of you router if you have one. Type in key words. Set to internal ip's of the machines you want to limit. Works for me.

[flip]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833124190

Will that router with a 3rd party firmware allow me to do that? Opendns looks ok but I kinda like keeping all the control in my hands if possible and without running another process locally like parental software. That router would cost me about the same amount of money as the software with more benefits. Anybody here running the tomato software?

[TechPro]

OpenDNS

OpenDNS is the leading provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. OpenDNS services enable consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, reduce costs and enforce Internet-use policies. OpenDNS is used today by millions of users and organizations around the world.

x2

[Insurrectionist]

Opendns looks interesting, I'll have to read up on that. I do have a 1gig router with a lot of keyword blocking though. haven't had much of a problem with my 14 year looking at porn though. He does try and look up cheat codes but I have keyworded blocks on hacks and cheats on the router.

[ccb056]

What you do is setup your router to use the OpenDNS servers, this way all the machines who get DHCP leases from the router for internal IP's also use the OpenDNS servers for domain name lookup. Then create an account at OpenDNS where you can block sites by keyword, domain name, or genre. You can look at the history of domains accessed, etc. You need to link your internet IP address to your OpenDNS account for this all to work, but thats quick and eqasy with their guides.

[BUBBALOU]

um ...... why you guys do things the hard way


K9

Point the admin to an email account they do not have access to for alerts. Also each PC needs a separate registration number.

free and easy, I have used it successfully on many Community PC's

ENJOY

[Sniper]

Even simpler...edit the host.ini file on your computer.

[TOR_LordRaven]

To answer your question Flip - The best way to go is to stop the access at the Router. That way you don't have to configure each individual machine, and there is no software that they can figure out how to disable.

And yes, I believe that router you listed does support the \"Blocked Sites\" feature.

That router also has lots of 3rd party support so if that feature is not built in out of the box - you may be able to find the software somewhere else.

Good luck!

[EngDrewman]

OpenDNS

OpenDNS is the leading provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. OpenDNS services enable consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, reduce costs and enforce Internet-use policies. OpenDNS is used today by millions of users and organizations around the world.

x3

[Hostile]

Beat them mercilessly......... As many times as is required......

[DCrazy]

OpenDNS is your best bet. Here's a tutorial: http://www.opendns.com/support/article/116

Though I suppose you'll find that while software and hardware are easier to control, wetware is significantly more difficult, particularly that of the teenage variety. Maybe your best bet is to let your kids know that you don't want them downloading porn. There are two very sound arguments for this: 1) you don't want to open yourself up to the possibility of being prosecuted for making obscene material available to minors (your kids), and 2) porn sites are malware-ridden cornucopias.

OpenDNS will *not*, however, take care of any direct-IP connection, including peer-to-peer traffic. And you still have to worry about them using proxies or other means of avoiding the OpenDNS filter. Make sure your machine has up-to-date antivirus, because at some point they'll get clever enough to dodge your restrictions.

In the end, it's your internet connection. Take it away from them if they're not obeying your restrictions.

[VonVulcan]

Beat them mercilessly......... As many times as is required......

X2

[flip]

LOL the beatings weren't working . After trying the 2, hands down K9. Easy to use and you can allow or disallow right on the spot. Something I couldn't figure out with opendns.

[BUBBALOU]

yeah K9 works good when you want to set and forget

[Octopus]

Why not try the same method used for cigarettes and electric sockets. Over expose them to it, and they might be turned off by it completely.

[VonVulcan]

Why not try the same method used for cigarettes and electric sockets. Over expose them to it, and they might be turned off by it completely.

Well, you may have a point, my Mom and Dad were heavy smokers, when we went any where in the car or truck, they would both light up. Winter was the worst, windows up, me sitting as low and close to the door as possible with my coat/shirt over my head trying to breath. Definitely turned me off cigarettes. My clothes stank from all the smoking in the house even after they were washed. I couldn't even stand to go to bars when peeps were allowed to smoke in them. Guess they did me a big favor.

[Neo]

I think it should be a combination of the aforementioned toolz plus logging. Log all attempts to access blacklisted sites. Don't let them get away with it. Well, minus any crappy parental control software. so

K9/OpenDNS/whatever + logging + beatdownz = WQQT




just kidding.

[BUBBALOU]

Log all attempts to access blacklisted sites. Don't let them get away with it.

K9 Does that and notifies you of any attempted password change to get past it

[ccb056]

Wait until they get the Ubuntu live CD, your k9 will be worthless, but OpenDNS will still work.

[flip]

Yeah K9 is pretty complete, but you do have a point ccb056. Only thing about opendns I didnt like was the way it categorizes things. Makes it too complicated to make specific exclusions.
Plus, if they get that rebellious I'm just gonna pull the plug. I understand they wanna see some titties, who don't, but I've explained to them it's an unhealthy way to satisfy themselves. Gotta leave the tree in their midst and let them make their own decisions. If not they will just start lying and trying to hide it. I'd rather they be honest with me and themselves about their flaws than become liars. I'm pretty sure no matter what I do, they are still gonna want to see some titties .

[AlphaDoG]

boobies