Keylogger question
 

Has anyone here ever used one, and if so which one.

Single father here with 3 kids. I work 60+ hours a week and I want to be able to know when, where, and what they're are doing when on the computer. They're all good kids, but they are still kids.

Never used one myself but a quick google search turned this up - might be what you're looking for:
http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

We just gave our 14 year old a laptop for his birthday and I looked into parental control software programs quite a bit. In the end I decided to go with the free controls that you get with Windows 7 via Windows Live. It was pretty easy to set up and I was able to apply internet filters that prevent him from going to adult sites. I can also set a calendar for time limits that will shut his computer down at the times I decide. For example, at 10 pm on weekdays his computer will log him off and not allow him to log back on, etc. You can also view an activity report that shows you everything they do on the computer. The only downside is you have to physically be on their computer logged in as the administrator in order to view the report.

The software programs you can buy have quite a bit more detailed features such as being able to see what they're up to remotely without them knowing. You can also tweak the filters quite a bit more for specific sites where as the free Windows program is more of a blanket filter. From the limited research I did Net Nanny seamed to be the best of the parental control programs. The major downside to all of the paid programs is that you have to keep on paying. All of them require a yearly subscription of around $40-$50 to keep them active.

I figured I would use the free Windows program until our son is smart enough to figure out how to get around it. When and if that happens I will then switch to the paid services that allow me to watch them remotely.

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to download the trial version of Net Nanny and see how that goes.

Internet porn is the dream of every teen age boy. Why kill the dream?


J/K. Good luck. I've wondered what it'll be like to raise kids where there is such easy access to so many questionable things online. It's a different world out there from when I grew up just 15 years ago.

Ain't that the truth...... This past weekend my son was grounded from playing video games and using his computer because of bad grades. As he was moping around all weekend depressed I told him it could be worse...... I explained what it was like when I was a kid and EVERY weekend was like this one because PC's and video games didn't exist (at least to the common household)

Another way to do it and it's free.

http://www.dyndns.com/services/dynguide/

I like free.....but one feature I like about Nett Nanny is being able to log into it while I'm at work, and check and see what sites they've visited.

For my oldest son, who is almost 20 now and at college, we used Safe Eyes. We got a 3 year subsciption and it did pretty good. It is so difficult to filter everything or just the right things! I liked using the software to turn on and off the internet access for the computer. Forums, like this one and one we used for our riding, are sometimes off limits. Youtube, photobucket, and the like are difficult to monitor too. Unfortunately, folks put bait and spam on the video and pics sites..... Today, it won't be long before I have to go through all this again since my 13 year old will be curious before I know it. (I haven't seen any signs yet.) With my first son, it was just this laptop I am using now. With my younger son, I'll have a much more difficult time. Why? Because we have a PS3, a Wii, a I-touch and a PSP! I have no idea what to do with those except change the internet password and turn'em off.

dang it hurts me to think that he won't be able to google BOOBS.

When I was young there was no net nanny (that I knew of) I had to wait 5 minutes for a damn nude pic to load...that was unbearable...I don't know what would be worse, the agonizing wait or not having access at all.

Wow, thank god my parents didn't know about software like that :eek: , although i would probably be computer savy enough to get around it. haha

It's not that easy to get around AND it generates a report and notification



One reason I have not upgraded above DSL Lite.

Hey Richard, you don't think your son will ever need to stay up after 10pm finishing off a last minute assignment?! Would be good if you could just block internet after those hours, rather than disable to whole computer! Is there anything like that in the free windows software? Maybe 14 is a bit young to be pulling all nighters :) I have no idea these days!