How a teen foiled million dollar Internet Safety Software
When I read this I had to post it immediately because it spurred a rant from the depths within my mind…
Here’s the story:
How a teen foiled million dollar Internet Safety Software
What do you get when you put a group of tech ‘nerds’ in a room together with AU$84 million worth of funding to create a safer internet for youths? A structure that a 16-year-old boy was able to foil in less than 30 minutes.
Two versions of this parental software, designed to block porn from children, were stifled by Tom Wood, 16, of Melbourne. He was even able to disable the software in a way that it looked untouched and fully functional.
Needless to say the company that was working with the government on the project is now putting funds into Internet safety officers who are looking to visit local schools to talk to the kids directly.
It seems the more we try to stump our children from seeing certain things on the internet, like pornography, gambling and gaming sites, the more they want to see them and find a way to see them. Whether your child is a hacker, computer novice or simply knows how to Google search, they have many ways of getting around parental controls and filters. If you don’t believe me, try a Google search on how to get around your Internet safety software! Education over restriction!
OK, so what do we have here? We have another excellent argument for the difference and benefit of monitoring as opposed to filtering.
First of all, kids can get around filters so easily. You parents just don’t get that.
Second, filtering and blocking is PASSIVE parenting. All you are doing is saying “don’t touch”… and of course what happens? Kids touch. Not only that, but you are using someone else’s idea of safety and telling your kids what to do from afar. Of COURSE they are going to go around it.
BUT, if you have monitoring software, like our awesome PC Pandora, you are given immediate benefits.
First of all, you will have an actual record of everything they do. This means you can SEE what they are doing for your self, with your own eyes, therefore eliminating the guesswork and false assumptions that they are safe (or getting into trouble).
Second, this is authoritative parenting. By knowing what your kids are doing you are able to be a proactive parent. How can you talk to them or give them life lessons if you don’t know what they are doing… how can you be a good parent if you are just relying on a few roadblocks that your kids can get around?
Also, there is a HUGE difference between spying on your kids (as many like to refer to it) and being a responsible, aware parent… and being an ignorant parent. It’s a two way street. You CAN give your kids privacy while spot checking their activity. You don’t need to know who has a crush on whom or other sorted tween and teen growing up details… but you DO need to know if your child is a victim of a vicious cyberbully – or worse – if they are a bully, you need to know if they are talking to jacqui15 online… or loveslittlegirls49. Kids won’t tell their parents these things. The same studies that show that kids are not really falling victim to predators show that those that do fall victim or start chatting with strangers don’t tell their parents. Same goes for cyberbullying. The studies also don’t show the number of sickos that get arrested every month for trying to solicit kids online kids may not be falling victim in drives, but the perverts out there trying in droves.
Bottom line: while I agree some basic filtering has to be in place to make sure XXX sites are popping up in searches, filters and block are not only useless, they are cowardly passive parenting tools that invite kids to challenge you. If you REALLY want to keep your kids safe online, you need to know what they are doing on the computer. Simple as that. Blocks and filters are easy to get around, but if you have monitoring software, like PC Pandora, you will know everything they do and will be able to talk to them about it. If you aren’t monitoring and don’t know what they are really doing, how can you be sure they are safe? How can you be sure they are using the Internet responsibly and not putting themselves into bad situations? How can you be sure they aren’t being bullied or BEING a bully?
The author of the blof post has it right: education over restriction. Part of that education is the knowledge of what your kids do online.
