Parental Controls - Any Config possible?

Am using Parental Controls for my kids. However, they're growing up fast...
It appears that the settings under Content are being too restrictive for their age. What's fine for the 8-year old is not really right for the older.
is there a way to configure that one-size-fits-all approach?
(I know about the things obvious from the UI like single-site whitelist/blacklist etc. Am looking for behind-the-scenes configuration of thresholds, keywords, concepts, phrases, categories etc.)

Hi Carolyn,
Thank you for a prompt response, I really appreciate. Open DNS is my likely fall-back candidate.
The concept's great as it can be done on router level and it does really well at site-level filtering. However, what about sites with mixed content such as video sharing sites or sites that have not got an OpenDNS rating? They get a blanket 'approved' rating. You would want some (configurable) page-level or content-based filtering...
The built-in feature of Mac OS seems to be doing this and doing a good job but just being too rigid about it all without config options.
Cheers
M

Similar Messages

  • Can not open parental controls any more

    Earlier this year I set up parental controls for my children. I want to make changes to the parental controls. I am able to log in with my admin username and password to unlock, but for some reason when I click on the parental controls, there's no response. I even tried to set up another guest user, but when I enable the parental controls and click to open, it doesn't do anything.
    Then I reinstalled the applications from the original disk that came with the computer. That didn't help.

    snifet wrote:
    when I click on the parental controls, there's no response.
    Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.
    I'd launch the Console utility and look for messages that might explain the problem.

  • Websocket and parental control

    Hi all,
    It seems that receiving packets with websocket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebSocket), for a user under parental control, is not possible.
    You can easily test this with a website like http://www.netscan.co
    A site like http://www.momio.me (not for me, for my 8-year old daughter ) depends heavily on the use of websocket.
    Is there any tweak that allows the full use of websocket, yet leave the user under parental control?
    Thanks in advance for any useful hint.
    Peter

    I think the Cisco connect is not working on your computer and you may need to reinstall the CIsco connect software.
    Did you try to change any wireless settings on the router using the Web based setup page of the router. Because if you change the wireless settings of the router using the Web interface then Cisco connect software will stop working and you will get the error message.
    You will need to reset the router and reconfigure it.
    Press and hold the reset button on the router for 30 seconds. Release the reset button and wait for 30 seconds. Power cycle the router. Uninstall the Cisco connect software that you have installed before. Run the CD that comes with the router. It will install the Cisco connect software on your computer again.
    Once you are able to install the CIsco connect software successfully, you will be able to use the parental control feature.
    Do not change the Wireless network name and wireless security key using the Web based setup page of the router otherwise Cisco connect will stop working again.
    Use Cisco connect to change the the Wireless network name and password.
    If you do not want to use the Cisco connect then you can simply reset the router to factory default settings. Do not run the Cd and reconfigure the router using Web based setup page of the router.
    Open the setup page of the router and change the Internet connection settings manually and you will also find the Access restriction tab on the setup page.

  • Any ideas for security and parental control software yet???

    Just received two of the touchpads from the fire sale and gave them to my kids, both under 10.  I am very interested in limiting the sites that can be accessed through the browser, as well as a few other things.  Has anyone found a practical means of doing this?  I'd hate to give up on this and switch it over to Android, especially since there is only Gingerbread available.  But, I just don't know what else I can do about these.  Any ideas? 
    Thanks!
    Post relates to: HP TouchPad (WiFi)

    Please take this post with a grain of salt. I don't claim to be a security and parental control software expert, but I have researched these solutions and have some personal experience with them. That being said, here's some ideas to get you started.
    As speedtouch mentioned, OpenDNS is a fantastic solution for website filtering. They have a great set of filters that can be customized and are one of the easiest systems to set up. Simply install an updater app on one of your desktop computers (or directly on your router if it's supported), configure your router to use their DNS servers, and you're good to go. I personally use this system mysefl and it works really well. The only downside in my experience is that there is not a temporary override system (at least, not in the free version that I use). An example of when this might be handy: my wife goes clothes shopping and looking at new bras. Every once in a while, a perfectly legitimate site might get blocked (in this case, probably something I don't want my kid looking at but perfectly fine for my wife). The option to "temporarily override the block" or "temporarily allow" the site would be nice, but it doesn't exist.
    Another FANTASTIC solution that I've used in the past is the Astaro Security Gateway. They have a free home version of their "Software Appliance" that goes above and beyond OpenDNS. I haven't used it in a while, but when I did it was able to not only filter web sites but also monitor Instant Messaging and other online activites. It's a bit more involved as you need your own hardware (I used an old computer with 2 network cards and stuck it in between my router and my broadband modem), but the results are pretty powerful.
    The downside to all these solutions, however, is that they will only work when the TouchPad is on your network. If they connect to a neighbors network of if the go to a friends house, all of these systems will be moot because they are completely bypassed. The only way to monitor that content from ANY network would be to install an application on the device itself and to my knowledge, none exist.

  • I am trying to reset my 4th generation ipod touch via itunes (as I cannot remember parental controls code). In itunes it does a download but then says the software was corrupted during download. Itunes is up to date. Operating system is vista. Any ideas?

    I have given my 4th generation ipod touch to my husband and he wants to download some in app purchases, so I am trying to reset it via itunes. I dont remember setting parental controls but I must have at some point, maybe when I lent it to the kids. But I cannot remember the password and nothing I have tried works. So I have backed the ipod up and am trying to reset it but after speding 10 minutes doing a download I get a message that says:
    "The softwaar for the iPod was corrupted during download. Disconnect and reconnect, then try again. Make sure your network settings are correct and your network connection is active, or try again later"
    I have tried many times. All the settings are correct, and the network seems to be working fine in all respects.
    Any advice very much appreciated.
    Thank you
    UPDATE - decided to try one more time after trying for hours and it has worked! I now suspect it may have been because my son was playing an online game. Though we have plenty of bandwidth. But in case, I guess it could be a bandwidth problem.

    A Complete Guide to Restore or Recover Your iDevice (or if you forgot your passcode)
    iTunes 10 for Mac- Update and restore software on iPod, iPhone, or iPad
    iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Wrong passcode results in red disabled screen
    iOS- Understanding passcodes
         If you have forgotten your Restrictions code, then follow the instructions
         below but DO NOT restore any previous backup. If you do then you will
         simply be restoring the old Restrictions code you have forgotten. This
         same warning applies if you need to restore a clean system.
    If you need to restore your device or if you cannot remember the passcode, then you will need to restore your device using the computer with which you last synced it. This allows you to reset your passcode and re-sync the data from the device (or restore from a backup). If you restore on a different computer that was never synced with the device, you will be able to unlock the device for use and remove the passcode, but your data will not be present. Refer to Updating and restoring iPhone, iPad and iPod touch software.
    Try restoring the iOS device if backing up and erasing all content and settings doesn't resolve the issue. Using iTunes to restore iOS devices is part of standard isolation troubleshooting. Restoring your device will delete all data and content, including songs, videos, contacts, photos, and calendar information, and will restore all settings to their factory condition.
    Before restoring your iOS device, Apple recommends that you either sync with iTunes to transfer any purchases you have made, or back up new data (data acquired after your last sync). If you have movie rentals on the device, see iTunes Store movie rental usage rights in the United States before restoring.
    Follow these steps to restore your device:
         1. Verify that you are using the latest version of iTunes before attempting to
             update.
         2. Connect your device to your computer.
         3. Select your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch when it appears in iTunes under Devices.
         4. Select the Summary tab.
         5. Select the Restore option.
         6. When prompted to back up your settings before restoring, select the Back Up
             option (see in the image below). If you have just backed up the device, it is not
             necessary to create another.
         7. Select the Restore option when iTunes prompts you (as long as you've backed up,
             you should not have to worry about restoring your iOS device).
         8. When the restore process has completed, the device restarts and displays the Apple
             logo while starting up:
               After a restore, the iOS device displays the "Connect to iTunes" screen. For updating
              to iOS 5 or later, follow the steps in the iOS Setup Assistant. For earlier versions of
              iOS, keep your device connected until the "Connect to iTunes" screen goes away or
              you see "iPhone is activated."
         9. The final step is to restore your device from a previous backup.
    If you can not restore your device then you will need to go to recovery mode.
    Placing your device into recovery mode:
    Follow these steps to place your iOS device into recovery mode. If your iOS device is already in recovery mode, you can proceed immediately to step 6.
         1. Disconnect the USB cable from the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but leave the other end
             of the cable connected to your computer's USB port.
         2. Turn off the device: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the
             red slider appears, then slide the slider. Wait for the device to turn off.
              If you cannot turn off the device using the slider, press and hold the Sleep/Wake
              and Home buttons at the same time. When the device turns off, release the Sleep/Wake
              and Home buttons.
         3. While pressing and holding the Home button, reconnect the USB cable to the device.
             The device should turn on. Note: If you see the screen pictured below, let the device
             charge for at least ten minutes to ensure that the battery has some charge, and then
             start with step 2 again.
         4. Continue holding the Home button until you see the "Connect to iTunes" screen.
             When this screen appears you can release the Home button.
         5. If necessary, open iTunes. You should see the following "recovery mode" alert:
         6. Use iTunes to restore the device.
    If you don't see the "Connect to iTunes" screen, try these steps again. If you see the "Connect to iTunes" screen but the device does not appear in iTunes, see this article and its related links.
    Additional Information:
    Note: When using recovery mode, you can only restore the device. All user content on the device will be erased, but if you had previously synced with iTunes on this computer, you can restore from a previous backup. See this article for more information.

  • For some reason when I shut down my computer then turn it back on, it comes back directly into my account, bypassing having to enter a password to get into my account.  This works in direct conflict with the parental controls I've got set up.  Any ideas?

    For some reason when I shut down my computer then turn it back on, it comes back directly into my account, bypassing having to enter a password to get into my account.  This works in direct conflict with the parental controls I've got set up.  Any ideas?

    Thank you so much for the quick response to my question.  I tested your directions and it works!!  Thank you.  I would never have figured that out.  I knew I had to go into System Preferences but would not have guessed that I needed to have Automatic Login set to off. 

  • Due to a scam invading my server, Parental Controls is locked and I cannot add this site as blocked.  Any ideas as how I can unlock parental Controls?

    Due to a scam invading my computer recently, I cannot block these site in Parental Controls.  This feature locks immediately and I must use Force Quit to close.  Any ideas as to how to unlock Parental Controls?  The two scams appear to be gone as I can now use Safari.

    howdy my Scotch/Irish brother (I'm Irish descent - actually Norman invader, but hey)
    I'm surprised you didn't ask our gracious Hosts to EDIT the live link in the OP's reply - seems very malicious indeed. I reported it already though asking that it be left as merely a domain name - can't save everyone when the ship sinks
    buenos dias
    ÇÇÇ

  • How do I put some kind of parental controls on my ipad 2? My 7 year old daughter just purchased, without my permission, $275 worth of in app purchases in Mall Stars game.  Any tips on how to reverse that purchase?

    How do I put some kind of parental controls on my ipad 2? My 7 year old daughter just purchased, without my permission, $275 worth of in app purchases in Mall Stars game.  Any tips on how to reverse that purchase?

    You can also contact itunes support and ask for a refund.
    expresslane.apple.com
    https://expresslane.apple.com/Issues.action

  • ITunes account parental control preferences could not be unlocked b/c my username is not authenticated.  any advice?

    iTunes account parental control preferences could not be unlocked b/c my username is not authenticated.  any advice?

    Post this in the iTunes forum since this is an issue related to iTunes and not an iPod Classic.
    https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes
    B-rock

  • Is it possible to set up parental control in MultiPoint Server 2012?

    Hello everyone!
    Is it possible to set up parental control in MultiPoint Server 2012. I'd like to filter adult web sites.
    Kind regards,
    Pavel

    I found an issue with Multipoint Dashboard that when student select to signout and then select "Cancel" to signout to go back to the session, the Multipoint Dashboard filtering is no longer applied to the session.
    here is the scenario -
     - Student login to the Multipoint server using the end point device as an standard user.
     - The Multipoint Dashboard has the configuration to "limit the website to all desktop". "cnn.com" only
     - The student session, limits the use of the web browser to only to cnn.com - this is working.
     - Studen open an app like notepad - click save --> prompted him to where to save the file.
    do not save the file. leave the "Save as" windows open.
     - Click Start (left bottom corner)
     - Click the account’s name on the top right corner, Click Sign Out
     - It will prompt you with a warning that there is a file open and needs to be saved
     - "Signout anyway" or "Cancel"
     - student select to "Cancel"
     - He is now back to the session
    This will allow the student/account logged in to bypass the web filtering

  • HT201304 Are there any parental controls or restrictions I can set for YouTube on the iPhone?

    Help!  I need to set some restrictions for my 14 year old son on his YouTube access.  He has an iPhone 4S.  Any suggestions?
    Thanks,
    Darci

    If you are looking for a new take on Internet Parental Controls that addresses how much time your kids can spend on-line on any device, check out this new HIPOM (https://www.myHIPOM.com) offering.
    They have a very interesting free service that lets parents see all of the internet-enabled devices in your house and turn them on or off like a light switch - all from a simple web page.  No software to download or configure and it works for any internet-enabled device.  I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and it really works.  I use it to kick my daughter off Facebook after 8:30pm every night with a push of a button!
    Rumor has it they are going into "beta test" with a 'Web Safeguards' feature as well that will allow parents to block content while the kids are online.  It’s a nice one-two punch for internet parental controls – an internet timer control deciding when they can go on-line and a web filtering control deciding what they can see while on line.
    FWIW

  • HELP... Unable to alter any parental control settings- I get an error message immediately and the lock goes back on.

    Is there a fix to the parental control problem – in Mountain lion? I've been unable to change any control settings for months...should have kept the family PC...this IMAC is garbage at this point.

    Although one would think that re-creating the index could fix this problem, that’s not the case. What sometimes works is restarting the computer or doing some cache-cleaning — don’t ask me why, and I don’t know how to fix the problem when that doesn’t work either.
    You may also want to take a look at the following thread, where another user reported the problem in his/her case was related to a difference in how the email address was written:
    Error - "... unable to find your response..."

  • Parental Controls trivial to bypass in any home router?

    In trying to figure out why the parental controls in my Linksys router were not working, I learned that my kid had trivally by-passed the parental controls that I had set up.  I found his PC was associated with multiple MAC addresses.  A simple google search found this Youtube video that even a grade school kid could follow.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqdib7D-MCY At the end, the poster goes to the Linksys help page for Parental Control just to laugh.  This means at All MAC based access controls and parental controls are useless in any product.  More research on DNS based partental controls shows they are trival to bypass as well.  Installing a control on his PC requires taking away Admin access from his Window login and prevent software install, but then I have to install all the games and software and  that's easy to circumvent too.  Any recommendations other than taking my kids computer away?

    Not sure this works but try setting up the MAC allow list for only the one MAC that is on the pc itself. set it up under Wireless>MAC filtering and click on the Allow button and add only the addresses you want ot have access. Unless your kid knows the password of the router and is able to changes settings in the router then when he changes his MAC is should not connect at all.edit: to add to this. you would need to use the mac filtering as well as the parental controls. If he changes his mac and it still gets in then that is definately a problem. Move the pc to the living room. Best parental control there is!

  • HT5622 Are there any parental controls that can be placed on an apple ID that a parent would obtain for a child?

    Are there any parental controls that can be placed on an apple ID that a parent would obtain for a child?

    Not on the ID as such, but you can certainly use parental controls (Sustem Preferences) and/or create a limited access user account  (in Users & Groups). You would have to delete any applications or folders s/he is not allowed to have access to.

  • Do Apple have any plans to include Parental controls within Safari

    I was wondering if Apple have any plans to include parental controls withing Safari on the iPad going forward.
    It would be particularly useful if you could create a whitelist of websites that could be accessed without a PIN, and then beyond that you would need to enter your PIN to get to any websites not on the white list.
    So many kids games have click through's to YouTube videos, and they access YouTube via Safari rather than using the YouTube app so disabling the YouTube app doesn't help, and disabling Safari is overkill.
    Anyone heard anything?
    Cheers,
    Jocky

    Thanks OM. For what it's worth my son is only 5 so he's not really looking for mischief online quite yet - let alone hack past barriers I put up (I'm an IT security professional so he nights find he has a bigger challenge against his Dad than most kids when he gets a bit older / more inquisitive anyway ;)) . It's more to stop game click-throughs onto YouTube where he could suddenly find himself seeing something he can't 'unsee'.
    I've just disabled Safari for now and left my thoughts and suggestions with Apple via their feedback page :)
    Cheers,
    Jocky

Maybe you are looking for