Q I downloaded the K9 web filter as I wanted to control my children’s access to the internet.
As I am not technically minded, I was encouraged by how easy it was to configure and use. I thought I was in control. Wrong.
My children simply requested a temporary password by email. How can I prevent
this from happening again?
Paul Johnson
A This shows that software alone is not the answer to controlling internet access, and that children are both devious and enterprising when it comes to getting around restrictions. There are a couple of ways this situation can be prevented.
The first is to use a different email address for a new installation of K9 that your children don’t have access to. A web-based email account such as those offered by Google or Yahoo can be set up at no cost and would not leave any records on a PC. Just remember to clear the temporary files after reading emails.
For Internet Explorer click on the Tools menu and then Internet Options. Click on Delete Files in the window that appears and then click on OK. For Firefox, click on the Tools menu and then select Clear Private Data.
Make sure there is a tick next to cache and then click on Clear Private Data Now.
To make protecting children easier, you should ensure that there are separate user accounts for yourself and the children.
The account for the children should be a limited account to stop them from changing important settings. The best practice would be for you to set up a limited account as well.
Unfortunately this can be frustrating in Windows XP. Windows Vista is much improved and there is less excuse for using Windows with an Administrator account. Windows Vista also includes web filtering and the ability to create reports on what individual users have been doing on the internet.
It is simple to add extra user accounts to Windows. Left-click on the Start button and then on Control Panel. Click on User Accounts and then on Create a new account.
Enter the name of the user and click on Next. Select Limited and then Create account.
This account does not need a password but we would strongly recommend you assign one. Click on the icon for that account in the bottom half of the screen, Create a password and follow the instructions.
Once there are separate user accounts set up, it is then safe to use Outlook Express or another email client, and it is possible to set up another email account with the internet service provider (ISP). Most ISPs will let you set up more than one email account although the address may be slightly different.
Other security can be put in place. An example is the ScrubIT service that replaces the DNS settings - the means by which a computer translates a web address such as www.computeractive.co.uk into an address that makes sense to it - from your ISP. The ScrubIT servers won’t translate the addresses of sites that are known to be malicious or contain pornography.
There is a download for changing the settings available but this will only change the settings on the computer. If you connect via a modem router, it makes more sense to change the settings on that so that all the computers on the network will use this service. This means editing the settings of the modem router (the guide here is for a Belkin router).
Start your internet browser and enter the address of the router. Click on the DNS link in the Internet WAN section on the left.
If a password has been set up for the router enter it into the text box, and then click on the Submit button. Enter the two DNS address from www.scrubit.com into the two boxes. Click on Apply Changes.
You may need to restart the router for the changes to take effect.
