Childproof a PC?

[Spudy]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[AMD'r]

He's 15? Likely the only way to keep him out is take it to work with you...

AMD'r

 

[David Maynard]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Don't give him the password, so you have to log in for anyone to use it.

 

[cowboyz]

Don't give him the password, so you have to log in for anyone to use
it.

This is wwhat I do but my circumstances are a little different. My son is 4
and likes to play. I put a password on windows so he couldn't play. I
made it the number 3 cause it is close to the enter key on the keypad.

Took him 2 days to guess it.

Bugger.


Its a 3 digit number now.

 

[NryanYbrissC]

get one of then fingerprint encyrpters that are embeded in the mouse
i saw them on the screensavers

 

[John Doe]

Hello:
Hola

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.

Why not encourage him to use the computer?

Backup your important data.

Password protect your Windows on the other partition. (I think this
is the solution if all you want to do is stop your kid from using a
personal computer.)

Buy a disk manager like PartitionMagic. Do it for the kid.

Make a partition for him on your hard disk.

On that partition, install Windows and his applications.

Make a backup copy of that partition.

If he is to do anything useful, make sure his files go to removable
media.

Every evening, delete his partition and copy the copy back into its
place. That will make him reinstall anything he wasn't supposed to be
installing, every day.

This is when you add anything to the installation. And then make a
backup over the copy.

In the evening or whenever, make his partition active so that that's
what he will see when he gets to the computer.

Hide or take the disk manager CD with you.

When you get home, use the disk manager to switch to your Windows.

Good luck.

 

[Martin G.1.0]

Take the power cord.

I know he could just get and keep a spare power cord, but he can just as
easily bypass all your password security measures with a bootable Linux cd
such as knoppix std.

So I guess there's really nothing you can do............

 

[David Maynard]

This is wwhat I do but my circumstances are a little different. My son is 4
and likes to play. I put a password on windows so he couldn't play. I
made it the number 3 cause it is close to the enter key on the keypad.

Took him 2 days to guess it.

Well, either he 'guessed' it or your ran a little experiment on how many
days it takes for random keyboard pounding to hit 3

Bugger.


Its a 3 digit number now.

Password systems are, at best, only as good as the passwords themselves and
people often use the most obvious things; then wonder how someone got in:
like someone named Robert using 'bob'. Well, duh =:O)

 

[David Maynard]

Take the power cord.

I know he could just get and keep a spare power cord, but he can just as
easily bypass all your password security measures with a bootable Linux cd
such as knoppix std.

Password the BIOS and set the boot sequence to hard drive first (and remove
CD from boot sequence entirely, if possible). Won't be able to boot
Knoppix, or a floppy for that matter.

 

[Martin G.1.0]

Password the BIOS and set the boot sequence to hard drive first (and
remove CD from boot sequence entirely, if possible). Won't be able to boot
Knoppix, or a floppy for that matter.

Until he simply opens the case and clears the cmos.
My guess is that a 15 year old kid must have plenty of friends whose parents
try to do the same things, and in turn the teenagers also share the info on
how to get around them.

 

[Michael Cecil]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Lock the case in a cabinet to prevent him from accessing the CD or floppy
drives, otherwise he can bypass your logon password.

Ensure the admin account has an unguessable and long password that he
doesn't know.

Create an account for him as a regular User.

From the admin account use the net user command to set time limits when he
will be able to log into the computer like this,

net user johndoe /time:M-F,5pm-9pm

 

[MCheu]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

They still sell them like this. They're usually marketed as "server"
cases. They're usually not really meant for use in building servers,
they're just full tower cases with the key lock. They still use the
"freezer key" style locks, though, so they're pretty easily defeated.
Well within the physical dexterity of your average 15 year old -- and
likely within his skill set given your level of trust. Don't know if
anyone makes one with a regular style key.

Alternatively, you could simply put a password on the machine, either
at the BIOS level or the OS level. Not as easy to defeat, but is
pointless if he knows the password as well.

 

[spodosaurus]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Set a BIOS power-on password. He won't be able to get around that
without removing the case panel and resetting CMOS. You'll know it if he
does, because your password won't be there anymore!

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[Andy]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Just a thought but if you are aiming to stop him playing on the Internet
lock away the router and unplug it when you are away ?

If you are trying to stop him accessing the PC itself good luck. locking
the whole thing in a cabinet is about the only way I can think that would
work.

Andy

 

[ropeyarn]

Hello:

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.
We used to be able to just use a key to lock the keyboard with old 386
and 486 machines. But they don't make this like that anymore. Now we
have two an AMD 1.2 GHz machines. One is running Win2000 and the other
one has WinXP sp2 on it. Is it possible to "lock" these two pc's?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Your options here depend on how tech-savy and determined the potential
user is. If he's not very, you can go straight to user passwords, and be
done with it. If he is, the other posters who have suggested BIOS
passwords should thwart a youngster who hasn't ever explored the parts
of the computer that exist behind the GUI.

You don't really define what the issues are, but with 1 15 y/o of my
own, I can make some decent guesses.

However, at 15: this is an age where the most effective technique is
going to be one based on more basic issues outside of the technology
realm:
communication and respect.

I would start be simply telling him that he is limited to "x" activites
for "x" time until you get home (ie, computing but no games, computing
but no online activities, online activities but no adult or P2P
sites...whatever is appropriate for your situation). The parameters are
yours to define as the parent and based on your situation.

As an 8th grader, my own kid was involved in some rather mean spirited
online exhanges with a couple of her classmates. We locked down her
Internet access hard. Only when we were home. Only in a common
room...etc etc etc. The return to unregulated access was very gradual,
and dependent on her performance and behavior in a wide range of
academic and household activities.

Once you have a reasonable expectation of compliance, you probably have
some other tools that may exceed your young one's abilities...

If the issue is related to excessive gaming: You can lock up the
games

If the issue is related to online activities, here are a couple more
thoughts:

Most teenagers know how to clear a browser (and windows recent documents
history file)

Most don't know how to clear a browser cache, which can be a gold mine
for parents looking for insight into what their kids are doing online.

Most don't know how to manage their browser cookie files, which can be
equally telling about where they've been online.

If you are using broadband, most routers include both password
protection *and* a logging function. If you are using dial-up, you might
want to explore your provider's parental controls.

I trust my own kid *almost* completely, but I don't neccesarily trust
some of the sites that may be sources of spyware/adware, and I do want
to make sure she isn't visiting sites that are potentially --or
actually-- exploitative. I review the router every day, and when doing
routine upkeep on her PC take a look at her history, cache and cookie
files.

I realize that many parents are behind their kids when it comes to
personal computing hardware and information technology, but for their
protection and your peace of mind, it's worth devoting some effort to.

Appropriate compliance with a parents stated expectations are far
superior to most technology solutions!

Good luck, and happy Thansgiving....

 

[Lordy]

We have a 15 year old son who we want to limit his computer activity
after school, while he's home alone -- before we get home from work.

Have you checked under his matress / carpets ?

 

[Dave C.]

He's 15? Likely the only way to keep him out is take it to work with
you...

AMD'r

That's what I was thinking. If they still make computer cases with a
key-lock power switch, that might be effective enough. But that would mean
transplanting two whole computer systems to new cases. (yikes) Short of
that, you'd have to take the whole box to work. -Dave

 

[Dave C.]

Until he simply opens the case and clears the cmos.
My guess is that a 15 year old kid must have plenty of friends whose
parents try to do the same things, and in turn the teenagers also share
the info on how to get around them.

Yup. Anything you try short of physical security (such as removing the
computer from the building), the 15 year old will only need a day or two at
most to figure out a workaround. -Dave

 

[patrick]

Have you checked under his matress / carpets ?

And, in the hidden recesses of the closets?

The actual way to solve this is for YOU to get some counseling from a
certified psychologist!

You are PARANOID! And, I betcha it rubbed off on your child!

I deal with these issues regularly with my own children, and other
parents' teens. I usually find that they are experimenting, and mean no
harm.

How else will they learn anything, when the parents are dumb as a brick
about technology? I give them a Knoppix LiveCDrom,
http://knopper.net/knoppix and the access to 190+ Live CDroms, on the
school broadband connection!
http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php



By gaining their trust, I am able to impress upon them the values of
SELF-RESPECT, and, the golden rule! Then, they learn that anything they
do to tease or flame others on the internet can come back hundred fold
on them!

They learn that there parts of their personal personality, called
INTEGRITY, and REPUTATION, that others use to JUDGE their CHARACTER. If
they blow that, they even can look up their name in http://google.com
and find those embarassing old messages!
So can their Friends, and, their 'enemies'.

Maturity means being responsible for your actions. Forever!
More parents could set an example...

 

[spodosaurus]

<rant snipped>

Your certainty and your passion replace rationality with religious
conviction. Like religious conviction, it is not based on reality.

--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/