Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

mbohn2003 — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:37:38 GMT

Where can one go to find documentation and code samples for the Parental Controls API?

I have an interest in plugging in a custom content filter. I've found some minimal documentation on MSDN, but can't find detailed enough documentation to know how to work with the APIs.

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

here2help — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:11:23 GMT

I still find the Vista Parental Controls to not fill all of the needs on my computer to stop my children from getting to these sites. If anyone is interested You should look at sentry parental controls. It helped me with monitoring and blocking my kids and was very easy to use. It runs without interfering with any of the other vista programs once it's installed and it runs in stealth mode so that my kids don;t know that it is running on their computer. It really helped me out so if any parents are interested they should look at it too: http://www.sentryparentalcontrols.com

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

rad — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:34:50 GMT

Below is an idea for you to take advantage off:

How about making a central database to hold users blocked sites, which will be populated by users and your company (This is optional for more competition).

Your program will offer the users 2 options, 1) the users can share their blocked sites to help other parents block bad sites (Especially sites that has videos, and images. Your program does not block them all). This option will sync the blocked sites with your specified database. 2) This option will keep your program as it is now (No sharing or sync of block sites with your database).

Your benefit out of this new feature will be very rewarding as you build a huge database for you to use. The second benefit is the high power which will be added to your program and the reward to your Company. The third benefit is your program will have huge advertisement for its extra feature, and will make parents help each other and build free advertisements between families. The forth benefit is a costumer loalty.

If you need any more information, please email me at: Radshaykho@msn.com

Rad Shaykho

425 830 0915

Just incase:

I am not asking for any return or anything, unless you offer it. Feel free to use it for free.

Rad Shaykho

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

lotontech — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 08:40:00 GMT

Hey Nick,

I think it is appropriate here to tell you about my book / download PDF "Safe Family Computing with Windows Vista" at http://www.lulu.com/content/1383821.

I hope you don't take this to be promotional spam, that's not the intention. Please us the link as you see fit for the benefit of your blog readers.

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

Kanga — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:21:36 GMT

As mother of the aforementioned 6 year old, I don't 'like the feeling of acting as the family cop' either, but I believe "Covert is better than Overt" to be more appropriate in our household.

The restrictions being so apparent take that element of "Parental Control" away as the option of how, when, and how often those conversations take place should be left for the parent to "drive" - not Microsoft :)

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

Yakumo — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 15:31:46 GMT

While I applaud the fact that parental controls have been installed as a default part of the OS, the implementation of the user interface is utterly mind boggling.

Having set up a vista machine for a family with a 6 year old, I think the following points should be immediately addressed for any parent/admins sanity.

1. If 'allow only programs I choose' is enabled, don't scan the entire system every time a change needs to be made! warn the user a slow scan is about to take place the first time, and let them cancel if they wish, when a scan does take place, store the dir list of results to speed things up on subsequent use, and have a 'rescan' button available if the user knows things have changed.

2. related but important enough for it's own point, you should be able to manually add a single, or group of applications with a standard file browser dialogue at any time, not having to sit through an excruciating full system scan for several minutes every time, when you know you just want to approve the one application you have just installed for your child.

3. If an application has been added to the approved games list, then it should automatically (or at least on the same options page give the choice) be added to the approved programs to run, if allow only programs I approve is enabled. it is counter intuitive to have to make approvals twice (and very annoying to have to sit through a system scan once again)

4 . If a game doesn't have it's own ratings, offer a system for the admin/parent to add them themselves.

5. Irrespective of point 4, the 'Block or Allow specific games' option should list ALL games (or applications) that have been added to the games folder by the user or admin, not only the ones vista recognises as games.

6. If an application has been blocked, it may well be too slow to check all desktop and start menu links for approval, and damage the user experience. But the least that can be done is if a game has been blocked for a user, then do NOT show that game in the games menu for that user, ever, it only causes confrontation.

These seem to be really quite major oversights to me, and show the system was unlikely tested with enough thought in any real situation (eg large full and/or slow hard drive, many applications, many modifications to the whitelists being made).

All the functionality is clearly there, it just needs a rapid UI rewrite with a little more thought for the poor parents (or even hardened techs) who have to actually administer the system.

I can dream for SP1, but a little updated .CPL wouldn't be hard to push on MS Update :)

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

nia5792 — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 14:47:17 GMT

This is a major security issue that would potentially allow a password changed due to it being breached back into the system again. That happened to me when, I suspected that my daughter discovered my administrator privileged password, I changed it to a new password. Later, I created a new account for my son, which never existed before. He somehow crashed the Vista OS and his account got deleted, albeit my daughters account created using the old administrator privileged password stayed intact. When I tried to log on to create a new account for my son, I was unable to log on with my new administrator privileged password. I was baffled when my repeated attempts using that new administrator privileged password that I used dozens of times refused to log me on. Then, I scratched my head in disbelief, slowly but surely it dawned on me that I should try my old administrator privileged password. Eureka!! It worked. If I had forgotten that old password I would have lost my account on that Vista.. This Vista has many bugs crawling all in it. Us poor MS guinea pigs, we are paying MS for Vista only to find bugs in their big time commercial product, we should receive some type of stipend just like the big shot developers and engineers being paid to find bugs in MS’ Vista. Una Vista Muy Malo, Mi Cabrone.

Vista Security Features

Connected to Vista Bookmarks — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 18:01:42 GMT

BitLocker Drive Encryption A Real-world Windows Vista BitLocker Tip BitLocker Drive Encryption BitLocker

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

GHowell — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:15:07 GMT

Why do Vista's Parental Controls show Instant Messaging in the Activity Viewer then? This seems a bit misleading or to say the least not at all well documented.

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

Nick White — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:35:09 GMT

Hey GHowell: Windows Vista monitors Internet browser activity but does not monitor Instant Messaging activity. Windows Live OneCare Family Safety, a free Microsoft service currently in testing that will be available later this year, will monitor online instant messaging (IM) activity. Although this functionality is not available for testing now, the team behind it hopes to add it to the test program in the months ahead. You can join the beta test program at https://fss.live.com/. Also consider IM Safer, another Instant Messaging management program on the market.

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

GHowell — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 08:50:24 GMT

I have a problem that I cant find the answer to anywhere else: I have Live Messenger 8.1 installed and Parental Controls active for my daughter. However, under the PC Activity Viewer it says that 'There are no instant messaging events for this user." I know she's using it. I watch her chat in it.

Any suggestions?

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

Michael_Moor — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:53:07 GMT

Hey "Nick White",thx for share

---------

http://www.dl4all.com

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

TopgunZX — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:17:39 GMT

VISTA IS OUT! Go to http://www.newegg.com and then type in on Neweggs website "Vista Home Premium"Newegg is selling it early and cheaper! I am serious....i just bought mine today along with a new PC!

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

cabbiebatman — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 01:32:10 GMT

Why not a router based standard? If we could get some major vendors like Microsoft and Cisco (linksys)to set some standards for routers that would be branded as "child safe" it would be the best route. Most home broadband routers can bet set to log/filter websites, protocols, restrict hours for internet access, block mac addresses .... and so on. Parents could restrict hours for not just computers but any connected device such as an xbox. A router based solution would make a parents life easier, only one device to configure and a child who is more tech savy than the parent could not bypass a router based solution.

re: Family Safe Computing & Microsoft

john — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:57:16 GMT

It is indeed a wonderful tool.

During beta testing, I subjected my 12 year-old nephew to it over the past summer, and he hated the granular control it afforded me.

What makes it better than MSN Premium - which I had used for several years, is the time controls and better reporting.

@odegaard: what country DID you live in, w/o any form of censorship? Every country censors stuff, we only decry the overt decrees.

Also, our children remain our primary concern forever. Whatever it takes to protect them should be explored, even if the effects are merely incremental.

PS. Senor Blanco, howz the bus trip so far?