Need Advice - TRacking Software for Home PC

[Lee]

I am thinking about buying some software to track what my kids are doing. I am a BIG believer in monitoring internet usage for teenagers. I monitor and talk and let them know safety issues - but we just had a good friend almost get hurt through an internet relationship - and she was 12. So, now I am going to do the awful, horrible thing no mom really wants to do - I am going to monitor emails and im's...yep - I'm going to spy.

Any good advice form some of you other folks who may also be spying - whoops - I mean monitoring their kids internet use?

[momtojess]

I have been looking at these too since the boys will be home alone after school starting in August.

I am leaning towards Besafe online. I will be interested in what everyone else suggests.

[Mom2Will]

A good friend of mine who works on computers placed a program on ours that is called "Watch Dog" it's great. My kids have different logons from mine, however, I am the administrator and they don't have any idea I'm watching them, I can look at where they've been and what they've seen. It's pretty neat. I think you can get a trial for free. Good luck, and you are only being a good parent by watching out for your kids

[Lee]

I have been looking at these too since the boys will be home alone after school starting in August.

I am leaning towards Besafe online. I will be interested in what everyone else suggests.

I looked at besafe and I didn't see where it tracks emails?

I have also been looking at IAMBigBrother...but it does not seem too have any blocking things...

[Thoover]

I monitor my daughter online however there is a program on one of our laptops at home that she normally uses that will block alot of sites on the internet and she can not unlock them without the password. On her email account she is not alowed to change that password because we have access to it. She can't just go to her bedroom with the laptop it always stays in the kitchen/Den area..

I am at work and can't remember it for the life of me. When I get home I will look and let you know.

[Mom2Will]

Here is a link to watch dog http://www.watchdogpc.com/

[frizzyrazzy]

i simply make my daughter give me her password to her email. And if I ever discover it has been changed, then she's banned. I don't allow social sites like myspace, and if I find she's been there, she banned. LOL. If she deletes the history, she's banned. IF she creates a new email she's banned. I've got a pretty tight reign on her with the computer and since I know how to check up, I"ve never felt the need to put a tracking thing on the computer. It's just as easy to check history. And I do check history every time she gets off the computer. And she's really not allowed on the computer for much other than homework.

I make my living online. And I love being online. I know that 99% of the people I have met online were good, nice, normal people. But I am an adult and she's not. So therefore, just as I wouldn't let her invite a group of strangers into our house, I don't let cyber invite strangers into our house.

[Lee]

i simply make my daughter give me her password to her email. And if I ever discover it has been changed, then she's banned. I don't allow social sites like myspace, and if I find she's been there, she banned. LOL. If she deletes the history, she's banned. IF she creates a new email she's banned. I've got a pretty tight reign on her with the computer and since I know how to check up, I"ve never felt the need to put a tracking thing on the computer. It's just as easy to check history. And I do check history every time she gets off the computer. And she's really not allowed on the computer for much other than homework.

I make my living online. And I love being online. I know that 99% of the people I have met online were good, nice, normal people. But I am an adult and she's not. So therefore, just as I wouldn't let her invite a group of strangers into our house, I don't let cyber invite strangers into our house.

That has always been my philosophy - keep an eye and have strict rules. Neither of my kids have broken the rules - but this one little girl almost ran away to meet some '18' yr old guy - and she is a wicked smart girl - her parents only found out by the grace of God and an ill thrown away classroom note. And this girl is in my oldest daughters crowd. So now that my core has been shook, I no longer feel that the safety net is as secure as it it should/could be.

[Illinifan]

We use Hedgebuilders for our Internet filter, but it doesn't do email. It's a server-side filter so you don't have to constantly update the database. We've had them for 7+ years now and they are reasonably priced.

http://www.hedgebuilders.com/