OT - Protecting kids who use Linux

[Mark Knecht]

First - thanks to everyone for some very interesting and insightful answers!

Steve Larsen wrote:
> My wife and I pondered this one for sometime .. we spent a few bucks
> and bought a cisco router with a pix firewall and learned how to program
> in addresses and then put a proxy server on the inside ... configured that
> and our son is only allowed to connect to the proxy server .. the router
> not allow him to make outside requests .. if he gets past the pix .. I am
> sure cisco will want to talk to him about a Q&A job.

what is a 'proxy server' and how does this provide him with a safer 
Interrnet experience.

> 
> See when it comes to children .. money shouldn't be a issue. You sure
> as heck wouldn't give your kids a car without seat belts. So apply that 
> same
> mentality to Internet access. Then come to the conclusion that their 
> friends
> mom and dad aren't very bright Internet users, or just don't give a rip, 
> and your
> children will see "stuff" you don't want them to. All you can do is .. 
> what you
> can .. and cope with the rest as best you can.

Very true. He gets the idea that different friends have different rules 
in their house. Amount of computer time, etc. and he's pretty good about 
seeing that our house runs our way.

None the less, right now he jsut doesn't like that we want to know who 
he's chatting with. Feels invaded I think. don't blame him, but we're 
not going away.

We are moderately careful about where he goes. If he goes more than 
twice, and assuming we meet and are comfortable with the parents, we 
actually ask if they have an guns in the house. We were uncomfortable 
doing it the first time. Turns out no one has ever answered yes, and 
everyone has been happy that we don't either.

It's getting harder now as he gets older, but we just keep doing it.
> 
> Steve Larsen
> rolandsdad at opengearbox.com
> 

Thanks!

- Mark