Help with parental controls on Firefox.

I recently switched from IE8 to Firefox, but whilst looking to see how to apply the parental controls to block the typical stuff like porn, gore and the likes, it would appear that Firefox does not cater for this. Is that right?

With IE i used to be able to choose from strong, moderate or no filter, and it meant that there were no surprises for my kids when surfing the net. From what i've read you can download certain software, but it means you have to enter the sites you allow your kids to access....that seems like one hell of a job if you have to do it manually for every site.

Anyone know of an easier way of doing this? My girls are 13 and 14 so they are not babies any more, but i've always kept a look out for them online and now that they are at an age where they are left in the house on thier own more, i just want to make sure they are as safe as they can be.

Don't get me wrong, i don't protect thier eyes from everything, and i am realistic, but i don't want them seeing everything on the net.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.
CX.

reply to post by CX


addons.mozilla.org..." target="_blank" class="postlink">addons.mozilla.org...

Try one of these Firefox add-ons:

FoxFilter
WebFilter Pro

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


you did it much nicer than me, thank you..my link was a mangled mess

reply to post by TheLonewolf


No problem, however I must point out to the OP that using these add-ons is not very effective because they can easily be disabled, just as the filter in IE an be easily disabled. The best way to implement a parental control filter is to use a special DNS with a built in filter. OpenDNS provides such a free service (more info). Doing it that way will make it extremely difficult to get around the filter and it will also filter your entire internet no matter what web browser you are using or even what computer you are using. It's fairly easy to set it up, you just need to be able to access the router control panel and edit the DNS settings (by following the OpenDNS instructions).

If they are 13 and 14, shouldn't they be capable of deciding which sites to visit, and which to leave if they're not interested?

Originally posted by Consequence
If they are 13 and 14, shouldn't they be capable of deciding which sites to visit, and which to leave if they're not interested?

Haha when I was 13.. this is before the internet but back with they had bulletin boards, you would be amazed that even back then, there were blokes eager to give you access to their stash of pr0n. And I'm a guy. Some real sick freaks out there man, it's not always stopping your kids from going somewhere, but stopping that something getting at your kids.

So yeah especially today, a far cry from 1985, I'd be locking my internet up and allocating time for use. Won't stop it these days with tablets, phones, hearing aids and kettles with internet access, but knowing how I was at that age, lol..

Nothing short of absolute physical presence will keep the pc secure for kids IMO. every lock has a key. Avery key can be copied. Every copy can be found within the google-fu.

Mind you if your kids are smart enough to bypass your attempts, they're also pretty likely to be smart enough to know a sicko if they happen upon one.

Very easy to get past those silly blocks, and kids these days are not stupid. Everyone has a computer geeky friend who knows what to do.

But go ahead if it makes you feel better....

reply to post by winofiend


What you said.

As you say there are some sick people out there and there are certain things in life i'd rather my kids were never subjected to.....whether they be 14 or 64. If i can take certain steps to help them stay safe, then i will.

They aren't sheltered from everything, in fact i make sure they aren't, that would be unrealistic and unhelpful for them.

Unless you have kids, it's a difficult one to comprehend. All i know is that they are the only ones i have.

Thank you for all the recommendations, they are much appreciated.

CX.

Originally posted by CX
reply to post by winofiend

 

What you said.

As you say there are some sick people out there and there are certain things in life i'd rather my kids were never subjected to.....whether they be 14 or 64. If i can take certain steps to help them stay safe, then i will.

They aren't sheltered from everything, in fact i make sure they aren't, that would be unrealistic and unhelpful for them.

Unless you have kids, it's a difficult one to comprehend. All i know is that they are the only ones i have.

Thank you for all the recommendations, they are much appreciated.

CX.

Yes, but the "sick" people who are interested in sharing inappropriate things with your daughters are on sites/places that your daughters do visit/use. So I can't see how blocking some "inappropriate sites" will make a difference.
The only difference is if you think that they WANT to visit these sites meanwhile you don't allow them to and don't trust them to follow your 'no!'.

The best protection is to make sure they don't become gullible and by not giving them a false sense of being safe. The more open you are about it, the better. You can't protect them from sickos unless they know how to do it themselves (or that you disconnect them from the internet altogether).

reply to post by Consequence


I understand what you are saying.

They are taught how to surf the net as safe as they can, and i do teach them about the dangers so they hopefully won't fall prey to any sickos, however there are still many sites and pics i don't want my 13 and 14 year old seeing.

Thanks for the advice though, all appreciated.

CX.

reply to post by CX


You could just go back to IE8 or try IE9. There is really not much of a difference between the browsers these days, people just think it looks cool to use a different browser.
But you may want to consider some 3rd party software chances are your kids have been using another browser ever since you started restricting what they see. Just interesting, as a child my parents never restricted anything I did on the net and as a result I was not as interested in all the stuff kids are not supposed to see. To this day im still the only guy I know that does not surf porn on my computer.