IADad

well, I don't have a teenager, but when I do, I'm sure I'll take reasonable steps to monitor their safety. I think it's reasonable to spy on their internet activity, even if it is to confirm that you've done a good job and you can see they are handling themselves well. Would I call them out and stop them for every step they take into adulthood, no. If i were to find out one of my sons was regularly visiting bigjugs.com I might at some point have a discussion with him about respect and objectifying women, but not necessarily his online habits. If I found out he was chatting about meeting up with big cal from Cleveland, you bet I'm going to step in and not feel the least bit of guilt for having spied.

Even now, I go through his backpack, see just how many candy wrappers are to be found (man I gotta teach that kid to hide better...)no guilt.

TabascoNatalie

well, if it was me, i'd check only how careful they are online, whithout deep spying. just stuff that everybody can find -- that's where the real trouble is

Aunt

Well dadu I might call you strict but I think Hitler is a teensy bit harsh afterall I am sure your house is not a concentration camp

I dont see the need for it in most cases. If kids are under around 12 then it is likely they are only allowed on with parents supervision anyway.
If they are older i agree it is a little creepy, like sitting next to them all day or following them home from school. In our house there is a firewall to block out anything too filthy as my nice once accidentally googled some rather disgusting porn & came to me horrifiedr & parental controls to limit time (so that hopefully she is not up surfing in the middle of the night) I am aware kids can get around these things if they try hard enough but so far mine has not let me down so there has not been the need to invade her privacy. In the event of some sort of inappropriate beavior my instinct would be to punish by limiting time or priviledges over following her every move.
One thing that parents need to be aware of is that this is a form of spyware and can make you more susceptible to viruses etc.
Xero I think this is just one of those hot topics because it was not around hen most of us were little kids so there is no yardstick to measure with.

IADad

how true - anyone want to talk about the dangers of running with scissors?

Xero

Lol but they make SAFETY scissors now!!





Sorry that's stupidly huge. Technical difficulties. lol

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IADad

they had the "then" too dear..(I think Xero just called me old) .;-) and we STILL weren't allowed to run with them!!!

Xero

lol I would imagine, since they existed since I was old enough to hold scissors. It was a joke.

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Jeremy+3

We have keyloggers at school, all different ones, every single one gets hacked within a few days on everyones account, I'm a teacher at a school for children with special needs, if they can figure it out, you're kids can figure it out. Now we don't bother with keyloggers and as a result not only do people actually do their work instead of hacking we get far fewer viruses as our frequently visited sites aren't visible to anyone outside of our network.

TabascoNatalie

Xero, you've got the same carpet as ours

and of keyloggers, I must admit I don't know how exactly they work. Just like my 50+ parents don't know what Facebook is.

so I don't believe in spying on kids via PC. better check their pockets

Jeremy+3

Natalie Keyloggers keep a permanent record of your internet browsing history, you can set them to block certain sites, but most people leave them open just to see where the users of their computers are going on the internet. But it also means that anyone can use your IP address to look into your keylogger, which means they can get straight into things like your email, send you a lovely virus, stuff like that.
Having a keylogger, is kind of like leaving your debit card and pin number in the hands of a thief and expecting them not to spend any of your money.