It's about that time.... need to crack down and get serious about locking down the PC's at home.
There's so many to choose from.
From my days in IT, I know there's software that can severely limit what the 'user' can even see in Windows, let alone when surfing. I'd like something that's as deep as that and highly configurable. Tracking usage is a biggy too.
What's new and strong out there these days that I can try?

I don't use commercial anti-virus programs. Open source is the way to go.

I would like some answers on that myself. I played around with setting some up just using the Vista parental controls. It seems that I either ended up limiting things too much, or not enough. You have to be careful about web searches. Sometimes the text results are limited, but a lot of crap still gets through for image searches, even on seemingly innocent search terms. I did a search last night for info on my Whirlpool icemaker and was turning up a lot of Chinese porn sites on the pages further down.

Those crazy chinese! Whirlpools, huh? ;)

I use Cybersitter on the network at my job. It's easy to use,cheap,and locks 'em down tight.Very user friendly.Look it up on Google for a better description.

If you have Windows Vista, the parental controls in there are really fairly good. My son's new PC has Vista Home Premium on it. I removed his TV from his room, and he watches TV from his computer too through Windows Media Center with the built in TV tuner on the new PC. WMC works great for him, good parental controls for programs he can watch, and built in DVR capabilities. The parental controls for the computing/internet aren't the best I've seen out there, but they are keeping him from getting anywhere I don't want him too so far. He's 10. Having the computer/tv all in one has saved a lot of room in his bedroom.

Aftermarket I haven't looked in a very long time. I did some computer work for a daycare once that used something called Fortress that seemed to do a pretty good job of only allowing the kids to get into certain areas of the computer or only launching programs with icons on the desktop, etc. I don't remember them having inet access on the kids computers though.

Joe,
Check out Kim Komando's site.
http://komando.com/kids/parent-tips.aspx

I listen to her on AFN over here and she gives some pretty good free advice. Look thru the list of subjects, she has one for parental controls for Vista and other OSs.

Joe,
Check out Kim Komando's site.
http://komando.com/kids/parent-tips.aspx

I listen to her on AFN over here and she gives some pretty good free advice. Look thru the list of subjects, she has one for parental controls for Vista and other OSs.

That site is very good! Found lots of cool info there on other things.

Thanks...
She has good articles in our weekend edition newspaper.

-bummer...can't view her site at work!-

put the computer in a very visible area of the house- like in the living room next to the tv or something- and make a password to a very limited user account that only you know.

Our children from about 3 or 4 yrs have grown up on the internet...just sit down at on of the 5 or 6 computors and go for it...gaming what ever.

I have been around IT in schools and homes for about 15 yrs..
We here have never had filters....we are old school parents..we control our home not our kids.

OK putting asside filters...yeahadd them if you want...
The FIRST 'wall' is no computors in bedrooms...they should albe in the the office, family comunal area.
Parents need to know about the ;toys' their children play with, be it a baby with small bits that break off or computors.....and contol use and access to these toys.
Wireless , thu the 'in thing' and convient , is a parents biggest enemy...

Story time: and this is not an isolated incident.
I was asked to wire up a network in a private home for some upper class parents...the kids had pressured the parents into having their own computors in bedrooms...2 boys 1 8 the other 13yrs
I advised strongly against this.
A month or so later I was called in to fix a comutor in one of the boys rooms...trogens etc
I recovered deleted internet files....and displayed them in a pic browser.
Then did the same to the other lads machine.
Then went to the mother , who had made me a coffee..and told her to look at both computors...while I had a coffee.
I also brought up logas of when they where surfing...late at night, early hrs of the morning
Shocked!!! her so perfect little boys where not so inocent anymore...whatse saw was even beyond her imagination.

The 1st day we got internet...dial up 28k early 90s..kids came home from school, I asked them, what shall we go look for ( from memory dogpile was the search engine of the day)..I know boys toys....!!!!!!

Games for kids...yep racing games etc...and from about 6yrs our children also grew up on Delta Force, later BHD....I was and still are in a gaming squad....
Keeping mind my good m8 is a principal, ma in law a teacher, I work in schools...
The issue in the playground is wresting, fight games where the kids try the moves out, breaking necks and arms in the play ground, particularly after a school holiday.
1st person shooters the kids tend to dicuss how to get past a stage and stuff like that...more like cowboys and indians when we where young..
Our 2 boys by 9 and 11 where members of our gaming squad (*AN*Squad google it) and played Australasian competion team tourniments like me.
The core of the squad had an ave age of 35 yrs, many where vets of the 1st gulf war...or in the navy, airforce etc...and most where parents.
The Squad was/is scattered right across Aussie and NZ..strict rules of behavor, we would all fligh/travel 1000s of miles for weekends together..

Bottom Line....its all about who runs the home, whos rules are in the home, parents knowing and involved in the childrens activities...just like sports.
It is not about ..oh im to lazy to take control, I will let some bit of softwhere do my parenting responablities for me.......

yes we had a couple issues with the boys...when they got to 17/18...and yes we had a couple issues of cyber bulling and a couple prediturs with our daughter..it happens, we remained in control and delt with it , not in a PC correct manner...old school.
One of the preditors lost his job and his family...the other...thats another story not for here.

Hope this gives some insight from our REAL experiance bring up children in a cyberspace enviroment.

PS one of my responsablities is protecting students..web filtering, and maintaining audits on all staff in schools....my personal experiance of most other schools...put it this way those respnsable are lazy, scarred of 'making waves' and havnt a clue what the logs realy mean.