Internet Security

[Serendipity]

I have downloaded K9 - A free internet browsing / security program but cant get it to work.

My mission is to limit access to certain sites on our home PC, especially since all the kids friends and everyone uses it.

Apparently this program can block naughty sites along with anything you ask it to.

I am running firefox on a mac pc

Any advice would be welcomed. Any comments about K9 would be great also

Thanks

S

[mrniceguy]

Hi Sarah,

Since you are using a Mac, not sure which version, you will find built in software to do most of this. I found a nice website that details how to do this,

http://macs.about.co...ntalcontrol.htm

Let me know if you need any further information

M

[Loutjie]

I always felt that those software applications are like those "Child Proof pill bottles"...

You know the ones that adults can't seem to operate but children can open effortlessly

I remember how I used to tell my dad what the mnet decoder parental control password was when he forgot it.

Unless that K9 software also blocks all known proxy servers, it can easily be bypassed especially by smart kids like me

[Joeemm]

Hi there

Sorry for the late reply, but you really should try the Mactalk forum, they can answer just about any mac question

And yes the Mac has a lot of what you want built in

http://mactalk.com.au/content/

[Bob]

I switched over to Macs a couple of years ago and haven't had any dramas much to speak of since . . . . . . my 10 years of running PCs was a litany of them crashing, catching viruses and heaps of computer maintenance. No more!

Have you tried going into "System Preferences" on your Mac and looking into what "Parent Controls" can do for you?

I don't have little kids any longer, so haven't delved into it, but that would have been my first approach if any kids were to use my Mac.

It blocks a lot of "unfriendly" sites from the view of kids and as long as you are the "Admin User" and put a password in each time that the kids don't know and can't log in, then they have to abide by the limits you impose on your Mac for their browsing.

By the way, don't be as concerned as if running a PC.

I don't know anyone running a Mac getting viruses or "Nasties" off the internet like PCs do.

[PieterK]

It used to be the case that viruses wasn't a serious threat to Macs , but that situation is changing, and fast. Although the Mac systems are different in architecture, etc. from Windows, they are by no means immune to viruses. Virus creaters do what they do in order to get the biggest amount of "hits", in some cases just for bragging rights, in other cases because they are fishing for personal info, bank account details, etc. Windows used to be the most used platform in the world by far, so Windows was the main focus for virus creaters, but with the popularity of Macbooks, Ipads and Iphones rising so quickly, that is already changing.

It's time to start protecting your Macs, just as if it was a PC. Be safe people, don't assume just because it's a Mac you're automatically safe, that's not the case anymore.

[Hendie]

I don't agree Pieter. The Mac has yet to be compromised. Even the current hullabaloo about Mac Defender et al is a storm in a teacup, and with just a little common sense can be avoided (See this article). As you will notice from the article, even something posing as a "virus" has to play by Mac rules, and cannot hide itself from even a casual Mac user. Removing these so-called viruses can be done in a few simple steps, no need for elaborate virus protection software or any such stuff. Just apply common sense and you'll be fine on a Mac.

[PieterK]

Hendie, said with the greatest of respect, I can tell you from personal experience that this is no longer the case. I currently look after a network with over 22,000 users on it, of which several thousand is using a Mac platform of some sort, and we have had a few problems already, although the nature of the users probably makes them much more vulnerable to virus threats than your average user ,( high school and college students who are very likely going to shady sites on the internet, and trying to pirate software and movies, tv shows, etc). Granted, the number have been very low, certainly much lower than the percentage of problems that we experience with the Windows platforms, but it is happening, and will become more frequent as the user base of Macs grow. The nature of the Mac platform does make it harder to compromise than a Windows-based, but it is by no means invulnerable. If you have Java running on your platform, (and this goes for all platforms), it already is vulnerable, and I'm sure you'll agree your everyday user is very, very likely to have Java running.

Everyone on this forum is an adult, and it is certainly your choice whether you want to take the risk to assume that you are secure simply because you use a Mac, but it certainly would not be my recommendation.