Mac users:child protection software & how to check on deleted recent history?

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Our DDs have fairly free access to the internet and seem to spend their time on Club Penguin or various Harry Potter related websites. However it's obviously irresponsible not to have some child protection software "just in case". I'd also like to know can you check the items which have been removed from recent history ie if someone clears "recent history" in Safari, can I then look in a bin somewhere to see what it was they were looking at?

There's recently been some unpleasantness among some kids at DDs school and I want to check that mine haven't picked up on any of it.

Thanks

Are you using OSX Leopard - there's child protection software in the system.

In System Preferences > Accounts, set them up their own account that they log into the computer on. Then use System Preferences > Parental Controls and you can select a simplified UI for younger children, limit certain websites (or only allow certain websites), limit mail and webchat, set time limits and access logs to see what they've been up to!

Thanks. I think I can manage that! And how can I check on cleared history?

Well the logs will tell you where they've been anyway.

Not sure about the cleared history, tbh.

As long as they're using Safari and the parental controls are in place (i.e. they're using a child account and not an admin account), they can clear the Safari history as much as they like and it won't affect the logs - that's the point. Not near my Mac at the mo (it's a couple of thousand miles away) so can't be more helpful.

I want to check they weren't involved in some recent stuff at school and the recent "cleared history" seems a bit odd so I was wondering if I could check it after the fact

Viewing Safari history after it's been cleared

Have you got Time Machine running as your backup system? You might be able to go back in time to last week and see what was cleared.

Also, you might find favicons of websites visited in ~/Library/Safari/Icons/ (assuming the site has a favicon).

You also might be able to check your router logs.

More details in that link, anyway.

Thanks... not sure I even know what a favicon is but will check it out... or assume kids innocent until told otherwise!

A favicon is the little image you get to the left of the web address - not all websites have them. For mumsnet, it's a little black M on a grey background with a white underline, do you see it?

Yes!