Do you KNOW how easy it is to bypass internet pxare ntal controls??

[GeorgeTheThird]

Yes, I realise I sound like Chandler Bing. And I realise that gives away my age. But - parents of teenagers - be aware IT'S SO EASY

I decided to check my parental controls were switched on - Virgin websafe - and they are. So if I search, as a random example, Pornhub, I get "no search results", just as I should. And if I type in the url Pornhub.com, I get the "Virgin Media has blocked this website" screen. Just as I should.

But as I have teenagers I then switched Safari to pervert private browsing mode and googled "how to bypass pare nxtal controls".

And all you have to do is bring up a free proxy server screen, type in Pornhub and there's the porn. All of it. Two screens away. I DID NOT KNOW THAT.

Ps random xs and spaces are in the probably vain hope that this very thread won't become a resource for those searching.

Yes, I do. And that's why no child who lives with me gets the wifi password. And is why the computer is in the public room where I can see it.

But I'm very cautious because I'd lose my job and dh would lose his if dodgy stuff was downloaded. Abusive images of children is 3 clicks away

Most people don't know that and most households unfortunately do nothing about it. These abusive images are then downloaded and passed round school on phones. And shown to even younger children.

And pornography is a massive problem - 60% of children under 12 have seen pornographic images

But mine are mid-teens. They have their own laptops and smartphones. They need the Internet. I thought I had done what I should do.

I realise that having done it when they were little, and unlikely to try to bypass controls was good. But it's not going to take them five minutes to get anywhere they like! I assume I would need to block all the proxy sites at the router? But however hard I try I'll never keep up with them all.

Yes, I have long known that any teen can get round filters.

That's why I never really bothered with them, and instead relied on communicating with them, supervising extensively, and nagging educating them until they beg for mercy.

(Where's empusa and her unicorn?)

Yes, it is easy. It is why really good e-safety conversions are essential, and far more important than physical bars.

Don't just rely on e-safety at school either. You must do it at home too, and re-address it regularly.

Dammit.

I mean, I'm not worried that they've done actually done anything. They're good kids and we do communicate. They might have looked at some fanjoes while I was out of the house, I now realise.

I've done Internet safety stuff about hairy handed truckers and personal info, passwords and so on. They know about piracy, terrorism, copyright issues. Their school I think is reasonably on the ball. But then I thought I was!! What else do I need to say?

The thing is, for a middle aged woman, I'm reasonably tech savvy. I'm conscientious and I'm trying to do the right things. But I just had no idea that it was so utterly simple to bypass the filters. And I have a funny feeling that all the teenagers know.

I've got older teens and they still don't have it. They have smartphones but I don't pay for them and I don't give them wifi so that I can't be responsible for what they download. Because they're paying for it and responsible for it they are careful with their data allowance. I also talk to them endlessly about it.

This really is about protecting me so I don't lose my jobs in schools (same for dh).

Schoolwork is researched downstairs where I can see the screen if they need the Internet or in school where they use the school wifi. They still use their computers in their bedrooms to watch DVDs.

It can be managed but it does take work. But if it's about you paying your mortgage you do it.

A teacher has just been suspended at a partner school to me as his son downloaded inappropriate content at home and brought it in. He was also questioned and released by the police. He (though he's done nothing wrong) will be suspended for 3-6 months on full pay until the investigation is concluded. Even though he's not done anything it will likely hamper his career.

I work with teenagers. They all know how to bypass these controls. They know what words they could type in that would bring up pictures of all sorts. For example searching Prince Albert brings up a load of rude parts.

if they dont know, their friends will...or their friends older siblings will....

My ds had to set up the Internet security at his primary school as no one knew how to do it. Ok this was a few years ago, but it's no surprise when kids can access stuff they shouldn't.

I have a vague idea. Ds1 taught me. It's something the dc do at school to get onto social media sites which are banned. The schools are playing catch up all the time.

I just make sure that we have ground rules and consequences in the same way we do for everything else.

My dc have the responses down pat to questions like:
Do you go into private chat rooms with people you don't know? What happens if someone is mean? What do you do if someone asks you to show them your body naked? What do you do if you make a mistake? who can you talk to? How will I react?
I think the last three are important because they know in advance how we may feel and how our behaviour may be affected for a while, but that we will have their best interests in the heart of dealing with the situation and that we will still love and support them.

90% of pornography is legal, no one can do anything about it if you download it in your house, no one can do anything if you have it on your personal phone. If you download some of the illegal porn you will likely not be caught unless you are paying for it and there is a trace back to you or if you share files with others you don't know and they are an agency of some sort fighting against it then yes you will be caught. There are literally billions of people on the Internet and agencies don't even scratch the surface when it comes to catching people doing things they shouldn't be.

OP its interesting you think your tech savvy but had no idea how to bypass the adult controls on your ISP - to me that suggests you really have no idea and have a lot to learn

Wait til your kids download TOR and go onto the dark web...

Ds1 has said he wants to have a look at the dark net. This was after he had spoken with GCHQ at a careers fair. I told him should wait until he had plenty of technical knowledge to cover his tracks as I don't want unsavoury characters at my door wanting to hurt him.

He thinks that's a good idea.

Littledrummer the dark net will cover his tracks for him :). Most things that go on there are untraceable.

I assumed they could all do it. I've never used Parental Controls.
Interestingly DS (18) mentioned that his friend' had asked for help because his dad had blocked "everything" while he does his A level exams.
( I imagine he means gaming rather than dodgy web sites).
It seems the dad is more tech savvy than the teens as they couldn't figure a way round it.

I ve assumed that unfortunately they will see porn and that they will easily find out how to work around controls. Even if I set up perfect controls they will see it at their friends houses or on their friends phones/devices.

I haven't assumed that yo be blasé. I've assumed it to make me talk about porn and what they need to know about it starting from the premis that porn tells them as much about real life relationships as Jurassic Park tells them about working in a petting zoo.

I've had many talks with DD about porn. About body image and body hair and woman portrayed in porn. She's 13.
She hates me

Thanks Peggy. Hopefully he won't figure that out/be told this fact for a few more years
Communication is the most important thing I think.