Making a computer safe for an 11yo

[NovelMama]

My laptop died last week, so now I have a new one. AJ is apparently the Laptop Whisperer because she's been able to resurrect it, LOL, so now she wants it as her own. (She's been begging for a computer for ages, mostly to game on, which my old one definitely wouldn't handle, but also for school related stuff since she occasionally has to use mine - but honestly, she really wants it because so many of her friends have one.)

My concern is, of course, internet accessibility. We have Safari disabled on her iPad and iPhone (which is really just a glorified iPod since it isn't connected to our phone account), but obviously she'll need a browser for research for school. I've been trying to find a safe, kid-friendly browser but instead keep finding safe, kid-friendly search engines. Am I looking for something that doesn't exist? What do y'all use on your kids' computers, if they have one? What else do you do to keep the computer safe for them? I know I can create an admin profile and a separate profile for her that will allow me to limit what her profile can do (like download stuff from websites and make admin-level changes on the machine) but I'm guessing there are other things I'm not even thinking of that I ought to do. Thoughts???

[Aerynne]

:popcorn

[ECingMama]

Open DNS?

[NovelMama]

Open DNS?

I have no idea what that means, LOL.

[ECingMama]

I have no idea what that means, LOL.

It controls your router, I think. IDK. But it keeps the truly bad out, I believe. Just google it to see if you are interested. It's been recommended on here. I keep meaning to do it myself.

[Soliloquy]

We use OpenDNS. You can control how tightly you lock down the internet. You can whitelist and blacklist specific websites, too.

https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/

[ValiantJoy07]

I will have to ask dh exactly what he did for dd1, but he locked down her browser, she can only go to a certain list of sites unless she knows the exact name of the site she wants and types of in the exact address. this allows her to blog and do Minecraft coding stuff safely. I will be back later.

---------- Post added at 07:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 AM ----------

We use OpenDNS. You can control how tightly you lock down the internet. You can whitelist and blacklist specific websites, too.

https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/

ok that's what we did. :yes

[NovelMama]

Okay, I found OpenDNS's website. I wish they went into a bit more detail on what all it can do. For those of you using it, does it do a good job of filtering search engine results?

[Soliloquy]

No, you can't do that with any filter. The search engine will show the results but if someone clicks on it, they'll get a block screen and the URL will be in the report.

[twoplustwo]

:cup

My kids don't have their own laptops and like you have internet disabled on their phones.

But it's only a matter of time so I better start gathering info now.

[NovelMama]

Another question, for those of you with Macs:

I created a new user for AJ and enabled Parental Controls. I also blacklisted a bunch of websites and whitelisted a bunch of others. But when she goes to whitelisted sites, we get notification after notification, in pop-up windows, that the browser is trying to access a secure website, and because Parental Controls are enacted apparently secure websites are blocked unless specific permission is given. So even though we're on a site I've whitelisted (like Netflix, for example, where she has her own user profile), it'll notify us over and over that it's trying to access a particular ISP, and for each one I have to enter my account and password to allow them. And even after I've allowed them it will ask again, immediately, for permission to access the same ISP that I *just* gave permission for. It's maddening! There's nothing in Parental Controls for me to turn off so this doesn't happen. Is there something I'm missing?? It makes using the web awful.

[Soliloquy]

Not a mac user but I remembered we also set up Google safe search.

https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/510?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en.

[schmamy]

:cup