Limiting or Banning Messenger Use with PIC-PC Parental
Control
Software
(This is
just one aspect of PIC-PC: click for details of full Parental Control features)
There's plenty of software around that can block (MSN / Windows Live)
Messenger use
completely (PIC-PC can block Messenger too, of course).
But to
block Messenger is - in today's world - like banning
the
telephone. What many parents really want to do is
:
a) Limit Messenger time
instead of blocking
it completely. Limit to certain times of day (perhaps when you are
home) or total time spent per day or per week.
b) Monitor Messenger Some
parents also want to be able to
monitor Messenger use
(seeing what's being typed, screenshots of Messenger windows,
etc. If you have a home network, you
can monitor
screenshots in real time taken at 10 second
intervals - just like peeking over their shoulder!
c) Messenger
Safety: Stop them entering sensitive data, like street
name, school name,
etc. Take a screenshot if they do, and optionally
try to send a warning
message to the other end of the chat conversation.
PIC-PC lets you extend the feature to include web-based chat sites (or
sites often used mainly for chat). See Limiting Facebook Use as
an example. If (unlike Facebook) the site isn't already set as a chat
site by default, just add it using the 'categorise by page
title'dialog.
a) Limiting time spent, or time of day: On the 'Rules' dialog (screenshot),
drop down the activity list on the top right of the screen. Select
'Instant Messaging'. Now you can set maximum time limit per
day, limit
per week, and possible times of day that they can use it. You
can select up to 8 time periods where Instant Messaging (IM) is allowed
for any
day of the week, or special ones for holidays.
These time limits will be shared with programs like Windows Messenger
etc. Kids only 'clock up' time on these when the window in
question has the 'focus' - i.e. when they can type into it.
If they want to leave a chat program running (unused) in the
background in case a friend comes online, the time counter does not run.
b) While you are on this dialog, click the 'Modify Monitoring Options'
button, and on the dialog (screenshot)
that pops up
you can set
the level of monitoring you want to apply during 'instant messaging'
activity. Tick the check boxes to enable key
logging (everything they type), screen snapshots on typed
trigger keyword, after so many keystrokes, etc.
c) At bottom of the main dialog, click the 'Snapshot Trigger Keywords'
button. Replace 'MYTELNO' and 'MYSTREETNAME' with your phone
number and street name, and add any other words you don't want them
typing. If the check box is ticked, in addition to the screenshot being
taken to capture the page if a keyword is typed, PIC-PC types many
backspaces followed by a warning that the conversation is being
monitored, and an 'enter'.. If the person on the other end of
the chat is an online predator, they will think twice about continuing.
.
