PC makers shouldn't have to be babysitters too
I'M ALL FOR child safety when it comes to PCs and the Wibbly Wobbly Web but things are getting out of hand. There is an abdication of responsibility going on at many levels regarding the evils of technology and the precious youth and it’s high time it stopped.
This week, the great NSPCC organisation renewed its call to PC manufacturers to bundle Net nanny-styled software on PCs as standard so that when little Johnny goes hunting online he finds the Beeb, not the Boob. I have no real issue with this and for PC manufacturers suffering falling desktop sales, it’s a potentially smart marketing move to create a new niche based around child-safe PCs. So what sparked the NSPCC’s renewed calls? An outbreak of underage teen sex, a rampage by armed tweenies dressed as zombies through the local Tesco? Dumb PC superstores. Really, I’m not kidding.
The NSPCC sent volunteers into leading PC retailers posing as customers, seeking parental software for PCs that would allow them to restrict just what nonsense their kids get up to on the PC. Out of 28 stores, how many do you think managed to answer their queries? If you guessed more than three, then you really an optimist and haven’t been to your local superstore lately. Only two stores were able to offer any “clear and authoritative advice when asked what software was available”. Even better, many of the store staff tried flogging them software that wasn’t child-friendly and couldn’t block access to porn sites or content. Now there’s a surprise.
Most of us have had some - maybe a lot – of experience with the highly trained monkeys in the leading PC superstores. They look the part, smile (sometimes) and offer to help, just like the training course told them to do. Their confidence balloon lasts about as long as an erection in the arctic. After about 60 seconds of mild questioning the eyes go blank, there’s no one home, but the smile is still there like some frozen enamel gate. Shortly after that they run away to find a colleague that can help, and you never see them again. It’s then you realise that the word ‘superstore’ in PC superstore relates to the size of the shop, not the service. Still, it’s good that the NSPCC has highlighted the gaping chasm between what these stores advertise and what they actually provide.
However, I’m not so comfortable with the idea that PC makers should be made to make PCs safe for kiddies to use. They are not babysitters. If they do, great, but I think it’s the wrong route to take. The problem with kids online is their parents. The problem with kids watching or playing too many violent and unsuitable movies or games is parents. Parents are the problem, not the kids, and it’s too easy to pass the buck on just who should stop little Johnny getting sex-ed classes from Jenna Jameson. No one is saying that parents control what kids do in their mates’ houses but at home, technology has to be managed.
According to the NSPCC’s research, almost 60 per cent of kids are online everyday and a frightening 1-in-3 have a PC in their room. You see, that’s part of the problem right there. Stupid bloody parents. What kind of moron gives a child a PC in their room and then expects them not to stray from the BBC’s Education pages. Oh look, there’s a breast. And an ass. Mmm, let me think: “Tits n’ ass VS. Calculus”. It’s a tough call I’ll grant you. Giving kids PCs is like giving them the keys to the car, the drinks cabinet and the gun locker and then asking them to walk, drink milk and turn the other cheek. It’s right up there with the parents that rent overage movies for their kids, buy them blood-soaked console games because they’re too busy, or stupid, to check the big, fat glaring age ratings, and who think kids have nothing to fear on social networking sites, especially kiddie-friendly ones like Bebo.
The NSPCC’s goal is noble but right now you don’t even get a year’s worth of anti-virus./spamming.. malware software with a new PC. Just a measly month or two and, if you don’t sign up with McAfee, or whoever, your PC becomes an open door and a breeding ground for nothing good. Good luck getting PC manufacturers to fork out to load up Net Nanny software en masse for free. Anyway, protective software for kids on PCs only works if the parents are using some form of good practice already. Sadly, that’s not the case.
It’s the government’s job to educate the kids but what about the parents? The government has to start demystifying tech for parents. Hell, bring back those classic educational shorts from the 1950s. This time, just swap the sound scientific advice of hiding under the table during a nuclear attack with how unrestricted surfing and gaming can actually turn your child into a sad excuse for a human being. Technology is not that easy to understand for most people and things move very fast. Educate the parents and the breeding morons and you stand a small chance of protecting children from the worst the Web has to offer. Anything else is a band-aid on a shotgun wound. µ
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Spot on, of course these days personal reponsibility is a matter of everyone else's concern. So thats alright then eh!

*has never spent my own money in PC world*
What about routers with long logs, age restrictions and time of day blocking? I think that if the routers were restricted then it could make it much easier to block what they access.

I think stopping it at the internet gateway of the home is an easier solution. There may be several pc's in the home, and I'm guessing a simple way around is to fit an extra hard disk with OS and select that to boot from using the BIOS, in order to avoid netnanny stuff on original drive.

A router would prevent that.

Also, mobile phones are becoming better at browsing using WiFi, so again stopping it at the router makes more sense.

It's a great sales opportunity for the manufacturers, family friendly routers providing total control of what your family can see, and when.

However, would you really want to see what sort of stuff your kids are looking at if shocks you?

I remember my Mum finding porn under my brother's bed, ha ha ha.
Didn't vista have a bundled net nanny?
Oh and I think you'll find that kids are pretty grossed out by much of the online sex and avoid it themselves if given the choice.
Perhaps some of us are projecting too much?

In fact many adults are grossed out by much of the online sex available I dare to claim.
Great article. Straight to the point. I think parents are simply too lazy to worry about it.
...I would load a Linux LiveCD up and edit the filesystem until it was all gone. Then I would use Linux anyway. That's what I did on my school computers.

This kind of software is unnecessary if the parents teach their children to be responsible on the internet. Despite the above comment, I would never go on illegal/questionable websites because my parents taught me not to.
Well written.

To add, i've never seen any parental control software that a half competent child can't crack or just guess their parents password.

Even then a smart kid would just press F10 (or what ever the key is that activates the restore partition) restore the computer to factory settings and disable the software
Truly it is unfortunate that the "morons" are allowed to breed.
"It’s the government’s job to educate the kids"

No it isn't. Educating a child is the job of the parents, and no one else. The government is responsible for teaching the child knowledge, not bringing him or her up.
But I agree that nowadays, with the gradual disappearance of the definition of education from the collective mind, it most probably falls to the government to do both educating and teaching.
WOW, after a long time an article which is well balanced less on sarcasm and heavy on good content....
Well done
A friend of mine recently bought a HP PC running Vista from Staples. Sure enough he got a 60 day trial of Norton Internet Security. Not only did it not work out of the box, Windows Defender also won't update. How many non computer literate people are going to get caught out on things like this?

Where it comes to putting a computer in the kids room, if parents are that worried, just don't give the kids internet access in their room. Thats what I've done, I build up a PC out of spare bits for my kids who are 7 and 5. They don't have internet access on the PC, just a basic installation of Ubuntu 7.10 with things like Tuxpaint and GCompris. They're happy drawing pictures in Tuxpaint and don't even ask about using the CBeebies web site.

When they're a bit older I will maybe allow them some sort of restricted internet access with something like Dansguardian on my home server.

Rob
quote- "It’s the government’s job to educate the kids" 

No it isn't. Educating a child is the job of the parents, and no one else. The government is responsible for teaching the child knowledge, not bringing him or her up."

erm, dictionary definition of educate is:-
1. to develop the faculties and powers of (a person) by teaching, instruction, or schooling. 
2. to qualify by instruction or training for a particular calling, practice, etc.; train: to educate someone for law. 
3. to provide schooling or training for; send to school. 

or in your own words 'teaching the child knowledge'. 

I think you're getting confused with educating a child and raising them.