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[fvan]

I read they recommend installing parental controls for XO internet access.
If the laptop connects wireless to my home LAN, where do I install the software? It has me puzzled, am I missing something simple?

I'll will have to install Flash as well as my grand daughter loves Webkinz 

[jerpenner]

There is some information available here...
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Ask_OLPC_a_Question_about_Social_Issues

the impression I get is that there are no plans to build parental control software into the OLPC at this time.

[KenS]

Yeah - parental controls will soon be, I think, a lively topic.  Bitfrost sounds great for what it is, but I don't think it'll filter the web as much as I intend to.  Just curious - what do other folks have in mind for this?  Router-based filtering?  filtering software on the OLPC?  What are our options?

My situation: So far - my daughter is only 5, and there's been no need for filtering much on our computer, since she's just learning to read.  That said, she has click on more ads or other bookmarks than I'd like - with just errant mouse-clicks.  So far, not a big 'problem' - she just needs help getting back to starfall/pollypocket/mylittlepony.com or whatever site she was at.  But now that she's learning to read and we've even got an email address for her now - I think it's time for me to look at what filtering options are available.

I figure I've only got a few more years of her being "daddy's little girl" and my being more computer-savvy than her, but I'd like to shield her from the wild world a bit longer....

[Mike Lee]

My daughter just turned 4, so we haven't yet had to deal with her wanting to roam the wilds of the web on her own. She's happy to sit with us to work through exercises as well as work through learning modules that we queue up for her.

One approach I've thought about is based on how easily the XO picks up internet sharing when enabled nearby on either a PC or Mac. For example, I went to demo the XO at a school in DC and discovered I only had wired ethernet access. I was able to connect my Powerbook to the school's LAN and share the internet over WiFi from the Powerbook to the XO. The XO Neighborhood view showed my Powerbook as an access point with the network name of the Powerbook as the label.

So I'm thinking that I'll eventually activate a filtering package (maybe you already own a product) on one of our home PCs (Mac or Windows) and share that machine's connection over wifi to the XO. The XO should receive a filtered connection as well.

Then the next issue will be to manage the preferences on the XO specific to a user. As the parent, I would need to keep control of the super user or root access while my daughter logs in with a preconfigured user account that is bound to connecting only to a controlled list of access points, in this case just the designated home PC with filtering enabled and perhaps a school server. The XOs are currently shipping to the US with a wide open terminal and root access.

There is already a lot of prior discussion on the various issues and technical approaches for adding (or not adding) filtering to Linux:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-desktop-74/parental-control-in-linux-521665/

Some of the various solutions will be quickly adapted for the XO. And then there's the whole debate about whether to filter at all and not let the computer become your babysitter. Each household must decide for themselves.

Mike

[Xero]

I created a topic page in the OLPC Wiki here because I believe this is a valid issue.

[fvan]

""One approach I've thought about is based on how easily the XO picks up internet sharing when enabled nearby on either a PC or Mac. For example, I went to demo the XO at a school in DC and discovered I only had wired ethernet access. I was able to connect my Powerbook to the school's LAN and share the internet over WiFi from the Powerbook to the XO. The XO Neighborhood view showed my Powerbook as an access point with the network name of the Powerbbok as the label.""

I like this approach Mike. that should work in our situation. 
Thanks for the link Xero, I will watch that discussion.

[rjnagle]

Here's the problem.

Wireless routers used to have content filters, but over the last year or two  linksys and other routers have sort of backed away from supporting router-based filtering services.

(If you have a router with a filtering service you can recommend, feel free to mention it!)


that means it is left to running some sort of filtering service on the device.
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.os.linux.networking/browse_thread/thread/b2a5df9dfeb9650/11d3056b2fc9e82a?lnk=st&q=%22dan%27s+guardian%22+xo#11d3056b2fc9e82a

If no one has done it already, I will try to install Dan's Guardian. Frankly, though I don't know whether this application is suitable for XO.

[cafl]

Disclaimer:  I don't have my XO yet.

I think that under the covers, the browser on the XO is Firefox.  So you can presumably set a preference choosing a proxy.  Then you install the proxy server (e.g. Dan's Guardian, or some equivalent commercial product) or choose a commercial filtering service and configure it as the proxy.  Then your child is accessing the internet indirectly and the proxy server filters unwanted content.

[Alex Guichet]

I'm pretty sure that the countries do the blocking at the Modem level before it gets broadcasted to the kids. This would seem reasonable because it prevents a kid from getting smart and disabling or uninstalling the watch software off their laptop and it also saves the energy from installing the software on the laptop...

[Wayan Vota]

I created a topic page in the OLPC Wiki here because I believe this is a valid issue.

Here's Xero's link spelled out: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Parental_controls

(I didn't see he made one till I quoted his comments)

[Irish_Moss]

I'm surprised they haven't created a simple .xo filtering application.
Just something with basic word filtering and URL blacklisting.

I'd write one, but programming isn't one of my strong suits.
 

[xyzzy]

From the standpoint of child safety, the ability to chat with others on the mesh is a nightmare.  Those chats don't go through the Internet, so even if we can get parental control software loaded onto the XO laptop, it won't filter that.

In other words, there's nothing to stop the pedophile down the street from taking advantage of the G1G1 program and using his new XO to chat with your kiddies.

Yikes!

[morgs]

From the standpoint of child safety, the ability to chat with others on the mesh is a nightmare.  Those chats don't go through the Internet, so even if we can get parental control software loaded onto the XO laptop, it won't filter that.

In other words, there's nothing to stop the pedophile down the street from taking advantage of the G1G1 program and using his new XO to chat with your kiddies.

Yikes!

The XOs won't see each other if yours is connected to an Access Point. The XOs will only mesh with each other if they are both on the same Mesh channel and not on an AP.

If you're on an Access Point, the Neighbourhood view will only show XOs (or Sugar instances on other computers) on your local LAN or WLAN, unless you are connected to a server.

[jfh]

Morgs, I assume you mean that if the XO in xyzzy's home is connected to the internet via his own  router,  the hypothetical pedophile down the street could not use the"mesh" things to connect to xyzzy's XO.  However, your answer seems to imply that if  xyzzy's XO and the XO of the creep down the street  were on the same "mesh" channel they COULD connect.  I believe that's what concerns xyzzy.  It sure concerns me. 

[Zanne]

From our 2 days of working with mesh (we have 3 XO's), you have to issue an invite to a person to join in an activity (you will see their X mark on the neighborhood screen, and you can click on a drop down menu to add them as a "friend". They can't mesh with you unless you invite them. A stranger wouldn't be able to get on your computer and see your activities unless you invited them, although they could see your user name on their neighborhood map.
My interim solution to the lack of parental controls is simply not to let my kids on the internet at all, at least for now, and they have so far been happy with interacting with one another on the mesh. (not such a difficult decision at this point as my first shot at connecting to our wireless WEP was a no go and I haven't had time to try some of the solutions; I'm also not eager to release Pandora from the box).  But if you have one XO and no one to mesh with, then I see it's an issue.