DH6twinotter

Hey all,
I've been sharing my PC with my 2 roommates. Well, I think one of them (or maybe thier friends) has been looking at porn on it. I don't want that crap on my PC. Is there any way of blocking websites, or setting up some sort of rating system? Better yet, can I just block the entire internet and just have a few select OK websites that I can set up as being pre-approved? I very rarelly do any kind of websurfing and just stick to Yotatech, autotrader, ebay, and various school websites/links. I though my roommate usually just uses my PC for chating on Yahoo (that's what he says), but I guess I was wrong. So, any suggestions/ideas?

Ultimately, I may just give him 1 warning and then just put my PC in my room and keep the door locked while I'm gone. I just hate for him to see that crap. The short term pleasure isn't worth the long term pain.

Well, thanks for the help all.
Daniel

Bob_98SR5

i would not let anyone share my computer, esp college roommates

bob

Intrepid

I would say just tell him not to then lock it up, who knows what types of viruses and crap he can get from those sites. Otherwise I am sure you could find some parental type control that you can password. Try www.download.com and search for something along those lines.
Just out of curiosity what type of "long term pain" is gained from looking at porn?

Bob_98SR5

furry palms ask goodtimes about that!

Intrepid

There are a bunch of filter programs, some actually save you a file of all their activities including screen shots and key logging, some just filter and block. Check one of them out. Mostly it is to keep kids out of that crap, I have never heard of a Mcafee Rommate Control, hahaha, but I am sure it will work just the same.

http://internet-filter-review.topten...rental+control

Intrepid

I heard blindness was an possible side effect, turns out, thats true!

http://www.newscientist.com/article....ine-news_rss20

Bob_98SR5

dH6,

the way i see it is this: if the chinese govt can't keep its populace from reading "subversive" news and porn sites, neither can you.

i dont really tihnk you need to install software on your computer as evidence against your roommate. just confront him and say you dont want anyone using your computer anymore. if he asks why, tell him you dont approve of some of the websites he's been looking at.

bob

Churnd

If he says he doesn't approve, he risks being humiliated. I'd just quit letting 'em use it. I let my roommate use my second computer on a limited account. You can create another account as a regular "user", without administrative privileges that will limit the damage they can do by looking up porn if you don't want to cut them off completely.

data

maybe you could get a cheap router that has web filtering built in. I know netgear makes some of these.

DH6twinotter

Hey all, thanks a lot for the help and suggestions.

Yeah, your probably right. I'm just not a very confrontational person, especailly when it comes to stuff like this.
Part of me feels sorry for guy, because he has no job and doesn't go to school. He's moving to CA in a month for work, but he's just kind of sitting around doing nothing right now. So, I figured I'd let him use my PC for games and chat, but might have to change my mind on that.

I wasn't sure if there was somewhere in my internet settings where I could set up blocked sites or not. I went into My computer/control panel/internet options and played around with the content and security settings, but not sure if that does anything. I don't really want to experiment. I'm not too crazy about these programs that save screen shots either. I don't want to see that stuff either. Thanks for the idea though.

It hurts relationships. When I get married, I want to be devoted to my wife only. I know some wives could care less, but I want a wife who has some moral standards. And some people just hide the fact that they look at porn. I think hiding secrets from wives and girl friends just puts a wedge in the relationships. That probably one reason whey there are so many divorces and failing relationships now days.

Anyways, thanks for the help you all. Still open to more suggestions
Daniel

JuttyShabango

Tell him if he quits lookin' at porn on your computer you'll quit peeing on his toothbrush...

Churnd

CynicX

Uhm...

In IE: Tools -> Internet Options -> Content. Enable Content Advisor, click settings and adjust the amount of security you want against Nudity, Violence, Language and Sex. Click OK then enter your own password so no one can change it.

In Firefox I dont think there is a way. Which is pretty pitiful. I even went through just about every extension at addon.mozilla.org. I could be wrong though, there is alot of extension you think there would be at least one porno blocker. But if you use IE you can block it from downloading anything at firefox.com. So at least he cant download another browser to look at porn, well at least from the orginal webpage.

Other then that, its that easy. Good luck

CynicX

Oh and like data mentioned. If you are using a router you can easily block a webpage in the routers settings. Of course thats kinda a pain in the butt because you have to enter every single webpage into it. But you could enter firefox.com and download.com and a couple other sites that would have a different browser for download.

Churnd

That's a good idea... and if you set up a limited user account, they can't install their own software anyway.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

NEVER share your computer. Bad idea.

data

some also have keyword filtering for sites. that way you don't have to enter each site name. also most will have logging built in so you can see what they've tried to access.

DH6twinotter

Hey all! Thanks for the help. I talked to my roommate about it and gave him a warning. He said ok and that eveything he looked at was linkes from chat room....blah, blah, blah. At least he's got a warning.

I also went and enabled content advisor. We'll see how that works. I haven't noticed anything different when checking out yotatech, autotrader, etc.

I will never again share my PC. I figure it would probably be ok since this guy is moving out in a few weeks and he is really computer iliterate. He didn't even know how to check the price of a greyhound buss ticket on line.

Thanks again for all the input. I really appreciate it.

Daniel