Block inappropriate websites

Here's a quick primer on OpenDNS:

On the internet, websites are identified by numbers. But it's difficult for humans to remember long strings of numbers, so websites give themselves names.

When you ask for a website, your web browser asks a DNS service (Domain Name System) for the website's number. If the website your web browser is asking for is on a list of banned websites, OpenDNS will refuse to provide the corresponding website number. As a result, your web browser can't find the offending website. Simple, and it works.

The best way to handle this, in my opinion, is to use a service like OpenDNS which has very good parental controls that will prevent any computer you designate from accessing sites you don't want accessed. If your router has the capability of allowing you to alter the DNS settings, no one using that router can override the limits.

I hate to be the one to tell you ... but no amount of parental control software from Microsoft or anyone else is going to give you the filtering your daughters deserve.

The problem is: Content providers really don't give a cr@p about what our children are exposed to. No parental control software can overcome that. There's no money in keeping our kids safe.

While there is a lot you can do to keep the worst away from your daughters, the most effective parental control comes from being in the same room as your daughters when the computer is on.

For your 5-year old, you can use an overlay like Magic Desktop and other products like it.  Your 8-year old is starting to age out of that, depending on what her friends have. The years between 8 and 14 will be toughest, since your girls will bristle at anything that interferes with what their friends are watching. Being an active parent will help a lot, since it is ultimately the judgement and confidence they learn from you that will keep them healthy.

The best way to keep the worst from your daughters is with a filtering DNS service. That will prevent objectionable websites from reaching your computer in the first place, but you'll have to keep two things in mind:

1. Websites are either banned or not. It's either everything in YouTube or no YouTube at all.
2. This will prevent banned websites from reaching your modem, so you won't be able to see them either.

If you're interested in how this works, I can explain further. One great example of a DNS filtering service is OpenDNS from Cisco, and it's a free service.

Thanks for the feedback.  I will take a look.

Thanks for the feedback.  Not surprised in what you say. I will research your ideas and think about what I am trying to achieve some more before moving on with anything.