At Eastvale Computer Services, we are always bombarded with the problem of Parental Controls. Blocking sites, such as MySpace, Porn, other sites parents do not want their kids to gain access to. Having an 8 and 10 year old I understand the problem. I would like to introduce many of you to OpenDNS. Rather than explaining what DNS is all about, I would like you to go to their site and they will give you a very good explination of how it works, and works with your network. They can be found at http://www.opendns.com/

In laymans terms, it allows you to block or filter different types of websites or block by website name, such as myspace.com. It does this for your entire network. Nothing to install on your PC's, and once you set it up you do not have to touch it. Here is one BIG problem it fixes:

 Your kid has their own laptop. Said kid cannot get to a website on their computer at home because OpenDNS is being used. Said kid goes to their friends home on their (which is really your) laptop, jumps on the blocked website at their friends house. Said website is also blocked on the laptop, even when they are away from home. This is cool.

If you hard-code the  OpenDNS  DNS Settings in their laptop DNS Settings then whatever network they ever go to will also "follow" them. There is a very small software from them you have to install that updates their changed IP address which you can make invisible to them. Basically it updates their computer's address they are using, say at Starbucks or their friends house.

Free too! Check them out at www.opendns.com