Any kids nowadays is going to give it their best effort to bypass the software. The key is to ensure they don't have admin rights on the local laptop and or tablet. Heck, I disabled access to the play store on my kiddo phone. she realized that if she went to to to play.google.com on a laptop and get the darned apps. Smart little girl. Smart girl.
Ways to get around it K9 or netnanny.
- Use a bootable usb drive and boot up to a different operation system. Takes a little bit or work, but there's enough motivation out of a teenager to do this.
- Reinstall the entire operating system. Tricky and risk getting caught.
- Use a VPNService that will bypass the proxy setup.
- Use Tor for browsing
In our house, I use use a multi layer defense. I start at the router and have parental controls enabled and block specific sites such as RedTube, Tumblr, and just for fun at times YouTube. Also, knowing their devices on the router is very helpful for when you want to force family time.
For the mobile devices, I use My Mobile Watchdog or Teensafe. Pretty decent app. Works on both Apple & Androids.
As for the computers & laptops, I used to use Kidswatch. However, I haven't put it on since the last refresh.
It's tough being a parent and even worse when the kids know more about technology than people who do this for a living. At the end of the day, we talk about internet safely, bullying, and why its important and real life examples. I honestly have probably scared the crap out of her, but it is for her own good. MTV had a great series (maybe) called "Sexting in America". I encourage you to watch it with your kids.