Monitoring Internet history

[evedawn]

Is there a way to surrepticiously monitor ALL Internet sites accessed from a pc? It is because my stepson is accessing a lot things we don't want but.... He us very switched on technology wise ... And simply deletes the history we think.

[methyl]

Quick legal check:
Do you own the computer?
How old is you stepson?

Quick answer:
If he only deletes the browser history, the recent sites will be in the browser cache (if he doesn't delete that too). It is quite easy to misinterpret the sites in the browser cache because of links to advertisers, so be careful. There are also umpteen sites where the URL name does not reflect the actual content, and are actually harmless.

Context: When posting a Personal Computer question, it always helps to post some detail about the computer and its software - especially the Operating System and version, how it is connected to the Internet, and what Anti-Virus and Internet Security programs you have installed already.

Is this a PC shared by the family? Do you have his password? Do you have the Administrator account password (unless your stepson's account is already the Administrator)?

Monitor?: In this case it would also help to know if you have a second computer which is on the same home network and which could be used to "monitor" the other PC. ... Or perhaps do you mean "analyse" or "record" rather than "monitor"?

[birdie1971]

I've never used them myself but there are a few free 'cyber-nanny' type programs that prevent (so I'm told) inquisitive minds from accessing inappropriate websites.

This website is rather good at reviewing and linking such sites...
http://www.techsuppor...e-parental-Filter.htm

[evedawn]

Your answers are both very informative thanks. Yes we own the pc. The stepson is in fact 22 (an adult) but maturity wise more like 17 /18 at the most. learning disability too so it conpounds the marurity thing. In our mind its "our house our rules" and we are worried about his behaviour (incl debt he seems to be getting into) yes the network is shared by 4 pc's. please don't think we are harsh monitoring things at his age ... It is out of concern!

[daffy654]

http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

This little program is excellent (and free). You can block categories of website or just monitor what has been visited by setting it up correctly. We have this on our son's PC.