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Thread ID: 24717	2002-09-17 04:52:00	Disabling Chat........Billy's stupid question for this week!	Billy T (70)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
80265	2002-09-17 04:52:00	Hi Team The recent burst of news items on chat room lechers has had my kids asking questions. Neither of them uses chat rooms at present and they have not shown any interest either, but peer pressure may one day tell and then where will we be? I don't want to restrict their normal web access but rather than place temptation in their way, is there any mechanism for disabling chat functions in Win2K and Win98? To tell you the truth, I'm totally ignorant of the whole chat scene and don't even know if there is a local applet in the OS or IE that provides the functionality or whether there are downloads required. :8} I was thinking along the lines of renaming some dll or other file that was necessary to launch that service. Alternatively, will ZA block access? At the moment all additional permissions require my password and I assume that chat requires two-way communication. (D'oh!) Of course, ZA can be shut down so that's not really a solution; that is, unless my pass word is required to shut it down ?:| (Thinks........... must go and check.) Yeah, yeah! I already know I'm the meanest Dad on the planet (no playstation, no gameboy, no Xbox, no teles in bedrooms, just bloody great homework desks and computers with no games) so please, spare me the tears and gimme th' oil. ]:) All advice is welcome Cheers Billy 8-{) :D :D	Billy T (70)
80266	2002-09-17 05:13:00	well there is no easy way to disable all chat systems on a PC. most computers come with a messaging program of some type EG: * ICQ * windows messanger * yahoo chat * AOL instant mesanger also there is a toy called IRC which is like a big room of people chating about all sorts of stuff. IRC can be accessed with many diffrent programs such as MIRC the bigest problem is that there are also web based systems that look and work just like a messageboard but more real time the best answer is to set down the rules and explane the dangers and such like. programs like "net nanny" might work but if a kid want to thay can be dissabled quite easy with instructions found on the web :-) good luck	robsonde (120)
80267	2002-09-17 05:23:00	Yeah, I think IRC is the biggest prob. Disabling ports 6667 thru 6669 would probably be my first step. Programs such as MIRC and Pirch also have logging tools to log all conversations; you could tell your kids that you will review the logs (and do so) of all their chats.	antmannz (28)
80268	2002-09-17 06:13:00	Of course you will also have to disable pressF1, like it or not even though this isn't "real time" it's still a "chat" space, as is every other forum on the net. By the time you've disabled all forms of communication that could be exploited by sicko's wanting to find out about or get to your kids you're not going to have anything useful left, so perhaps careful, but not challenging advice, and careful supervision will work wonders? Personally i live in a cave, but my son lives in the country. i just hope he stays safe!	Chris Wilson (431)
80269	2002-09-17 08:40:00	Thanks guys Actually, education and trust are not issues fortunately, and I doubt that I will have a problem but I wanted to minimise temptation and risk anyway. ]:) However, I checked ZA and it can't be disabled without a password so I assume that will stop chat room acess since everything else has had to be given specific permission. Ah well, welcome to the wicked world of the noughties :( Cheers Billy 8-{) :| PS On reflection I wouldn't mind betting that there are some registry entries that could put a spanner in the works.	Billy T (70)
80270	2002-09-17 08:44:00	I have found that this registry entry works to stop SWMBO backchat: HKEY Local_Wife {GETBACKINTHEKITCHEN} Hope that helps....	godfather (25)
80271	2002-09-17 09:58:00	There are a lot of ways to chat but most require a download of some sort to be able to chat. Unfortunatly a lot of chat sites also operate a basic java chat function that does not require any downloads and lets people join in. I would suggest that you check out any sites carefully. there are many that are aimed at the mainly adult market such as naughtychat, scandals and nzdating althought the last is more focused on relationships of longer than a lunchtime. msn chat is filled with the entire range of strange and weird people and the same can also go for yahoo chat. NZChat is a not too bad alternative as it is a collection of regulars mainly but there still is the adult conversation. Basically if they want to chat there is not many ways of stopping it so education is the best answer especially as to what they can and can't say and do online. Its amazing how much information people will give out online.	dipstick01 (445)
80272	2002-09-17 10:27:00	godfather, the best way to stop SWMBO backchat is this registry key: HKEY Local_Hubby {GETBACKTOWORK}	Susan B (19)
80273	2002-09-17 10:42:00	Hiya Billy, You asked, so here it comes: Susan B's Comprehensive Guide to Teenage Internet Chat! Firstly, I can understand your concern about your children wanting to use chat in the future but I don't think you need to worry too much about it . You've got a good relationship with them and you're well endowed with common and PC sense . Most of all they'll find it extremely difficult to pull the wool over your eyes if they ever wanted to . You've actually got quite a bit of control over your children's chat use because some, like IRC, ICQ and MSN Instant Messaging, require a program to be installed and you can give or deny permission to install it . For others it's pretty easy to go online, find a chat site, create a username and password and away you go . If you want to prevent your kids from using them you can add a host file with the sites' addresses in them like I sometimes do if necessary . You will have to find out the site addresses they are using yourself though - just look in History or in the index . dat with Spider if you have to . Personally I don't like the chat rooms and fortunately my daughter uses MSN instant messaging the most and it appears to be the most popular amongst teenagers . You can only chat to people if you have their Hotmail address or they have yours and even then you can accept or decline requests to chat with people . It is quite safe in that respect but kids being kids Hotmail addresses are swapped by all and sundry and they soon get a huge list of contacts . My daughter has over 75 and wouldn't know who two thirds of them are! It's quite funny watching sometimes - when someone comes online they get a popup notification and they often ask each other "who are u?"!! Controlling kids' chat programs is one thing, controlling their conversations and what they talk about is an entirely different kettle of fish . Because our PC is in the family room I often cruise by to check what's going on and very often the screen gets covered up and I'm told to "go away, it's personal" . Sometimes VERY personal I've discovered! They grow up much faster these days so yes, it does include sex, drugs and alcohol . Kids are extremely open and explicit personally compared to how we were at that age, or even older, and it's probably because they are not speaking face to face . At least I hope they don't talk like that face to face!!!Don't say I didn't warn you! I have to say that it has been rather fascinating observing the culture that has developed from the internet chat scene . My daughter has made a huge number of friends that she probably wouldn't have met without it . She's friends with other kids her age from all over town and meets a lot of them with her school friends to socialise . I often wonder how boys and girls from single sex high schools ever got to socialise with each other outside of sport prior to the internet because it's so easy to meet and chat to each on the web . Before the alarm bells start ringing, remember that her friends and their friends' friends have passed on the Hotmail addresses, certifying that they know the person is who they say they are so there's very little chance of coming across any lurchers . She also sees a lot of them on the bus and if it wasn't for MSN she would probably never have spoken to them let alone become friends with them . Whenever I've asked her why doesn't she just talk to these people on the phone (she does actually do that too) she says she likes MSN because she can talk to lots of people at once . Her typing skills are quite impressive with all the practice she gets . LOL I would be very hesitant to deny a teenager from MSN messaging, especially if they are under a lot of pressure from their peers to join in, as my daughter was to begin with . It took a while for her to talk me into it because I was worried about the negative aspects but the positives have far outweighed any risks . We talk about it, I read as many of her conversations as she allows and I won't let her go out with anyone unless she's with other friends as well . We teach our children about "stranger danger" when they are little and not to get into cars or go off with strangers and the teaching continues with discussions about internet "stranger danger" . Even though conversations are often "private", I don't believe a "chat computer" should be kept tucked away in the child's bedroom where you don't know what's going on . That's asking for trouble . Until they are old enough to look after themselves (21? 25? :D) it should be in the family room or other public place . Oh, and don't forget the risk of chat addiction . I won't go there though, that will be like the pot calling the kettle black . :D So there you have it . Any teenagers here want to comment? On teenage internet chat I mean, not me being verbose!	Susan B (19)
80274	2002-09-17 13:01:00	Hi Billy T, I think the previous posts have covered your query very well but just as something relevent to Susan B's comments that MSN Messenger seems to be the most used 'Chat-Room',there is a little free third-party add-on called Messenger Plus that logs all chat sessions into a per user/per month folder/files. This is automatic and is usually found in My Docs/My Chat Logs(now how strange is that??);-) You can get it here (http://www.patchou.com) You may never have to read the files and if you don't want anyone else to read them either,just encrypt or lock them up! Hope this helps,Cheers,Kiwitas,;-)	Kiwitas (514)
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