OK, how ought one start *this* conversation?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So, I arrived today at my parents house for a short vacation. My two boys had been shipped up a week ago for a longer vacation for them (and, really, me). I arrived in the middle of a minor crisis–grandma had just discovered the necessity of monitoring, not just limiting, the internet usage of preteens. My 11-year-old had downloaded some games onto their new PC, and she was concerned that he’d installed a virus.

So, her computer geek son leaps into action. I confirmed that he hadn’t downloaded anything hostile, and showed her how to set up user accounts without admin privileges, how to use the Vista parental controls, etc. (They only has one user account set up, with full admin rights, that everybody shared. :rolleyes: ) I also advised her that even with those in place, young users have to be monitored, etc. (And that the young man in question knew that he wasn’t supposed to download program files without approval from a competent authority. I guess all rules fly out the window at Grandma & Grandpa’s house, right?)

Then, back at the computer tonight, I decided to take a quick look to see where all those two had been while the grandparents were napping. They tend to focus on game-playing sites, but you can never be sure–they’re both in the early-adolescence stage. So, for a first step, I just scan down the IE drop-down of recently-browsed sites.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Um … wow, they sure grow up fast, don’t they?

Wait, they don’t ordinarily grow up that fast. Where the hell is the history detail in IE7? Oh, there it is … OK, no prob, those sites were all accessed two weeks ago, before they … got … here …

:dubious:

So, how do I bring up to my ~70-year-old father the topic of clearing his browser history when other people are going to be sharing his computer? Or should I just clear it myself & never, ever think about this topic again?

(If anyone is thinking to suggest that my dear, sweet mother is responsible, please just get in your handbasket now. It’s bad enough that the existence of myself and my sister provides clear evidence that she had sex at least twice; anything beyond this is blasphemous. Thank you!)

(Edit on preview: lordy, sometimes I just love my .sig! :smiley: )

2

Don’t clear it, he may never be able to find it again. Make a shortcut for him on the desktop named “fishing” or “nascar” Mom’ll never look there.

3

I think I would avoid bringing the topic up and just clear the history myself before the kids got on.

Alternatively, you could find a way to bring up the subject of clearing browser histories in a very indirect way. Perhaps you could absently mention something about having to check the browser histories of the kids at home…how youperiodically clear your own…you know, transmit the information that browsers have histories that can be checked, but act like you’re talking about someone else.

4

Well, I’ve already set up the kids with their own restricted accounts on this box, so they won’t be able to get to his browser history any longer once he changes his password. (Which is, currently, ‘password’. :smack: )

:stuck_out_tongue:

5

When my parents got their First Internet Computer, I had to have a few words with them about passwords. For instance, using password isn’t good, nor is <username>, and while we’re at it, neither is <username spelled backwards>. They rarely do anything risky, but why take chances?

It’s scary to think that I’m tech support to someone.

6

I was looking at porn before I was 11. Granted, it was in a skin mag found under my uncle’s mattress rather than streaming HD video, but still.

As for your dad’s viewing habits, you could try getting over it. It’s just porn, dude.

7

Why bother? He’s a grown man. You’re the only one to ever know. Forget about it. It’s not like your Mother will be checking his browser history.

8

Great OP. It totally went a different direction from what I was expecting.

Well, Grandma might accidentallly stumble on Gramps’ browsing history if she gets in the habit of checking up on what the kids are doing.

SCSimmons, do your parents now each have their own separate accounts?

9

Another vote for don’t say anything. Clear it if it’ll make you feel better, but I’d keep my mouth shut.
OTOH, I had this exact conversation with my dad, but ya know, he was doing it at work. (We work together and lots of other people use his computer from time to time). I do go and double check from time to time and he does seem to be clearing the history.

10

Maybe your mom is fully aware and encouraging this outlet for the ol’ man. I would say that this is considered “personal information that you stumbled upon” and should be ignored, forgotten, and unmentioned.

11

I say don’t say anything but also put some of your favorite sites in the history you think he might enjoy. After all, the man deserves some enjoyment in his twilight years.

12

Yup, I totally agree.

13

I don’t know why you’re even considering having a discussion with a grown adult about how they use their personal property. It’s nothing to do with you so leave it.

14

Well, I honestly don’t actually care what he browses on his computer, and my shock is at least partially feigned. I mean, a highlight of my own adolescence was my discovery of his hidden porn stash, back in the dark ages before there were interwebs. So the fact that he still has one isn’t particularly surprising. I just don’t think he’s aware that he’s keeping it on a bookshelf in the living room now instead of in an unlabeled box at the back of a storage crawlspace. And that’s something he might want to know, right?

15

You could always get him a history cleaner and couch it under the idea of saving disc space.

16

I’m a grandma and I like porn sometimes. Maybe she’s the one so it might be best to stay quite.

17

Another observer that you have no dogs in that race. Ignore it unless there was something illegal.

You’ve fulfilled you parental obligation by setting up alternate accounts for your children.

18

I remember when I was a teenager and my mother found my father’s porn stash in the basement. That would have been fine if (a) she didn’t mention it in front of my sister and I and then (b) proceed to assure him it was okay, and he didn’t need to hide it. :smack:

At 14, that was something I did not need to know about my father.

I vote for teaching him how to clear his cache, but do it in a way, as you suggested, that doesn’t point to what you discovered, just as a way of educating him to find out what his grandkids might be doing in their attempts to circumvent parental controls. Because we know they will, and if they don’t know Gramps knows how to check and clear the cache, they might not hide their tracks as well as they would hope to. But otherwise, yeah, it’s really a MYOB situation.

19

I agree with this.

20

That first sentence… I understand the words individually but together they are just a jumbled mess.