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In Loco Parentis
Price: £19.99 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 10/05/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 161
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: In Loco Parentis
Web Address: www.ilp4parents.com


If you've got children, then chances are you'll probably want to offer them unfettered access to the internet but are worried that this could lead them into the clutches of internet predators. In Loco Parentis (a Latin phrase meaning 'in the place of a parent') aims to minimise such risks by letting absent parents keep tabs on their kids by using logs of their online activities.

Features
Once installed, the software works invisibly in the background, monitoring activity on your PC. Although designed as a watchful eye, it's basically a well-dressed keylogger: everything your children type or do on the computer is logged so that you can go back and check it at a later date. The program was developed using guidelines from government, police and parenting organisations, and, unlike other parental-control programs, it's not limited to only supervising specific software. In a nutshell, using this software lets you access every word typed on your computer.

Performance
As well as being very thorough, the software also sorts logs into different applications and times, so you aren't trawling through every word to find out what your children have been up to. You can also set up triggered actions for certain words, such as issuing warnings to your children when they're about to give their address or receiving alerts to a specified email address. It's thorough and it works well, but if your children are prolific net users and you're determined to keep a close eye on things, you're likely to end up with a barrage of logs to scour through on a regular basis. Other options include the ability to block the internet as a whole, restricting access to particular sites that you don't want your children visiting and blocking programs that you don't want them using.

Ease of use
In Loco Parentis comes with a dictionary of bad language, and sexual and grooming words, that you can set the software to look out for. The list of words can be customised and added to with, say, school names, home addresses and any other words you may feel are sensitive. The system isn't the easiest to use as it's relatively unsophisticated, relying on a menu to hide much of the useful configuration tools away, but this does leave room on the main console for plenty of summary information.

Value for money
It's difficult to put a price on peace of mind, so if this software helps you establish that your children aren't up to anything untoward, or prevents them from becoming the victims of others who are, then it seems like a sensible investment.

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