Ok, I don't mean for it to sound as bad as that but my 10 year old daughter and 12 year old son do spend a long time on MSN messenger on their computer upstairs wich is linked to mine via my ADSL LAN Router.

Is there any way at all that I can ' keep an eye ' on their conversations from my pc (Win XP Home ED) downstairs in my study ?

__________________
Snowman1 Men are the same as women, just inside out !Snowman1

and these are mine, mine mine mine ...oh...and wifeys too !

This sounded like what you are looking for. Here is the web address:

http://www.software4parents.com/

__________________
InterfaithForums.com-Where your ideas and beliefs count.

there is some danger that anything you do to hack into their conversations could become vulnerabilities that others could tap into as well.

I'm not saying don't do it - I am saying it's not just a do it and forget it.

__________________
Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart!
They that believe in vain thoughts forsake their own mercy.

I have been remiss in thanking you all for your advice here.

I have subsequently discovered that MSN has a ' record dialogue ' function and so I have enabled it full well that if my son discovers it he can easily disable it ! Fortunately, he doesn't go into the settings.

We shall see...thanks again all.

__________________
Snowman1 Men are the same as women, just inside out !Snowman1

and these are mine, mine mine mine ...oh...and wifeys too !

Wow! What a dilemma!

On the one hand, I understand your concerns as a parent: are my kids safe on the internet, or are they bait for predators? On the other hand, how would your kids react if they find out that you're spying on them? Don't you even trust me?

I guess I'd start by talking with my kids about what it is they spend all that internet time doing. Then I'd try to suggest other, more low-tech, pursuits. You could try reminiscing about your own childhood, before the internet, and what you had instead (friends) and what you did with them (play, explore, visit, etc.).

That's just two cents' worth from this dinosaur...

__________________
Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control;
these three alone lead one to sovereign power.
Tennyson

Thank you for your kind response


I think that for me, If I don’t at least do a trial of monitoring then I will always be wondering.

My concern is not really for the naivety of my children, for as a family we are very open, no , my main concern is about the vile predators out there which scare the living ****s out of me !

In all sincerity...my main concern is not really what my children might be writing, though that is of course something which should not be overlooked, but for who they are talking to and fundamentally, what these people are saying to my children !

Whilst they are entitled to certain levels of privacy..I believe in this case they do not enjoy the luxury of complete privacy , after all, they are my children and I am entrusted with their care.

Thanks again for your kind comments.

__________________
Snowman1 Men are the same as women, just inside out !Snowman1

and these are mine, mine mine mine ...oh...and wifeys too !

Quick update:

Managed to check the recorded dialogues.

Absolutely nothing there of any menace at all.

I DO feel better for it and am more at ease now.

__________________
Snowman1 Men are the same as women, just inside out !Snowman1

and these are mine, mine mine mine ...oh...and wifeys too !

or you can put a videocam with a nice high powered zoom over their computer.

__________________
[belief is NOT the same as TRUTH]