parental controls hacked

Question

parental controls hacked

hi :::
my kid hacked the parental controls -- admitted to it. I had the disc wiped and reinstalled everything, but parental controls are still acting strangely. How can I keep parental controls from being hacked?
thank you

Posted on Jan 12, 2011 10:51 AM

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Answer 1

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 12, 2011 12:04 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

Keep the computer out of the kid's hands, disconnect it from the internet, or any other child behavior modification technique?

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Answer 2

Whitecity

Level 2

344 points

Jan 12, 2011 12:05 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

If someone smart and determined has physical access to the machine there's no real way to stop them using it in the long term. You're going to have to parent.

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Answer 3

Jan 12, 2011 1:17 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

I was hoping for information on
1) assessing how the computer was hacked
2) how to monitor kid's computer use
3) what are the (specific) dangers to a computer and security, from a kid using methods given on those "hack the mac" websites.

Please forward all parenting advice to some "parenting" forum

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Answer 4

Whitecity

Level 2

344 points

Jan 12, 2011 1:23 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

Well do you have anything to add about how 'hacking the parental controls' manifested itself?

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Answer 5

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 12, 2011 1:27 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

Knowing which aspects of the parental controls he managed to hack will also be important information to know in determining what advice we can offer.

Regards.

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Answer 6

Jan 12, 2011 1:48 PM in response to varjak paw

What we know is that she rebooted her macbook and made her account into an Administrator account (not Managed, as it was before), so she could change parental controls. I suspect there is more to this because 1) she had visted some websites from Poland and New Zealand which offered ways to "guess your Administrator's password" and, 2)Now, after I wiped the hard drive and set up the computer, the websites visited appear in the Parental Controls log for "Today", but nothing for "This Week".

I suspect that there's more she's not copping to because when the friend who told my kid how to hack was confronted by his parents, he said he was trying to help my kid remove some damaging software she had put on her computer. Could be bs, could be the truth, but I feel that I don't know all of it.

thanks

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Answer 7

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Jan 12, 2011 2:02 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

1) assessing how the computer was hacked

Hide the System and install dvds.
Set up a password that only you will know and mix it with symbols, numbers caps, etc. A 2 year old can crack passwords if it's an obvious one - birthdays, pet names, kids names spelled backwards, etc.

2) how to monitor kid's computer use

Keep the computer in a room that the whole family uses & where you can view it at all times.
Bedtime, unplug the keyboard, it's usb cord & take it with you into your bedroom.

Then there is "tough love." 😉

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Answer 8

varjak paw

Level 10

170,200 points

Jan 12, 2011 2:06 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

There are some hacks for some versions of Mac OS X that can allow someone to reset an administrator password, and it can be done easily if someone has the Mac OS X install disk. If she reset the password for an account with admin privileges, she could have gotten into the admin account and removed the parental controls. Did you try logging into your admin account after discovering the breach? That would confirm whether or not she reset the password, since unless she could guess it (in which case she wouldn't have needed to reset it), she couldn't have set it back to what you set it to be.

Regards.

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Answer 9

Jan 12, 2011 2:09 PM in response to CMCSK

One of the other good options you have is to use something like opendns where you can implement parental controls that can't be circumvented no matter what the child does with the actual computer. and like the last poster pointed out if you want to block access late at night simply impede them by removing the keyboard and mouse.

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Answer 10

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 12, 2011 3:02 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

What we know is that she rebooted her macbook and made her account into an Administrator account (not Managed, as it was before), so she could change parental controls.

Not possible unless she knew/knows the parent's login password, unless the parent failed to log out or has autologin selected for her admin account. Second option requires having access to an install disc, but that can be thwarted by setting an Open Firmware password: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1352

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Answer 11

Jan 12, 2011 3:28 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

she doesn't have access to the startup disc. Here are the instructions her friend gave her :

Reboot computer, while turning on hold command + s
When entering commands, do not type " and press enter after each command
type "mount -uw /"
type "rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone"
type "reboot"
follow setup and make new admin account!

Knowledgeable guy at the Mac shop said that can be done as long as there is no "Root Password"

Opendns seems like it's mainly good at filtering websites, so would it be able to filter a "guess Administrator's password" website if I didn't know about it in advance? I'd just like Parental Controls to work like it was designed to : to shut down the machine at a certain time, to allow me to turn internet access or specific applications off when I want.

she may have guessed the password (using one of aforementioned programs -- it's not obvious), but she didn't change it.

The physical controls are impossible. She's 14 years old and unless we want to spend every evening chained to the computer she's using while she does homework or gossips with friends.

Tough love : she was grounded, computer confiscated for a week, docked the cost of Applecare from her allowance.

there are a number of parents writing on other threads puzzled about why Parental Controls suddenly don't work like before, or at all. I suspect I'm not the only one with this problem

thanks

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Answer 12

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 12, 2011 3:57 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

From http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#technotes/tn2002/tn2062.html we see

The Open Firmware password is a security feature available on modern Macintosh systems. If you enable the Open Firmware password, the computer will execute a secure boot sequence. Specifically, enabling the Open Firmware password prevents users from starting up the computer from a volume other than the chosen as the startup disk (chosen in the Startup Disk preference panel within the System Preferences.) Also, enabling the Open Firmware Password prevents users from booting into single user mode using Command-S key combination at boot time.

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Answer 13

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Jan 12, 2011 4:00 PM in response to Jack Thorndike

computer confiscated for a week

Me personally, for hacking it would be a month plus grounded - house arrest for a month. A 14 year old will find ways of using her friends computers. Also, I am quite sure she has computer access at school.
Did you take away her cell phone too? 😉

Parental Controls suddenly don't work like before

Children are more tech savy than adults. If parental controls are going to work the way they are suppose to, Apple should hire children from the ages of birth - 10yrs of age to program parental controls. LOL

There are plenty of Mac compatible 3rd party parental control programs.

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Answer 14

Whitecity

Level 2

344 points

Jan 12, 2011 4:42 PM in response to CMCSK

Honestly, there is no way to divorce the issues of parenting from technology.
I really seriously doubt there is a way to make the computer entirely child proof. This issue here is that you and your child do not have a meeting of minds about use of a computer in the house.
If your approach is simply technical, your child will either circumvent it technically, or circumvent you attempts to deny her exploration by looking for material elsewhere. In that case you miss the opportunity for a conversation with her about why you feel the way you do about some content.
You really are approaching this in a counterproductive way.

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Answer 15

Jan 13, 2011 6:37 AM in response to Jack Thorndike

@ those who gave technical advice : Thank you. The mac repair store put on an open firmware password but, like I said, Parental Controls isn't acting like it used to. This has been a fairly complicated sequence of events, so feel free to ask more questions. I'm still hoping someone will tell me how to find a log of actions taken on the computer. Also, knowledgeable info about monitoring software would be appreciated.

@ those who gave parental advice : bye

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