Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

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CHAPTER 4 SYSTEM PREFERENCES
Figure 4-48. The Content tab in the Parental Controls preference pane
The Mail & iChat tab (Figure 4-49) allows you to specify addresses of select people who
you allow the user to interact with through Mail and iChat. There is an option at the bottom
that can be set to send a message to you every time the user attempts to contact someone who is
not preapproved. This is a decent way to attempt to keep track of people that a user is interacting
with online—however, this has no effect on web-based chats, or any other e-mail or
messaging applications. As such, this is really only effective in combination with other controls.
NOTE While online content won’t jump out of your computer and cause you any physical
harm, people are a different thing altogether. It’s important to discuss, especially with children,
that people on the Internet are not always what they seem, and are not all harmless. Personal
information should not be shared with strangers, whether in chats, in e-mails, or on web sites.
In my experience, knowledge and understanding are better at protecting our children and ourselves
than depending on computer systems and blocking technologies.
The Time Limit tab (Figure 4-50) allows you to limit the time a user spends in front of the
computer. It allows you to set daily limits for weekdays and weekends, as well as set specific
times when the computer is off limits.