PC Pandora
We have all seen the Dateline shows.
The ones where adults pose as children on the internet and are subjected to pornography, inappropriate propositions and child predators. We have read about the teenagers on Myspace who give their personal information away and have scantily clad pictures up.
People always say “not my child” but it is someone’s child. Why not yours?
I was recently contacted by the PC Pandora Corporation asking me if I would like to review their computer program. It is a monitoring program for the computer and although it is a terrific idea, is it really as great as it seems. I was going to use the program and review it fairly.
I downloaded the PC Pandora easily following the instructions given to me. It took all of five minutes to have installed on my computer.
The first thing I liked about it was it doesn’t appear on the screen as an icon or in the program files, the task bar, or registry, it is completley hidden.
I know that you can have it seen on your computer if your purpose was to discourage certain activities.
You have a special keystroke code (think ctrl+alt+del) to start the program and from there you can see every email, every keystroke, every web site, everything that is viewed by your computer’s users and records everything including all instant messages,log in names and passwords to sites like Myspace, AOL, Gmail and Yahoo and all emails sent and received.
It also captures screen shots of web sites visited and all keystrokes.
It is a wonderful program that is well executed and I will recommed to everyone I know.
I think this program is invaluable in this day and age and that everyone with children, especially if your child has a computer in his/her room or goes on the computer frequently with friends, should have it.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the one fault I saw with PC Pandora which is that my computer did run a bit slower once I had downloaded it but nothing that interferred with my regular computer work.
I am not saying to not trust your kids, but do you trust everyone else kids?
Do you trust strangers?
I do not and I am glad there are companies like PC Pandora out there trying to help parents and maybe save a life.
Do you have a new product or something you would like me to review? If so please contact me via the contact link on the sidebar.
child preditors, online safety, kids, teenagers, parents, moms, internet safety, PC Pandora, cheating spouse
January 11th, 2007 at 10:20 am
In a way, I find the product a bit spooky. Would I want someone to use that on me? Probably not, even though I’m sure many employers use the same type of technology.
My son is already quite the pro on a computer, even though he can’t even read. It will all happen too soon.
January 11th, 2007 at 10:34 am
I think it may be the necessary evil of having tweens or teenagers these days.
January 11th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I, too, find this product a bit spooky. As the parent of a teen, I would not want to use this with my daughter. I can see why a lot of people would want to use it. However, I,personally, think that there are a lot of teens out there who are mature and responsible and do not need to have their parents checking up on their every move. I also realize that there are a lot of teens out there who aren’t. I think that parents should give a lot of thought to what they know about their kids, and make a decision on this based on their own children-not just use it because it’s available.
January 11th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I do see where you are coming from. I am not a parent of teenagers, I don’t know how I will feel abotu ths when I do but for its purpose? It is a great product.
Pretty good too if you think your spouse is cheating!
January 11th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Gayle:
I feel that no matter how “mature” & “responsible” your kids are, it doesn’t always matter. Frankly, not to mention just the “kooks”, but the peer pressure is tremendous. Even on-line bullying. Unfortunately, things have changed considerably since I was a teenage. I had tremendous freedom and managed to survive. I would have liked someone watching over my shoulder a little more. With the internet so accessible, it has driven some “average perverts” to “out and out” freaks. It is an invasion of privacy, yes, but it could definitely prove to be a useful tool if you are even somewhat concerned or even a little curious about what goes on in computerland with your teenager.
January 11th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
As a side note: I have two teenagers. I don’t feel I need it at this time, but you never know.
Also, I don’t think it is a good idea to be spying on hubby (unless there is major concern). All spouses need some privacy.
January 11th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Weird. I just commented, but my comment was somehow deleted. Anyhow, I have a lot of questions about this product, which I raised on my own site. I’ve linked back to this product review because I want people read what you have to say about this new program.
January 11th, 2007 at 4:20 pm
I have to smirk every time I hear “my child isn’t like that.” Every parent says that. All of your children are angels and need no supervising. You can trust them 100%. Right.
Fact is that our children do a lot of things we need to be aware of. It’s not like it was when you and I grew up. A predator couldn’t just look you up and find you in the old days. Now, with myspace and other sites, a predator can search for specific data they want in somebody, know what town they live in, what the teenager looks like, what school they go to, what they like to do, and so much more.
Did you know that 1 in 5 of our MIDDLE SCHOOL kids actually meets somebody face-to-face from online? This was published at TechnewsWorld. THAT’S SCARY! And that’s something you probably will never find out.
In terms of using the softwware for catching your spouse cheating, I say more power to you. Most of us have been cheated on, and if I could have had this software 10 years ago, it would have saved me a lot of grief. Is it morally right? Not for most people. But who cares if it reveals your partner is a scumbag? At best, it will show your spouse is totally faithful and put your mind at ease. Obviously your mind wasn’t at ease if you felt the need to check up on the spouse. The http://www.pcpandora.com website says 1 in 2 people cheat. That’s a seriously scary number. Maybe it’s not so bad being a single mom afterall.
January 11th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Joan,
It’s not just that my daughter is “mature & responsible” but we have a great relationship. She stays away from the kooks and weirdos as much as possible and is good at handling the ones she does run into. I definitely AM concerned about my daughter, and I do keep an eye on what she’s involved in, but not without her knowledge.
Sarah,
I’m not saying “my child isn’t like that” or that she’s an angel. Of course she’s made mistakes and she will in the future. My point is that I have a very close relationship with her, and I have every confidence that, in case of trouble, she would come to me or her dad. She has in the past.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Gayle,
What if your daughter ends up missing one day? The police check email and instant messenger histories, but they are deleted (as most kids do.) What then?
According to what Erinn said in her review, PC Pandora will capture all chats, emails and screen shots for review later. This would be data you could use that could be helpful in finding your daughter. One of the last instant messengers you find could be one where she has agreed to go meet up with a friend that you have never heard of.
There’s a lot more value in this type of software than ’spying’ on your kids. Use it as a history storage, just in case. Yahoo or Hotmail isn’t going to give you your daughters password regardless of whether she is missing or not. With this type of softare, you’ll have access to everything she has ever done online.
It can be run in the open and if you really have that great of a relationship with your daughter, she can know that the monitoring is there for her protection and you will never look at it, ever, unless there is a serious issue.
Maybe I am alone in the way I think, but the digital world has opened up so many threats, but at the same time has opened up many neat ways to combat these things.
January 11th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Sarah,
I understand what you’re saying and you’re right-I could run such a program in the open. However, after spending time in the juvenile justice system as a social worker, I’ve learned a very hard lesson-just as most people eventually do-I can’t protect my daughter from everything.
In 2 1/2 years she will be leaving for college. I cannot monitor her computer usage there. I cannot check out every person she meets or be there to help with every situation she gets into. All I can do is see that she is as well-prepared as I can make her to handle different situations on her own and to keep herself safe. I honestly believe that I will have more peace of mind knowing that she can handle herself well, and that she will know when she is in over her head and when to ask for help.
Ican’t speak for my daughter but, if I ended up missing or kidnapped, I still would not have wanted my computer usage monitored.