Some browsers work, some don't with parental control program - very strange

Norton Security | Norton Internet Security
1

I don't know for sure this is a Norton problem, but it may be. It's very weird.

 

I'm trying out an excellent parental child protection program (Child Control = Chico from Salfeld Software). It is meant to block certain websites etc so that a child using the computer can't see them. It doesn't work properly on my Windows 7 Home premium Dell laptop. Of course a basic thing to check with any internet problem is, " is the  firewall making problems?" In this case the firewall is Norton 360.

 

I've tried briefly switching off the firewall and there is no improvement. However the firewall is always such a likely perpetrator when there are internet problems that I can't be sure Norton is not responsible. I don't want to completely un-install Norton, and would be very grateful for any thoughts that anyone has.

 

The symptom is weird. Some browsers eg Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer consistently work OK and the porno sites etc that should be blocked are correctly blocked. But, Firefox and Chrome never ever block the porn etc sites.

 

So the question is:

-- is there anything in Norton 360 which would have a different effect on Chrome  + Firefox versus Opera, Safari, IE?

-- is there any test I can run to work out what is happening?

-- If I unistall Norton 360 completely and then re-install it, will that work smoothly and will all my old settings etc be preserved? This is a last resort but I'll do it if I have to.

 

All software is completely up to date. When I click "Support" in Norton 360 it does its self-check and gives all area of the computer a clean bill of health.

 

This is a puzzling problem, and as I say, it may not be a firewall problem. And any hints or guesses would be very welcome.

 

Cheers

 

Andy

 

 

2

I don't know for sure this is a Norton problem, but it may be. It's very weird.

 

I'm trying out an excellent parental child protection program (Child Control = Chico from Salfeld Software). It is meant to block certain websites etc so that a child using the computer can't see them. It doesn't work properly on my Windows 7 Home premium Dell laptop. Of course a basic thing to check with any internet problem is, " is the  firewall making problems?" In this case the firewall is Norton 360.

 

I've tried briefly switching off the firewall and there is no improvement. However the firewall is always such a likely perpetrator when there are internet problems that I can't be sure Norton is not responsible. I don't want to completely un-install Norton, and would be very grateful for any thoughts that anyone has.

 

The symptom is weird. Some browsers eg Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer consistently work OK and the porno sites etc that should be blocked are correctly blocked. But, Firefox and Chrome never ever block the porn etc sites.

 

So the question is:

-- is there anything in Norton 360 which would have a different effect on Chrome  + Firefox versus Opera, Safari, IE?

-- is there any test I can run to work out what is happening?

-- If I unistall Norton 360 completely and then re-install it, will that work smoothly and will all my old settings etc be preserved? This is a last resort but I'll do it if I have to.

 

All software is completely up to date. When I click "Support" in Norton 360 it does its self-check and gives all area of the computer a clean bill of health.

 

This is a puzzling problem, and as I say, it may not be a firewall problem. And any hints or guesses would be very welcome.

 

Cheers

 

Andy

 

 

3

Dear Dick,

 

Thanks for your thoughts, they are construtive but its not as simple as that. There are lots of good programs for just shutting off the bad stuff, eg the free K9 web protection. What I need is a lot subtler. I need to allow unlimited access to eg educational sites while limiting the time on eg games and chat sites but not banning these completely. The program I mentioned, Salfeld Child Control, is the best one that does just what I want, so I need to get that program working. The symptom is a black/white go/no-go affair, but the end result is not. So I do need to understand why some browsers are treated differently from others.

 

But thanks for your information.

 

Kind regards

 

Andy

4

Andy,

My only addition would be that some browsers are not supported by Norton and that lack of support may be contributing to the problem.

Keep us posted