So, i was setting up a computer my lill sister is going to use, so i went with the most popular parental controls, Norton Internet security 2008 with Ad-On pack.
So, setup complete, i installed Windows Vista, Installed the application (NIS 2008), the addon pack, did many restarts after that for device drivers etc.. and finally, went on to setup parental control accounts.
Setup complete and all is OK, her windows user account is set and parental controls active.
So, i logged in using her account to make sure it is functional, Nice… works as advertised up to now, then control panel, User accounts, Manage another accounts and i went ahead and setup a new account on the computer.
Now back into the NIS control thingie, and damn, the user is added with no control.
To tell you the truth, you just can’t miss this while designing such a system, I am a programmer and software engineer, i know how it works, and in your design phase, you will find such a flaw 99% of the time.
Is symantec using an ad hoc approach (No design phase), even if they were, you do have a good chance of catching this while implementing? what kind of a software giant is this, the guys suck bad, a 12 year old can break there system without even meaning to !
So, i would like to hear your opinions on what other alternatives i have, i already paid for a multi-PC license (Including my own) which i regret, but surely i want to change this package since it is undoubtedly inferior in design… i don’t care if they fix this, other things will come out no doubt (One silly bug like this, i assure you they will have ones much worse that i have not identified)
NOTE: If only i had the time, i would be developing a community maintained, open source, GPL software, i think protecting our children from Guns, Violence, Extremism, Profanity, Drugs, Pornography, hatred, etc.. should be free, if your teen neighbor gets all obsessed about guns, you will pay, so simply put, it is not just your children that you want protected.