Apple has recently announced the Public Betas for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and other Apple Devices. This is in anticipation of the release of the “Gold Versions” (or “Release Candidates”) of these operating systems this Fall, probably in October. Likewise, The Android Community also has Beta versions of the Android OS available for testing. So, with Internet safety in mind, should your family try the new Public Betas for Apple and Android?
Continue readingFor a number of years Circle Home Plus has been Knights’ Quest Ministries’ #1 recommendation for parents due to it’s features, simplicity, and price. Not only were phones and tablets filterable, but EVERYTHING in the home that used the Web was filtered at the network level. And the price was not bad at all! As with all things, there have been some major changes so I have published this important update for Circle Home Plus!
Internet security firm, AURA, acquired CIRCLE, the company. Aura has it’s own parental control app. So, I thought I should post an important status update for Circle Home Plus users!
This purchase of CIRCLE has brought about some changes:
So, where does that leave parents who are using Circle Home Plus, or who wish to use Circle Home Plus?
I am also investigating the offerings by Aura, and monitoring for new developments.
In the meantime, I have scheduled Back-Too-School presentations of THE TECH-SAFE HOMEⓇ Webinar. You can find the schedule and register on the WEBINARS page of my web site: www.knightsquest.org.
Here are some of my articles you can find on Blogging the Knights’ Quest:
Please share Knights’ Quest Ministries with your friends family!
Between the Pandemic and increasing emphasis on STEM, many youth and adults are seeking to expand their tech skills. Many are using the RASPBERRY PI series of computer-on-a-chip systems. Middle schools, high schools, and even come colleges use them to teach programming (often called “coding”) as well as other computer skills such as hardware design and programming. Despite their small size, these are capable computers. It is important, therefore, for parents to be aware of the system’s risks, as well as its benefits. So, let’s take a look at Raspberry Pi Computers and Raspberry Pi parental controls.
You can think of a Raspberry Pi as a “hobbyist’s” computer. The Raspberry Pi Foundation created it to promote basic education in computer science in schools, and in developing countries. There have been a number of generations, with the Raspberry Pi 4 and the Raspberry PI 400 being the latest. At its most basic, the Raspberry Pi is a single board computer. Unlike the motherboards in typical personal computers, the Raspberry Pi is TINY and extremely affordable.
First off, parents must know that the Raspberry Pi also does NOT run WINDOWS or macOS operating systems. It uses a modified version of LINUX called Raspberry Pi OS. (LINUX is pronounced “LEN-UKS”).
Here is the basic computer.
Raspberry Pi 4
This computer has the following features:
And that starts at $35.00US. NOT BAD!
Incredibly, it is roughly the size of your VISA card!
You still have to provide a power supply and USB-C cable to connect to the board. It also doesn’t have a case, keyboard, or mouse, nor does it come with micro-HDMI cables. There is not a micro-SD card or an operating system. It’s just the circuit card. So, you have to supply the missing pieces, and that includes downloading the operating system package and installing it on a micro-SD card. Seems like a pain, but this is not a computer for everyday use (although it CAN be).
Don’t worry, a number of enterprising firms have created “starter kits” that provide everything but a mouse, keyboard, and monitor. For my investigation I went down to my local Best Buy and picked up the Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Starter PRO Kit by CANAKIT. It was only $99.99US and included everything I needed except for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Fortunately that was not a problem! The kit also included a case, a micro-SD card w/ the OS installed, and an on/off switch.
The Raspberry Pi runs a version of the LINUX operating system. LINUX comes in many different flavors and is extremely popular with corporations and industry. Here are some stats:
So as you can see, if your child is going into engineering or computer science, a knowledge or LINUX could be very useful. The Raspberry Pi systems are a good introduction to the LINUX operating system which also allows some hardware interaction.
Like many operating systems, LINUX comes in different “flavors”, called “distributions”. While the Raspberry Pi OS is the primary OS for the Raspberry Pi system, it can use many other distributions of LINUX. For this article, I will stick to the recommended version.
When your Raspberry Pi OS is loaded and your system up and running you will see a fairly familiar sight: A computer screen with a menu button in the lower left, just like with Windows. This menu has a number of programs pre-loaded including TWELVE programming environments, including JAVA and PYTHON, two very popular coding languages.
It also comes with a very capable office suite: LibreOffice. And this is FREE.
The basic package of Raspberry Pi OS also comes with an Internet browser (Chromium) and an email program. This is the major vulnerability. LINUX is NOT supported by the vast majority of parental control software. And the Raspberry Pi O install package has no Raspberry Pi parental controls included. The parental control solutions that do exist in the LINUX world are very technical and are mostly limited to web site filtering based upon web sites YOU input manually. Given the thousands upon thousands of inappropriate sites that we don’t want to expose children to, this is a cause for concern.
There is a solution. You can filter and control a Raspberry Pi by using network-level parental control. Examples are OpenDNS, CleanBrowsing, or (our #1 recommendation) CIRCLE Home Plus. These solutions only work for systems are in your home, on YOUR network.
So, what parents need to know is:
To learn more about what we’ve talked about, here are some useful links:
This month was exciting for Apple users: Mac Operating System (MacOS) 26, aka TAHOE, was released, along with all new versions of iOS, iPadOS, WatchOS, and tvOS. All of these, which have all been adjusted to “Version 26″are significant upgrades to the basic software that Apple products use. Updating Apple devices always bring many new features, apps, and (hopefully) improvements.
One things parents need to be mindful of is this: Sometimes an operating system upgrade can impact your parental control software. In the past, I’ve seen it outright disabled, at least until an upgrade is made by the software’s publisher. Sometimes just a setting or two is “reset”, especially with Apple SCREEN TIME.
It is time to do some “prep work”:
Here are a few suggested actions to take!
After you review your installed software and apps following the OS install you need to run some tests to make sure everything really works right. You should not only test any filters but also the time management features. While things should probably be fine it is still wise to do a “live test”.
Now, while you test the filters you may not want to see the results if the test fails. (Like a porn site!) Here is my trick to test web filters without risking seeing adult material!
It’s that time of year, again when Apple conducts public testing for it’s new operating systems.
Apple typically begins a Public Beta Test of it’s new operating systems for it’s products in the Summer to support the Fall release of the new software! A beta test is the final step before releasing new software and consists of tests by folks who are not part of the development team.
Currently Apple is testing:
These public betas are very popular among those comfortable with experimenting with their devices. They get to try out “the latest and greatest” before it is released and even get to provide suggestions or report issues with the beta.
But, if you have been working on a TECH-SAFE HOME the question arises:
“Should you beta test Apple’s new operating systems?”
In a word: “NO!”
Beta test software is “incomplete” and often does not work with other programs until a program’s publisher updates their apps. There may be many iterations, or versions, of a package in beta test. Therefore many publishers will not release an update until the “Gold”, or final, version is released. Until that time there are always bugs and glitches and compatibility issues that arise. Specialized software, such as parental control and monitoring apps, is especially susceptible.
In some cases, everything might work just fine. But, the changes in the new operating systems could result in parental controls not working as planned. This might happen even (though unlikely) the built-in Apple Screen Time controls.
You can call the publisher of a parental control (or just about any other) app to find out if they support it. If you do, you will get the party line: They do not support their product on unreleased operating systems still undergoing development and testing. I’ve asked!
You might consider participating in a beta test. Doing so might make your children’s devices become “unsafe”. I recommend that you wait until Apple launches the final commercial release of these operating systems.
Another reason is this: Your child is most likely homeschooling right now, to some degree, due to the Pandemic. Software that schools may require your child to use may not be compatible with the beta versions of the operating systems.
When you do upgrade to the new OS you need to check your parental control apps to make sure settings having changed. You can make sure your apps are automatically updated by following these instructions on Apple’s web site.
Don’t forget to register for a TECH-SAFE HOME Webinar!
I have scheduled additional dates for THE TECH-SAFE HOME Webinar through September 10th.
Learn:
All of this, and more, in two 1-hour session.
Register now: THE TECH-SAFE HOME Webinar
With so many of us stuck at home for who knows how long I wanted to share this list of ideas that you and your family can attack while our Nation deals with this virus!
Here is the list, in PDF format! Click on the image or the DOWNLOAD button, below. Then print it out! The 3rd page has room to add your own ideas! Make some of them family projects!
Remember, none of this is catching God by surprise!
Buddy
CIRCLE HOME PLUS is a combined hardware/software approach to parental controls that builds upon the previous CIRCLE WITH DISNEY product that came out in 2015. This new system improves functionality and addresses compatibility issues that the earlier product had with some routers and gateways.
The CIRCLE HOME PLUS system provides the following parental control features:
Let’s take a deeper look at CIRCLE HOME PLUS!
Continue reading
We’ve created a new Quick Reference Guide for social media apps. It provides a quick description and assessment of risk for children for roughly 40 popular social media apps used by children. Obviously it does not include every app!
Please feel free to share the file with friends and family!
Controlling what apps your child uses is an important part of modern parenting. For those families where both parents and kids are using Apple mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, & iPod) Apple has provided a feature called “Ask to Buy”!
Let us take a look at this very useful feature!
Remember:
