[OLPC Security] olpc security - wetware issues

[Simson Garfinkel]

A spoken report of the child's activities?
On a laptop with 512MB of flash total? With a 300Mhz processor?
And, like, the parents are going to know what to do with this?

On Feb 8, 2007, at 6:42 PM, alien wrote:

>
> No-- that's why I suggested the software could provide a "written or
> spoken report of childrens' activity." I'm sure there are other
> possible solutions as well, if we put a few creative minds on the
> task.
>
> s
>
> "Simson L. Garfinkel" writes:
>> Aren't you implicitly assuming that the parents can read?
>>
>>>
>>> Yes, the parents are likely to have little to no technical
>>> experience. That does not mean that we can ignore them or attempt to
>>> act "in loco parentis" when it comes to technical matters.  We must
>>> provide tools and some basic educational material so that those
>>> parents who choose to take an interest in their childrens' education
>>> are able to do so.
>>>
>>>> kids on online safety.  That seems like a better approach and  
>>>> one that
>>>> fits the goals of OLPC more than having software that attempts to
>>>> restrict the children.
>>>
>>> I agree that there should be an online safety campaign-- that's a
>>> great idea, and certainly necessary. But I'm sure that if the  
>>> trend of
>>> online exploitation in the developed world is reversing, it is also
>>> because parents in the developed world are becoming savvier, and  
>>> have
>>> been provided with tools by large companies which allow them to  
>>> keep a
>>> closer eye on their children's activity. Hence, in addition to an
>>> online safety campaign aimed at children, we should also provide
>>> educational materials aimed at parents, and provide them with the
>>> tools they need-- which we already have-- that would allow them to
>>> keep a watchful eye on their kids.
>>>
>>> Brainstorming: envision, for example, a "For Parents" piece of
>>> software on the system, which will provide either a written or  
>>> spoken
>>> report of childrens' activity, allow the parent to touch a button  
>>> for
>>> further detail on any one section, and with the touch of another
>>> button will easily allow parents to modify access to a particular IM
>>> buddy/web site.
>>>
>>> s
>>>
>>> Matt Anderson writes:
>>>> On Thu, Feb 08, 2007 at 06:12:24PM -0500, alien wrote:
>>>>> In the developed world, kids who are solicited online often become
>>>>> real-life victims of their online "friends." There is no point in
>>>>> distributing these laptops for educational purposes without  
>>>>> some basic
>>>>> safety mechanisms that will prevent their owners from becoming
>>>>> victimized as well. A tool which enables parental monitoring/ 
>>>>> controls
>>>>> is a fundamental program and should be distributed by default with
>>>>> each laptop. This is not "extra," and to fail to include it will
>>>>> result in deaths. Really.
>>>>
>>>> My understanding was these computers would be distributed to  
>>>> children
>>>> who's parents would not be able to afford their own computer,  
>>>> and who
>>>> most likely are even less computer literate than the child who  
>>>> owns it.
>>>> How are they supposed to fit into what you are suggesting?  What  
>>>> level
>>>> of protection can they be expected to provide?  The control  
>>>> could be
>>>> given to the school or the government, but that doesn't seem much
>>>> better to me.
>>>>
>>>> To me what you are describing is a user problem.  Kids in developed
>>>> countries are falling for these sorts of online traps because they
>>>> weren't given instructions on how to stay safe online.  Recently  
>>>> that
>>>> trend has been reversing because there have been campaigns to  
>>>> educate
>>>> kids on online safety.  That seems like a better approach and  
>>>> one that
>>>> fits the goals of OLPC more than having software that attempts to
>>>> restrict the children.
>>>>
>>>> -matt
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>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>