VeeshanVault

I work for a university library that is also a government repository. By Law we are required to have some public access machines. Unfortunately, every pervert within 50 miles has discovered this and seems to think it is ok to come and look at porn on our machines. We kick them off when we catch them but we can't watch them all the time. We have looked at the option of setting time limits on machines but this impacts legitimate researchers.

We have also looked at filtering software but it always ends up blocking way too many legitimate sites.

We also have privacy issues to deal with so we can't just call up the monitor on SMS and observe what they are doing. We can stand over their shoulders or wait for someone else to alert us to it.

My idea was to just get a bat or other big stick and smack them upside the head when they are caught. While that idea was greeted with enthusiasm by the librarians, it wasn't too popular with the lawyers.

So has anyone else encountered something like this? What have you done?

It's a tough nut to crack, Deward. If I recall the courts have gone back and forth on whether it is constitutional to block free access or an absolute requirement. I know before my brother recently got cable (He's essentially a single Dad), he used the public library for his Internet access for about a year. I'm glad my tax dollars help fund that sort of free access, but like you, I don't think it's supposed to be there for porn browsing.

I'll ask my buddy who ran an Internet Cafe for a bit what he did.

Have you looked at the possibility of setting the DNS server for these machines to OpenDNS and enabling adult content filtering?

http://www.opendns.com/

Might be worth a try only for those machines open to the public.

Thanks for the link...I will look into this. Our only worry with content filters is that many of them will block legitimate research sites. The fact that it is free though might make it worth a try though.

You can stop one perv but you can't stop them all!