ANSWERS: 14
  • I think that it should be considered the same way it would be if the mother installed spy software on the computer. That he is a step-father rather than biological makes no difference to me. I think there is nothing wrong with it. I don't think doing it secretly is the way to go about it though. There needs to be trust. I think it is better that the stepfather told the daughter exactly that he had installed it; keeping it only to himself in extremely important situations.. ones in which his step-daughter's safety is like to become at risk if she knew it was there - making her use another computer to do a particuarly damaging thing he wants to keep her safe from. It is a shame any parent would feel the need to do that though. Their relationship should be strong enough, and parents should teach their kids enough to be able to trust them to be safe online.
  • If he is a loving man, doing it to protect her or doing it at mom's request, absolutely. You don't understand the kinds of dangers out there. Have you not watched Chris Hansen's "To Catch a Predator?" Or do you know that there is a stalker on this site who has a grudge against several members on here and has hacked into their personal information, their bank accounts and called them at home? You want to be very cautious on the internet, and until you learn to do so, your parents have a duty to protect you.
  • No She deserves her privacy as much as you do. You can however block access to sites you don't want her to visit.
  • Not because he is her step-father, do i say no, i just say no. not anymore. a site blocker is ok, but a logger is a privacy issue.
  • Highly inappropriate. he may say it is for protecting her, but he will have access to her when she is changing. Not at all a good thing.
  • if she were supervised while on the computer, this wouldn't be necessary...sounds like lazy parenting to me...
  • If it is his computer he may put anything he likes on it, if It not than I would think the mother should decide and not the stepdad. I personally would not put that on my kids computer, if you cant trust them then do not let them on the computer at all.
  • You don't tell us the girl's age or how long the stepfather has been in the picture, but generally discipline is the biological parent's responsibility. Even then, spying is really despicable, if she can't be trusted, confine her computer use to the family room. What are we dealing with here, a girl who's shown she can't be trusted, or a suspicious and controlling parent?
  • no, i don't think it's alright. like some other people suggested, site blockers would be a better idea in my opinion
  • ... under certain circumstances yes, under other circumstances no ... ... if the mother knows and grants permission AND if the child is still very young, then yes ... ... if the mother is unaware OR if the girl is already well into her teens, then no ... ... but a spyware will not prevent anything, it will only 'report' what has been done ... perhaps a set of site blockers and some 'computer defense' lessons for the girl, that let her understand just what is and is not appropriate & safe, would provide a better result
  • Under NO circumstances what-so-ever can I see that being ok. Firstly I don’t think it's alright for parents to be spying on their children. Secondly, she's not his child & that makes it border on the perverse. If the mother wants spyware on her daughters computer she should talk it through with her daughter & come o an agreement & the stepfather should have absolutely nothing to do with it.
  • Personally, I don't understand what would motivate someone to do that. It's a sure-fire way to lose your child's trust. If you taught her well, there should be no reason to spy on her because she will make good decisions when she's on her own if she was taught to.
  • On their duaghter, or their daughter's COMPUTER? Actually it doesn't matter. Either way, my answer is "HELL NO!". The way I see it, that sort of thing is only necessary if someone did a bad job at parenting, in which case the daughter's activity on the web is the least of their problems. There are ways to get into trouble that don't involve going online, and there are ways to get online that don't involve any computer that you have the legal right to install software on. Can you also monitor her friend's cell-phone? What about the public access terminals at the library? Forget the cloak and dagger stuff and admit that you have been a horrible parent and that you don't trust her one bit because you were unable to teach her right from wrong.

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