Microsoft to offer free parental Web monitoring

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () bsf-llc com>]

I wonder if this spying service, er, I mean "monitoring" service could also
be used by someone to spy on their spouse or their honey......
 
Richard
 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060314/tc_nm/microsoft_parents_dc

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/nm/tc_nm/storytext/microsoft_paren
ts_dc/18381479/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=msft&d=t>  - news
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/biz/nm/tc_nm/storytext/microsoft_parents_d
c/18381479/*http://biz.yahoo.com/n/m/msft.html> ) said on Monday it plans to
include a free service to help parents control and monitor what their
children are doing online in its upcoming Windows Live offering of Web
services. 

The monitoring of children online has become a hot-button subject due to a
nationwide string of cases involving adult sexual predators using
virtual-communities on the Internet like MySpace.com to meet child victims.

Windows Live is part of Microsoft's strategy to consolidate a range of Web
services -- e-mail, instant messaging, online PC security and blogs -- to
compete with Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/nm/tc_nm/storytext/microsoft_paren
ts_dc/18381479/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=goog&d=t>  - news
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/biz/nm/tc_nm/storytext/microsoft_parents_d
c/18381479/*http://biz.yahoo.com/n/g/goog.html> ) and Yahoo Inc.
(Nasdaq:YHOO
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/finance/nm/tc_nm/storytext/microsoft_paren
ts_dc/18381479/*http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=yhoo&d=t>  - news
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/biz/nm/tc_nm/storytext/microsoft_parents_d
c/18381479/*http://biz.yahoo.com/n/y/yhoo.html> ) for Internet advertising
dollars.

Windows Live is being tested now and will launch sometime in the second half
of 2006.

Microsoft plans to roll out Windows Live Family Safety Settings in the
summer, which will allow parents to filter Web sites and receive reports to
see what their children are doing online.

The company also plans to eventually allow parents to control who
communicates with their children over e-mail, instant messaging and in their
blogs.

....

 

_______________________________________________
Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts.
https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec
Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.