is there such a thing as a broadband connection timer ?

Hello

We have a wireless network with broadband internet access, and my daughters PC has parental controls installed (we have BT Yahoo as our ISP).

My problem is that when her time is up and she used her daily allowance, she just gets signed out with no warning. (I have corresponded with BT's helpdesk and BT's parental controls can't provide this, I would have thought it was essential!)

I wondered if there was a piece of software "out there" somewhere which would just show her a clock or something so she would know jow long she had been signed on and could finish homework or (more likely!) sign off MSN messenger in a tmely fashion.

I found something called cutWarn which I though would do, but it does not seem to notice when I close my browser or sign off from our ISP.

Can anyone advise please, bearing in mind that I am a bit technically frail !

I have tried to seach the forums but could not see anything relevant, but please forgive me if I am covering old ground.

Thanks

Leglagger (New member)

 

Leglagger,

Not sure if this will do what you want but found it here on MajorGeeks. Look at past N°2 where the person talks about WinOff. I know nothing about it, but sounds like it might be what you are looking for.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=96042

Have a good day,
BeenThereDoneThat

 

BeenThereDoneThat

Thanks for your reply. I have just had a look at Winoff and it looks useful but not quite what I need.
I don't actually want my daughter's PC to shut down on a schedule, I just need her to be shown a timer so she knows how long she has been signed in on the internet. I am not (at the moment) trying to limit her off-line time, just her IM'ing.

leglagger

 

leglagger,

Take a look here -- http://www.rat-software.com/ and

here -- http://www.salfeld.com/software/childcontrol/index.html

I know nothing about them, found them with a google search. Maybe this will be closer to what you want.

BeenThereDoneThat

 

thanks for the links.

I have looked at both and they are only free for a trial period. I am, at the moment, still seeking a freeware solution (just being mean!). The problem with all the ones I have tried so far is that they do not "stop the clock" when you close your browser, because I guess with a wireless broadband network it is 'always on', so there is no guarantee that it would work for a non-freeware solution.
I think I will just give up for now, but thanks for the advice anyway.