Checking unknown software for malicious intent

My kids keep bringing home games they get at school from their classmates and want to load them on the home computer. I recall a number of years ago where some games were opening ports back to the manufacturers and causing other security issues. I currently do not allow these programs to be loaded because I do not know what they can, or will do, to my home network, I also don't want to be a kill-joy toward my kids.

I there a way to check if these programs have anything malicious to them that could adversely effect my network? And if so, is there something, other than not installing them, that I can do?

My computer is running VISTA and I have parental controls set for both of the kids' login's.

 

If they get them from their friends, they are most likely pirated. The vast majority of PC games allow one legal install only, and you need to hack it or at the very least get someone else's key for it. (Games that allow multiple installs make sure they come from the same household by checking IPs and whatnot, practically no one ships DRM free anymore.)

A suggestion to drgnrider: Do your kids absolutely have to have internet on their PC? A friend of mine set up her son with a PC without an internet connection in his room for his games and play. It had the extra bonus that when he needed internet for school he had to borrow either her computer or her husband's, meaning they were able to fully monitor all his online activities with relative ease. Since he was 11 at the time, that was a priority for them as well.

Something to think about, maybe?

 

Thank you DavidGP and Mimsy for the replies.

I will look at the firewall tweaks and see if it can handle what I need for my home computer. I am not sure if the games they are getting are freeware or what, I just know, I need to try to minimize the possible threats to my network.

The biggest part of the problem is a school-issued laptop that I have no control over except through the router. This laptop is supposed to be for school work and the school has put SOME software blocks in place. Unfortunately, it sounds like I am more computer-literate than the current IT person at the school (this based on her "problem resolution techniques" and that almost all the kids have found ways around her blocks). My high schooler will spend all evening in his room on his school laptop talking on SKYPE (blocked) and FaceBook (blocked) to his friends; this is part of what I am also trying to deter, so right now, I have his MAC address disabled at the router.

Again, thank you both for the replies.

 

Greetings, drgnrider.

There are also online scanners that will attempt to determine if files contain malicious code. Two that I use quite often are Jotti's and VirusTotal - simply upload a suspicious file.