[LINK] More save the children silliness

[Kim Holburn]

One of the downsides of having this in TVs is that, as most people never put in a password, the kids might discover it while fiddling, as they do, or a random visitor, and set a password (and just as likely forget it or leave for the visitor).  Result, now you can't use it anyway.

On 2011/Mar/18, at 7:11 PM, Jan Whitaker wrote:

> "Parental locks are mandatory for all new TV gear sold in Australia, 
> but they're ridiculously easy to bypass.
> 
> While we argue about mandatory internet filtering and an R18 rating 
> for games, another government "think of the children" initiative has 
> managed to fly in under the radar. It's now mandatory for all digital 
> television equipment sold in Australia to feature a parental lock - 
> letting parents block television shows according to their 
> classification. As with other censorship efforts, the new parental 
> lock is easily bypassed - lulling parents into a false sense of security.
> 
> Supported by Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, and 
> enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the 
> new regulation came into effect in February. The parental lock is now 
> mandatory for all televisions, set-top boxes and recorders which 
> offer access to digital television channels - including Pay TV boxes 
> which also offer free-to-air channels. Adaptors designed to turn 
> computers and games consoles into digital set-top boxes are exempt.
> 
> It's mandatory for equipment to feature a parental lock, although 
> it's not mandatory for parents to use it. Once set, the lock will 
> automatically engage when viewers switch to a live broadcast which 
> exceeds the permitted rating. A four-digit code is required to watch 
> blocked programs. While it sounds like a great way to protect young 
> eyes from inappropriate content, unfortunately the parental lock's 
> Achilles' Heel is that it only applies to live broadcasts - after 
> manufacturers told the ACMA that it was not technically feasible to 
> block access to previously recorded programs.
> 
> Most kids could figure out how to bypass the parental lock in a few 
> minutes. Worse yet, young children could easily bypass it by mistake. 
> It's important that parents understand the lock's limitations before 
> they trust it.
> "
> 
> http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/computers/blogs/gadgets-on-the-go/bypassing-tvs-parental-lock-is-childs-play/20110317-1byq0.html
> 
>  more at the site
> 
> 
> Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
> jwhit at janwhitaker.com
> blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
> business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
> 
> Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
> sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
> ~Madeline L'Engle, writer
> 
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-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
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