I've been looking at installing Pihole and OpenDNS.. to block a bunch of stuff automatically. Other than that, my kids now being 12 and 15: their computers are

I've been looking at installing Pihole and OpenDNS.. to block a bunch of stuff automatically. Other than that, my kids now being 12 and 15: their computers are desktop machines in the kitchen. My wife and I look over their shoulders throughout their online time, and help keep them on track.. as well as having very open discussions about which things to look out for. Use any excuse to teach a lesson, but keep it short. One example, my youngest was asking about online advertising and "what's the big deal?". I explained how easy and quickly their movement online is tracked, then decided to show it: we loaded up google and did a fairly unique search, in this case alligator skin cowboy boots for kids, and clicked a few links.. then asked her to go to a big newspaper site.. lo and behold a banner ad for the same item we searched for less than minute ago. Got the point across rather firmly. Spend time with them, talk to them about their interests online, get them to show you sites they go to, Youtube stuff they like, etc. I try to point out new stuff that is "better" than what they are familiar with and sidetrack them with learning sites like Khan Academy. Teach them how to do research, so they can fact check and know what is a scam. Show them snopes, so they can know how to spot bogus stories.. Oh, and lastly, I have told my kids not to panic if they come across a bad site, just close the window and they should be fine. But do let me know so we can check the machine together afterwards. Yes, that includes porn sites.. I know some of these clicks won't be accidental, but I don't care. I've done enough tech support that i'd rather they be safe than start hiding stuff from me. Oh yeah, I really need to sign up for the Family version of 1Password.