We have two computers in the main office of our church. One is in my dad's office and no one but he and I use it. The other is available before and after church, as well as on ocassions such as Super Bowl Sunday. Wednesday night our drama director went to google something on the computer and when she did, a host of pornographic searches showed up. Now, whether you agree if porn is OK or not, is not the issue. Our church doesn't believe it is OK, and supposedly until now everyone who came understood and accepted that. He had a church member who is good on computers look at it, but as of now their are no results of what or who or how it happened. I think he should talk to each of the men (and it was obvious it was a man) who had access to the computer if they ever saw anything suspicious and possibly Segway into whether they themself had done it. He just wants to make sure everyone who signs in is recognized individually so if it happens again they know about it. My problem is that porn can lead to worse things, and this was heavy duty. What do you think?
[question posted by AmbiePam]
responses and comments:
I have to agree with you , each person should be spoke to until they find out who it was . Like you said weather you agree with this or not is not really the issue as in some places it just is not acceptable behaviour not matter how you look at it . And in Church would not be the place to be looking at stuff like this . [samtaylorskykierajen]
Does anybody actually watch 7th Heaven anymore? Wow, I thought it had been canceled long ago. I guess 7th graders would still find it interesting. [AmbiePam]
It sounds as though someone may have put it there deliberately to see how your Dad would react. I don't think I would give them the satisfaction of responding. I would just erase the offending messages, and put the computer off limits to the public from now on. Keep a close watch on when those who are authorized to use it, spend time there, just in case it does happen again. Good luck. [Stringbean]
Thanks for the advice. I think though, it might have been more than for shock value. My dad would never have gotten on that computer because he has his own. By chance, the drama director was searching google and this one time, the previous history dropped down. The searches were so specific that I have to think this is something the "offender" is also doing elsewhere. And yes, I think there should be strict limits to the access of the computer. Good thought. [AmbiePam]
i don't nessicarily believe that pornography is wrong. i don't think that church computers should be used for that kind of thing. i have an idea for catching the person who did it though. your dad needs to find out who has computers at home. Chances are that if a person has a computer at home they are not going to use the church computer to look up pornography. [aprilsue00]
I have to agree with both of you, that kind of thing is not ok in most places and should really never be looked at, but I guess it depends on your view. For one thing, that kind of thing should never be looked up at church for any reason, it is not a good thing (well at least that is what I think). People should learn when the time is to do it and when is not the time to do it... People need to become smart.. I just thought I would share my opinion on this because I had a similar problem with home computers, I invite friends over alot and they end up doing something they are not supposed to do, and you can probably guess what that is... [Dakafall]
How do you deal with it? [AmbiePam]
your right its a bad thing especially on your church computer. maybe that person accidentaly opened or clicked a site that pop up. and he didn't realize that it was a pornographic site. i think you should do that register ever user of that computer for the insident doen't happen again. people sometime are having a hard tiome admiting thier mistakes but still they feel sory in the inside for doing it. pornography is really an issue now a days. every body are aware of this issue. people just to have their self control on things. [sakura_ryuzaki]
yes, that's spooky.. eerie.. yikes, too much in life is these days.. [flowerchilde]
Sometimes these porn sites tag themselves to other sites which have been brought up. I've had it happen myself. If you sign into a certain site, and spyware has tagged it, all the windows come up. It may be a perfectly innocent action. When it happened to me, I had gone into a greetings card site... up popped all these porn windows and when I tried to get rid of them, (i.e. close them), they kept popping back up and multiplying. I had to turn off the computer without closing down properly and defrag in the end. It was ok after that because all the old files and cookies had been deleted, along with the history. So, this might be a possibility and it might not have anything to do with a user, directly. [Darkwing]
Yes, my grandpa once had his computer confiscated by the police because somehow someone had tagged his computer with that kind of thing. He couldn't get on it at all without something offensive popping up. And we are talking about a 65 year old retired preacher. Can you imagine how scandalized he was!? : ) [AmbiePam]
First, it didn't necessarily have to be a man. There are Christian lesbians in the world. As the above poster stated, it could have been attached to an email. If not, it needs to be dealt with. A church is a business as any other business. If I looked at porn at work, I would be fired. I think the best bet at this point would be to block certain content and websites from the church computers. Anything that is not necessary for church business should not be involved on church computers. I'm not sure what you mean by Porn leading to worse things, but you need to not judge whoever did the deed. Just block the site and get on with the business of the Lord. [cyntrow]
...I don't necessarily subscribe to the judge nothing credo.. whether it's huge evils of the world.. or someone's discussion.. [flowerchilde]
I don't know that you can be 100% sure it was a man. I am an IT Director for a company with 3000+ employees and we have had a more than a couple instances of females looking at some pretty graphic stuff online from work. One way to make sure no one is doing anything on the computer that they should be would be to move it to a more public area. I don't know that someone who goes to church to look at porn, but I'd imagine that they aren't the type of person to admit it. [thewatchlist]
You are right. I don't know how we could move the computer to a more public place, but I know if we kept that particular door open at all times, it would be a much greater chance of someone being caught. Thanks! [AmbiePam]
He needs to copy that stuff and sell it. Porn is a lucrative industry. [HamBandit]
..it's the glossy exterior, the commercial.. but the underbelly of it, is the sex slave trade (800,000+), huge numbers of abortions, child porn, yes evil progresses, and the dissolution of family and thus society.. [flowerchilde]
I totally agree with you.porn is not for anyone who calls themselves a christian..Someone did use your dads computer,finding that person might be a problem..Someone in your church (a man) is addicted to porn,thats for sure.Whoever it is probably will never admit it..It could be that someone did that to your dad out of anger,im not sure.I know it probably was a shock to your dad,but someone had to do it,it did not get on there by its self...Who ever did this does not need to be allowed in any office in the church,much less your dads office...Who found it your Dad? I do hope your dad is able to find out who did this,meanwhile I think he needs to lock his office and give no one the key...It could have also been downloaded by another computer and sent to your dads computer..Whatever happened there is a nasty man around there or someone is angry with your dad... [slickcut]
No, my dad didn't find it. It wasn't on my dad's computer. It was on the computer everybody else would use. The drama director found it and then notified my dad. I would hate to see it spread to another computer, so that is a good suggestion. [AmbiePam]
In this day and age you have to worry if there might be Sex Offenders even at your church. I think your dad should put up a surveillence camera and maybe catch the person and then confront them about it. [gizmodgery]
I know if the church could afford we would love to see a high power Surveillance camera installed. [AmbiePam]
If the person is doing at church, he already has a problem and is leading to ''worse things'' [sports_med_guy]
I don't think an interrogation of the whole church is a good idea. I'd hate to be accused of something like that, and if that's what you are doing to people if you go about. There is software you can install to prevent things getting worse, like parental contols of some sort. Another option is to make the computer password protected and only give the log on and paswword to trusted people. [Great_Nate]
Oh, it wouldn't be a lot of people to talk to. There are about 5 different guys who had the best and most likely oppurtunity to see this stuff. But it would bother me to see innocent people interrogated, yes. I think parental controls are great, but the last ones we had, actually blocked access to Bible, Theology, and Christian sites! It was deemed "mature content!" [AmbiePam]
Your IT guy should have known to check the event logs to look for usage times if nothing else but a good way to keep this from happening is install Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business on there to be more official about who logs in and whatnot. You can have multiple users on Windows XP Home but you get a better handle on who does what with Pro. Sounds like special Sunday sermon is in order! At least make that person feel guilty as they will probably be there. [not4me]
OK, thank YOU again. [AmbiePam]
Well, you can never bee sure it was a man, I was once at a cybercafe and the girl next to me was looking into gay pornography, someone that would see that would think a guy was doing it, but when it comes to porn both sides can be to blame, I don't think you should judge it to be a man just by the content of the sites, though it might help it just might not be accurate. Just trying to help you by saying you might be looking for the wrong person. I do agree that they shouldn't be on those sites, for one if the place you're accessing the Internet has those beliefs you should respect it plus have in consideration that kids could access it should be an awareness for people that like those sites however not everyone shares those points of view! I wish you luck on getting the culprit or that at least the person in question stops doing it. [SKLC_PT]
I understand your feelings - particularly since this is not someone's personal computer but a public computer used by a church. I don't know that you can find the culprit easily. I also don't think you should be quick to assume it was a man - there are some women that are interested in porn as well. Further, it could be a kid - kind of scary - but kids are curious and check in to things they should not. I don't know what other worse things that porn can lead in to - and I don't know what your thoughts on this was. I think the best way to handle it is to have a true and honest discussion with the congregation - it needs to be public. Your father should make sure everyone understands the consequences of this and he should let people know that the computer could be removed for the safety of all the members. The other option is to have the computer locked and people have to "log in" to the computer each time they wish to use it and "log out" when done. My university does this - that way they know what you were looking at. The important thing is that you always have to remember to "log out" because some people could start using the computer under your identity if you forget to log out. [sadgirl_1958]
That is what my father thought we should do, is have everyone have a log in and log out profile. But it wasn't a wayward child or a woman. If you could have seen what the person had searched for in the google search engine you'd understand. It was specific and detailed and worded in such a way that it had to be a male, and somewhat educated. I know, I know, it's hard for me to explain how I can tell, but when the drop down menu on the google tool bar came down, a person could just tell. I have a feeling this will be worked into the sermon. Not to accuse, but to make a point. He is trying to find out who it was without causing undue embarrassment to anyone else. [AmbiePam]
The first problem - the computer should have a sign on profile. No one should be able to just turn it on and use the internet. Parental controls should be on there if no one is willing to set up profiles. Can they put controls or Filters on the computer to block the sites from porn content? I know you can set the content in IE and lock the sites off. Investing in that software will save some a headache in the future. Also porn sites can infect the computer with spyware/malware/adware. So there is another issue besides content. Malicious software on the computer that can cause havoc on the operating system. That computer should be scanned for the above (online scans are fine) and the history of the browser cleared out (search history - temp files etc). I'm leaving out the "church" part, it's a work computer, and no one should be looking at those sites at work. Like someone else said, If I looked at those at work, It's immediate grounds for termination. However we do have filters on our computers on what we can and cannot look at. As for it leading to worse things ... I won't even go there. That's an opinion that you can keep. You can see softcore porn on Cinemax any day of the week, late at night. [cdkscully]
blah blah blah you just waisted alot of your time typing all that out for me to read your first line and decide this wasnt worth reading at all. [AmberNormandin]
Should just download a program that blocks those kinds of sites from being shown. That would be a simple, effective approach, and it would make it so that it can't happen again. [alwaysepic]
Yes, I agree. That way when someone searches for something like that, they couldn't find it anyway. [AmbiePam]
1. You can't be too sure it was a man, I am a female and I look at internet porn. 2. Pop ups and spyware can happen on any unsecure connection. Someone could have been looking up something and clicked on a pop up not knowing what was going on. 3. If you type in an address and have one character wrong, it could send you to an adult site. 4. Yes, I look at porn but that's something that - no matter how depraved you are - you just don't do in church. [freak369]
you know what ive noticed through out reading these responses? ALOT of them are focused on whether its a man or a woman and thats really not what matters here. people always get off track on things and maybe things would be running better in this world today if people would stay on the subject at hand. [AmberNormandin]
I don't think you should continue your search to find out who it is. Whoever it is, probably would be too embarassed to admit it either way. I also agree it's wrong and immoral, but I think maybe once the person realizes that you do not accept this type of behavior, they will not do it again. But by placing him on watch, this person is probably going to be hesitant about coming back to church, and I think that would lead to more worse things than the actual p*rn. [Sawsen]
I don't think anyone will really admit to it sadly :( [Jemmifire]
I would suggest getting a clear vinyl keyboard cover it will keep the keys from sticking together. [roztredtoes]
AmberNormandin, you are too funny. [AmbiePam]
Really inappropriate and not acceptable. I would think that the best idea is for there to be a sign-in register with time limits. Our local libraries do it that way and I am sure that this would help discourage wrongful use. Doesn't a date a military time show up with each site? This would help pin point who was doing it. Good luck and may the problem stop. [loujac3]
These days a simple innocent search on google can bring up some graphic materials that you don't wish to see, but it does happen. Since the computer was used by church goers it is shameful. The damage is done now, so the the best way to deal with this is to have the administrator have a log in sheet. Every user have to sign in every time they wish to use the computer. Another solution would be to place the computer in a public place.Place a written note on the computer that the computer's activities are monitored. It would deter anyone who wants to view such materials on the church computer. Don't waste your time finding it who did it, because he would be shy to come forward. I am sure who ever viewed such graphic material is not very internet savvy. I am assuming this because if he was he would have cleaned the history and deleted all the temporary files. Since he did not, i am betting he was curious to see what it is all about. Prevention is better than cure, but it is too late now. So now it is time to contain the situation. [Mahindan]
Pornography oftentimes cannot be avoided on the internet or any computers connected on it. Sometimes without notice it came out and if you have mistakenly click any portion of it... it floods a lot in your screen. Well, maybe the one who made it was just a victim of this case or... the one is just being true to his self inspite of being forbidden in the place. [hmike_d]
Pornogrophy is an evil and it is a fact that most men wil take a peak if it is available. It is a huge problem for men and some even get adicted to it. I am a man and I am against it, but I have also fallen to the trap a few times, and I regret it. I do my best to avoid it and the only way is to stay close to God who help me control myself and be strong. I have an idea that might help in your church. In my previous church we had one evening a week when all men were invited and we discussed men stuff and how to deal with it through the Word of God. It is a good place to admid problems and be honost and also to learn from other men and from the Word. It has helped me and a lot of other men and we became stronger christians and better family men. [Beertjie]
I see your point. [AmbiePam]
Each one should be questioned even though I do not think that truth will come out but still one needs to do taht.And further form now onwards you should take a lot of precautions. [anup12]
dear ambie... why church need computer for? online & do data documents thing? [may1225]
Research. online banking, looking up places and people you can't just by looking in a phone book, stuff like that. : ) [AmbiePam]
i personally think that he should take the computer away from the members to use and make it only for the church records, etc. i mean its a nice thing for him to do, let the church ppl use it, and then someone abuses it like that. that makes it hard on everyone. but if he wants to hold a mens meeting, or talk them individually, it might be a good idea. but i'd definately set some kind of limits on who gets to use, if anyone besides those who are involved in the church stuff. [AmberNormandin]
well you guys might have an idea then of who it is. and i hope that your dad does a sermon on it and make that person feel guilty w/o actually having to implicate them. maybe they will feel so guilty and realize that they need prayer for their addiction (and future) that they will come to him for it. The Lord works in mysterious ways. [AmberNormandin]
yes unknown people may not be allowd to use computer it can be serious fraud [kumx5dc]
whats that got to do with it? its not unknown people who use it, its members of the church. [AmberNormandin]
maybe god himself did it well you call it Gods house : ) [Clearr]
someone is ignorant. [AmberNormandin]
hi,i agree with you ,that behaviour indicates that an immature person .bad things around us every day every moment, strong people only can face these things. there is a responsibility on church to teach people , to make them know how much is the harmful effect of these sites , not to be used only in church as aholy Lace but even in our rooms in our homes , god bless you . [funnycat]
What about putting a block on the computer to restrict certain sites? The library around here does that and it seems to be working fine. A sign in sheet sound like a good idea, but if somebosy wants to look at porn, do you really think that they will use their own name? [nmw2005]
If he went to google to search then itll be on the internet not on the computer. Try changing the safe search filter to strict on preferences [faultymonkey]
If this is the case then you can just push off on some body else and escape ?? [gupthaongole]
You might not find the person who did. So you might want to give everybody a password so that when they log on you can monitor their activities. All though I see nothing wrong with normal porn. It should not be view in a church or anywhere a child might end up getting a hold of it. That was a lack of respect on who evers part that used it. [limosonia1]
I agree with you. There is a time and place for everything and who ever viewed porn on the Church computer was wrong for doing it there. Good luck to your dad in handling this issue to avoid it of occurring again. [littlenita]
well 1st of all there's nowt wrong with porn but yes i agree you perhaps don't want it on a public computer. I'd say put up a sign ..."Porn has been found on the machine and therefore we've had to institute a log on system". Have a timed sign-in sheet so you know how was using it when and say no more about it THIS time. but if it happens again you'll have more idea of who [indium]
well you could be right that a man had access to the computer sometimes this pornographic materials appear as pop up on the computer.. so there should be a pop up blocker installed so that porn pages do not go all opening all the time.. [chimex4real2k2]
just move on man!...thts just a part of life & not life... [pradeepfgfg]
not part of church life. sorry. [AmberNormandin]
This is not OK and you should find out the baseline of this issue and resolve it for the future aspects. [n3v3rl0v3]
first of all why do you think it has to be a man? (unless of course its an all male church or something like that)...that being said I think EVERYONE who has had access to the computer should be questioned and talked to until a satisfactory answer is recieved I would also have some sort of block feature installed/set up to prevent this from happening again... [Ravenladyj]
AmbiePam, my first post that I discused in this site was about stopping pornoghraphy in the internet. AS of now, I still believe that there will come a time, maybe not in my lifetime, that porn will come to an end. There maybe laws soon. Yes, porn can and will lead to worst things. Porn can destroys any relationship. It also destroys your relationdhip with God. Porn, is a deception of the devil. It tells you that it's ok but it's the most modern sin(cause it can be accessed in the computer.) It's a multitude of termite that eats the foundation of a home. Pornography is likely to be considered as any other modern-day addiction. It eats your moral values and decency. Pornoghraphy is for the selfish people and perverts. Porn is a disease of the MIND! [santoni]
you are aware that pornography is one of the oldest forms of art? There is no way that porn will come to an end and nor should it. To do so would be a huge invasion of the civil liberties of adults [indium]
Though there maybe contradiction with your post, let me quote "Now, whether you agree if porn is OK or not, is not the issue" "My problem is that porn can lead to worst things, and this was heavy duty. What do you think?" I guess, you're asking for insight if pornography is not ok? Pros and cons of it? Well, my first post that I discussed in this site was about stopping pornoghraphy in the internet. AS of now, I still believe that there will come a time, maybe not in my lifetime, that porn will come to an end. There maybe laws soon. Yes, porn can and will lead to worst things. Porn can destroys any relationship. It also destroys your relationdhip with God. Porn, is a deception of the devil. It tells you that it's ok but it's the most modern sin(cause it can be accessed in the computer.) It's a multitude of termite that eats up the foundation of a home. Pornography is likely to be considered as any other modern-day addiction. It eats your moral values and decency. Pornoghraphy is for the selfish people and perverts. Porn is a disease of the MIND! If you ask me who did it, it's between him/her and God and his conscience. Whether that person would be caught and if he/she might or might not tell the truth. Just let it be. [santoni]
I wasn't asking for the pros and cons, no. But I appreciate your views greatly. I believe as a Christian, that pornogrpahy is wrong. BUT, that was not the issue. Because whether you believe it is wrong or just fine, the issue was everyone in the church openly agrees porn is not something that we want in our church, nor our members to participate in. And whether you agree with the rights or wrongs of porn was not the issue because I think we can all agree when you openly say something and then do another, that is universally accepted as wrong. Good post! [AmbiePam]
if you dont have any lead on who did it,better delete it than other may use it and will see the pornographic sites and accidentally they will click and it would be a great mess for the church if it spreads out. [erl212]
I would have to agree. This is certainly not a place where this is accepted...and I think that you need to know who is doing this? I hope you find out and can deal with this properly... [icequeen]
what did she google? so you mean when she entered google and searched for something, the results were porno sites? sometimes if you word it the right way that can happen, or do you mean you got pop-up windows? [goldberg55]
I think he needs to consult with each person although the culprit probably won't admit it because I'm sure he knew it was wrong. Perhaps there should be restrictions placed on the use of the computer such as only in couples or only in times when someone else will be around to be able to monitor the situation. [XxAngelxX]
Ambie I think your dad has done the right thing. You need to know who has been using this computer for porn and when you do, this person needs to be counseled or whatever you feel you have to do. I'm not saying adults can't view porn, but there is the right time and place to do that, definitely not in the church. If a member of your church has done this, you need to know it, since this habit might lead to horrible actions outside and harm your church image. It is also a good idea to ask this person resign his membership therefore whatever he does outside will not affect your church image and its member. [LittleMel]
LittleMel, Yeah, we don't want it to affect anyone else. What one person does is not a single act. Usually it affects one more person and one more person - and in this case, the effect is not a postive one. Thanks! [AmbiePam]
They should put some software on the computer to block porn sites and this will solve the problem. There isn't any point in questioning people about it as they will deny it, especially if it is against your religion, although a note by the computer saying it is against the rules might be worthwhile so that people know. [michelledarcy]
I say they exorcise the computer and let the power of Christ compel the porn spirit away from the sinful technology material which is known as Computer. [jmanzano17]
after three months of thinking.. i forgot to add the holy water with my original response! [jmanzano17]
ya it may be heavy duty but if u tell him that i can avoind aids by this than may he forgive u [risshi]
what are you talking about here?? obviously nothing related to THIS discussion........ - [AmberNormandin]
i guess someone was in too much urge to view porn that made them watch it in a church and a public computer.you should go along with your plans and talk to all the men.and even if you dont get to know who did it i think it wont happen in the future as the culprit would get the message. [dip_cool]
Wow! That would be hard to have to deal with. Like many others, I would say limit the use of the computer and have a sign in sheet for it. Then you would have to have someone there to monitor it. Put it in a more public place where people are always milliing around. I think the biggest thing you need to do here is pray for this person. Obviously they have a problem. The Bible says we are to come alongside each other nad help each other when we fall. If this person claims to be a Christian they shouldn't be looking for this stuff. Pornography can be addictive and they may need help to stop. Many a church leader has gotten caught up in it and as the body of Christ we should not condone the sin but we need to come alongside the sinner and offer help and support if they are willing to repent and change. [mapiklfish1]
I know that it was wrong for someone to search for porn on the church computer, but in this case it might be best just to erase the porn and let the matter drop. Everyone makes mistakes in life and everone sins. If the guilt person is verbally hit over the head for the porn he may not go to church anymore and going to church is important. [albert2412]
How sad that this has infiltrated into your church. Porn is an addiction and my heart goes out to this person with the problem. Does your pastor know? We too have had problems in our church although not of this nature. Our problem was with gossip and negativity with our church. The person was not approached directly. Our pastor did a series of sermons on these subjects with teaching from scripture.I believe this was good not only for the person spreading the gossip but for the whole church. I know I learnt from it and am more careful to guard my tongue.I will pray for you and your church.Hopefully this helps in some way. [midesire]
LOL! that's called spyware, doesn't necessarily mean someone was looking at porn on it... He should have installed AVG Anti-Spyware from www.grisoft.com [ajradical]
He should have pulled out his monkey and spanked it... That's what I would have done... [tandmunlimited]
Wow, you must crave attention. Saying things for shock value. Hope you get some help. [AmbiePam]
yes u r absolutely right as this is a serious isssue that can even lead to some misconcepts for the church among its visitors,and ur dad shul take help of some professional if no body take the resonsibilty himslef, and shud take some action against the person [HumsafarMandeep]
Your dad definitely needs to investigate this and clear it up. I will tell you what happened to some good friends of mine. They were on staff as youth/music minister at this Bapt. church in Florida, the pastor found someone had been going to pornographic sites and something about cookies, I am not computer literate so I don't know all the details, plus this was 10 yrs. or so ago and things are better able to track. But bottom line was, the pastor's teenage son had access to this computer, but my friend who was the youth minister was the one who was targeted as the preacher's son did no wrong. They lost their job and had a very hard time getting another one. They were so hurt by this. So it does happen and we all know the devil uses a church as his playground, if anyone can be targeted it can easily happen at a church. Good luck and may God bless you all as you rectify this situation. [applsofgld]
Thank you for sharing your experience and thank you for being a blessing to this discussion. [AmbiePam]
i honestly find it to be quite humorous in a way. someone was looking up porn in a church?? man..a bit weird. first of all, i don't think anybody should look at porn in a public place because that's just freaky. secondly, do you young kids have access to the computer? if they do, it was probably a teenager or kid. i mean, you can't really stop kids from doing that. they're young and stupid like that:). i know when i was younger i did that kind of stuff all the time, and i haven't grown up to be sex addict or anything. i think it's completely natural. if it was someone older, then that's a bit weird. [melissacus]
Maybe someone unintentionally clicked on the wrong link and some spyware or dialer entered in the pc and now it's redirecting google's calls :). It happens very often and not necessarily if someone wants to look for porn! I suggest you to log who is using pc so if someone was looking for porn on that pc will be logged. The second advice is of course to clean that pc =). Install firefox browser and a good antivirus if it's a public pc. I suggest you Kaspersky Antivirus 6. You could get Active Virus Shield that is free (sponsored from AOL). I don't think that someone will say that he downloaded porn on that pc..you will not find the guilty man easily! ;-( I hope that no children went on that computer! Maybe could it be a child ? [Opteron]
The idea about signing in is a good idea. At the library we are also only allowed 1 hour at a time. Depending on who uses it and for what that may be a good idea. As for porn leading to harder stuff. Is it like a gateway drug? lol I think I saw where you were saying Ted Bundy started out with porn? Did I read that right? What about all the murders that never looked at porn? [mikeyr6000le]
well what about all the pedophiles and rapists who did look at porn and maybe that was a sign that they needed HELP??????? [AmberNormandin]
I don't agree with you that porn leads to "worse things" as you put it. That is silly. I do understand that at a church, porn is not something you should be looking at. That to me is a bit creepy. If one wants to look at porn they really should go use some other non-church computer in my opinion. Everyone is different though. I don't think that everyone should be talked to, I would maybe just put a note near the computer asking them to only view Non-adult material on the church computer. [sirensanssmile]
Thank you, I would take a bow, but you can't see me. : ) [AmbiePam]
I have had pornographic images on my computer and I am the only person who ever touches it. Sometimes an innocent search on google can bring up unwanted images. On our church computer there was once something "questionable" not obscene but something we would have prefered not to be there. I went into the history and checked what day and time it was looked at, the Pastor then worked out who had access to the computer at that time and talked to them. I don't like porn and on a church computer it is totally inappropriate but remember it could have happened innocently. [Krisss]
Sounds like 7th Heaven to me. Hmmm, i would expect porn in an internet shop or in the pc of my friend but in a church!!! Of all places, some guy really knows where to pick his spot. I guess, your Dad or whoever is allowed to use it must put a firewall to block anyone from accessing forbidden sites like pornography etc...Your church's reputation is at stake here, better screen the users, or have them log their name and the time they are using the pc on a logbook. [askmo_si_rodel]
I agree porn can lead to worse things. On most computers, there is a way for each different user to sign on with their own password. This is very commonly used in labs or other areas where different people use the same computer. If you do that, then they will be able to learn who accessed which pages. The other thing your dad could do is to prevent access to certain sites. This is done with a filtering system. It is generally word based. That may become a problem even in a church because sometimes words have double meanings. For instance, adultery may be a word you father does not want to have blocked, but it can lead to bad sites as well as sites helping with any counseling he might be performing. As an example....I tried posting the above, and myLot would allow it because I had selected to not view content of 'mature' nature. So I'm changing my preferences on myLot to allow me to post this....but that indicates the complications which might be faced with the computers at your church have access restrictions placed on them. [bgerig]
I'm surprised you don't have a "net nanny" type program on the computer. Things like porn pop up that often these days and it's not hard to accidentally get it on the screen if you aren't an experienced user. The worst thing about the popups is that the more you click to remove, the more popup!!! I would put a net nanny filter on the computer so that it will never happen again and porn and other filth will never get onto the computer. [Sasselle]
Unless it is being used for church business can do a lock down on it for awhile. You can set it to where porn is blocked out. If it happens again do a lock down. But like you said your dad can talk to all the men. [shooie]
At that moment, if I was your father, I would have made a rule (Would not mention the porn)that whoever wants to use the computer must fill out a log book and log in and log out at the exact times they were on. There fore, assuming the system has only adminstrator rights, I would check the history for the previous week and then check it against the log. [KaMlBob]
I thought that was a good idea, myself. [AmbiePam]
You need to have a child filter on there to stop anyone being able to access any porn or adult sites in the first place. If the computer is available to anyone even children you wouldnt want them to accidentally access such information. Hopefully you can find a computer expert to help you obtain the right software to put a block on all adult content. [organiclady35]
Yes, we tried that, but for some reason the filters also blocked Christian sites as well as other regular Religious sites. I figure there MUST be some software that doesn't block anything but porn. Yes, children, are especially important. They aren't allowed on the church computer, but I'm sure someday they could sneak away without anyone noticing and access the internet, since so many of them have it at home. [AmbiePam]
I think that a lot of the computer things are important that people bring up ... stuff like log ins and filters are more important. But, what concerns me is that whoever did this (and I don't think it matters if it was male or female) is in a really bad place. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we are all sinners, but most of us even in the midst of sin try to have the appearance of being on track with the Lord, especially while at church. So for someone to be looking at porn while at church really shows how deep into this addiction that they are. Though, I wonder about using search engines for porn ... it seems to me that a habitual user would already have a favorite site??? Perhaps it's a young person? I think that this person is probably already into other worse things ... if they are willing to look up porn at CHURCH it would seem that they have fallen deep. I think that whether or not you or your dad ever discover who it is that has done this, that our Omniscienant God already knows who did it and there should be a great deal of prayer for this person. That God might free them from the yoke of slavery, from the yoke of addiction and from things that we cannot ever imagine. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 [imadriscoll]
Very good response. The reason why they would use a search engine, is because the bar where you type in the address of the site, ALWAYS shows the other sites people have listed. So this person would have been found out sooner if he had just used the tool bar. My dad mentioned it in his sermon this morning and I know he prayed about it. He didn't accuse anyone, and I hope the person involved in porn sees there is a community to help him, and a God to forgive him. [AmbiePam]
Man! I think that is real unfortunate! Perhaps it is a call for help!! Why else would someone do such searches in a church.. unless, I suppose they do not have access to any other computer.. but, even at a library (unfortunately!) you can pursue that type of stuff! Yes, I hate pornograpy.. it destroys society.. Look at how much the U.S. has changed since its earnest proliferation in the early 70's.. I think of it as ill, and a disease.. And pradoxically, I think it leads to impotence! It ruins normal relations and families.. [flowerchilde]
You make very solid and true points. I can't figure out why the person would use the church computer in this day of technology, so perhaps you are right. Maybe they were doing this to get caught and get help. [AmbiePam]
I would clear it off.It is in the history of links I imagine if it was searches but will also be in the cache and cookies may have been left. Check by searching for jpegs and gifs (for nasty pictures which may have been saved by the surfer responsible) and delete any that are found. If it becomes easier to identify who logs on at certain times,it will be less likely that it would happen again. So having different log ons and only the one Admin (your dad) might help things abit. [mihimolly]