Support:
Basics:
Parents:
Master Control Accounts
Cotse.Net is absolutely unsurpassed in
the range of filtering and email control options we give
you, because we believe that it's your email, and you should
set the rules for what you want to receive and what you want
to block.
With a Master Control Account, parents
can set up certain filters that will apply to their
children's email and that cannot be modified by the
children, while allowing the children to still customize and
add additional filters to their own email.
It is very important, then, that you, as
the parent, select carefully in configuring any master
control filter settings.
To assist you in your selection, we
recommend that you begin by first review our
overview
of our email filters before
reading the material below.
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After reviewing the email filters
overview, determine whether you want a highly restrictive
filtering system or an intermediate or less restrictive
system for your master controls for the children's accounts.
If you really want to control who your
child receives e-mail from, a Goldlist Sender
approach would probably be more effective in conjunction
with setting the Goldlist Sender option to delete all other
(non-Goldlist) email. To implement that system:
Login to your Cotse.Net account and
then:
- Click "Options" at the top of the
page
- Click "Goldlist" from the menu
page (not Goldlist Aliases, just Goldlist)
- Enter the addresses of senders from
whom you will accept email, e.g. auntjane4299@aol.com
- Leave the default settings for
dev/null and rejection notification settings
- Although you can use a
"bounce/rejection" message, we recommend you leave that
blank
- Click "Update Options" at the bottom
of that page
Comments:
- If your approved senders tend to use
more than one email address to send you mail, you should
add all of their addresses to that page.
- If your children want you to add
someone to the list of approved senders, you can do so at
any time by simply adding their name to the list and
updating that option page. Similarly, you can delete
someone from the Goldlist Senders list by editing that
page.
- To switch systems entirely, delete
all entries from this page and click "Update Options" at
the bottom of the page. This will disable the Goldlist
Sender method and make your other filters usable.
If you use the Goldlist Senders method,
any email from an address on the Goldlist will be delivered
to your child's Inbox (assuming the mail is addressed to
them). This raises some security issues.
Security Notes:
Spammers frequently forge or "spoof"
addresses in their "From" line. By chance, it is possible
that some spam will get through to your child's email if it
arrives with a spoofed "From" line. That spam may contain
objectionable material or infected attachments.
Because mail sent from addresses on your
Goldlist using the approach described in the directions
above will be delivered to the Inbox with no further checks
or filters, if someone on your list unknowingly sends you an
email with an infected attachment, that infected attachment
will be delivered, and if your child doubleclicks on it to
open it, the computer will be infected. Hence, we remind you
of the importance of running frequently updated anti/virus
software.
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Although the Goldlist Sender and
Subject-Line Password Phrase approaches are simple to
implement, you may want to develop your own customized
approach or combination of filters. The following is but
just one example of how someone might approach the problem:
You can use Goldlist Your Aliases
feature so that only email to a particular one or two of
your child's "aliases" passes through a gateway for further
checking and scrutiny. You could combine that with the
Blacklist feature to blacklist senders, domains, or
extensions you definitely do not want your child to receive
mail from and have all mail from those blacklisted senders,
domains, or extensions deleted from the mail server. For
mail that has passed through the gateway and blacklist test,
you could also add in a filter that checks for Banned
Vocabulary (where you would enter the vocabulary that
would trigger rejection or deletion of the mail), you can
have the mail checked for Potentially Unsafe Images,
and/or you can set rules for Handling Attachments.
For any of these additional tests or filters, you can
configure your settings so that if the mail "fails" the test
or filter, it is deleted from the mail server entirely.
Note that if your child has used their
goldlisted alias in any public part of the Internet, they
are likely to receive spam addressed to that alias. Enabling
"Spam Assassin" will help prevent most spam
from reaching their inbox.
Worried about missing "real" email from
family or friends? Add them to your "Whitelist
Senders" list, but note that that will override the
checks for unsafe attachments, etc.
The above is just one somewhat elaborate
example of how you can combine filters to achieve certain
outcomes. By reading the description of each type of filter
and what it does carefully, you can begin to construct your
own rules.
Note that our email filters apply to both
the full header and text of an email. They do not
apply to attachments, however, as these are received as
encrypted. If you are concerned about objectionable material
in attachments getting through to your Inbox, you will need
to use either a very restrictive approach or use a
customized approach that enables the Handling
Attachments feature.
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As an alternative to the Goldlist Senders
approach, you may wish to use the Subject-Line Pasword
Phrase approach to restricting email.
With this highly restrictive approach,
only mail that includes the correct password phrase in the
subject line will be delivered to your Inbox, and you can
have all other email deleted from the server (you have other
options for email that arrives without the password phrase,
but for parental purposes, you may wish to just have all
non-password phrase email deleted from the server). To
enable this approach:
Login to your Cotse.Net account and
then:
- Click "Options" at the top of the
page
- Click "Subject-Line Password
Phrase" from the menu page
- Enter your password phrase in the
form and leave other settings at their default
values
- Click "Update Options" at the bottom
of that page
Comments:
- Email from any sender will be
delivered as long as it contains the password phrase
somewhere in the subject line
- You can change the password phrase,
but don't forget to notify people from whom you'd wish to
receive email
- To disable Subject-Line Password
Phrase protection, simply clear the password phrase box
and click "Update Options"
Security
Concerns:
Because mail sent with the password
phrase will be delivered to your your child's Inbox with no
further checks or filters, if someone unknowingly sends them
an email with an infected attachment, that infected
attachment will be delivered, and if your child doubleclicks
on it to open it, the computer will be infected. Hence, we
remind you of the importance of running frequently updated
anti/virus software.
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Q: Can my child add
identities or aliases that would bypass any of the rules
I set up in the master control account?
A: No. Any aliases your child set ups for
their account for incoming email would still be subject to
the rules you create in the master account.
Q: If I don't want my
child to receive email from anyone other family members and
friends I approve of, which system am I better off
using?
A: The Goldlist Sender approach, because
with the Subject-Line Password Phrase approach, your child
can give out the password phrase to people.
Note that this method is not fool-proof,
because if your child is really determined to evade your
rules, they could suggest a friend send email under a
"spoofed" address that is on the "approved" list.
There simply is no guaranteed method when
it comes to kids. Parental supervision, ongoing
communication, and some degree of trust will always come
into play.
Q: If my child has given out his email
address to so many places or people that I am concerned
about security and privacy, can I change my child's
username and start again?
A: Email helpdesk at cotse.net and we'll
try to assist you.
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