It's been quite a while since my last update to KidSafe, so I figured I'd post a status update.

KidSafe is not dead. Development is definitely slower than usual (in fact, development has been paused for the past few weeks), but we're still working on it.
Right now, we're making one major change which will have a lot of benefits. Currently, we expect that this change will shrink the size of the KidSafe executable, reduce the amount of RAM it uses, remove its DLL dependencies (in other words, KidSafe will become one EXE instead of one EXE and a bunch of DLLs), and enable 64-bit support. This change should also make it easier to find & fix bugs in KidSafe, and may make porting KidSafe to other platforms easier.

Can anybody guess what that one change will be? (Hint: it's a big enough change that I'm not expecting to make another release before the end of the summer, even if development activity returns to high.)

> Can anybody guess what that one change will be?

Official sponsorship by Sesame Street?

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Face recognition?

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You will be creating a new version called AdultSafe. But I think face or if available support for fingerprint recognition.

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Nope.


Nope. I probably won't be adding this at all, because it can be fairly easily deceived, although I may change my mind if face recognition tech improves significantly.


Nope on both counts (see my comment above on face recognition; ditto for fingerprint recognition).


Here's another hint: you're thinking on a relatively small scale compared to what we're actually doing. When I say "major" change, I mean major change.

Will you be changing to machine code or assembly language??

Some other language?

will you completely re write the program?

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No. That would actually make bug fixing & porting KidSafe to other platforms harder.


Right on both counts!

I'm rewriting KidSafe in C++ to use the raw Windows API.
* Instead of loading an entire framework (the REALbasic framework), KidSafe will only need to load a couple of system DLLs. This should improve RAM usage and shrink the size of the KidSafe executable.
* Instead of needing to have various DLL files, all of KidSafe's internals will be linked directly into KidSafe.exe. No more DLLs.
* REALbasic doesn't have 64-bit support yet, but C++ does. KidSafe should be able to take full advantage of that 64-bit support.
* We're dealing with the raw Windows API, not routing system calls through a framework, so bug finding & fixing should be easier.

It's a pretty big job, especially since it's my first major C++ project, but it's coming reasonably well. Still, it's slow work since I don't have nearly the skill of an experienced C++ programmer. If anybody wants to help with KidSafe's development, I'd be delighted to have the help.

Anyway, I'll post some screenshots in a few days. (Don't be deceived by appearances; most of the screenshots will look like the KidSafe we all know, but most of the under-the-hood stuff is missing. Once I get the GUI fully working, I'll begin the under-the-hood stuff to connect it all together.)

> When I say "major" change, I mean major change.

Some of these are things we've already discussed, some are suggestions

• Ported to another OS
• Creates a fake / sandbox OS
• USB device access. Doesn't require a unique drive: you plug in and unplug USB input devices (keyboard/mouse) in a specific order to gain access to your computer.
• Child detection. If certain really stupid things are done to the computer, the computer locks.
• Troll detection. If the computer detects you making long-winded rants posted to online forums with no clear point and bad grammar, the computer locks.

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That sounds like my typical day answering Helpdesk tickets...

The ongoing change to C++ will be a major step towards a Mac or Linux build. We'll probably hit Linux first.


I've experimented with a fake desktop, but I don't think we'll do that. There's too much potential for trouble with the API calls involved.


That's an interesting suggestion, and definitely one worth looking into. I'm not sure if that would be completely workable, but it would be a good way of doing things if Windows has the necessarily API calls available.


IMHO, "stupid" is a subjective definition. I do things with my system on a regular basis (like deliberately infecting it with viruses - in a sandbox of course!) that cause most people to shake their heads and mutter dire predictions. Others do things (like leaving all their browser history intact) that I regard as extremely foolish. Even deleting files in %WINDIR%\system32, while perhaps not the safest thing to do, is often done by people trying to trim their system.
What I'm trying to say is, since everybody's definition of "stupid" is a little different, it would take a massive amount of AI to get this working. For now, I think we'll pass.


I like that!

Very, very good news. I wish more developers would produce open, cross-platform software. If you want to make software that lasts, that's good way to make sure its still around and used by someone in 10 years. Linux may not have taken off the way everyone planned but its certainly not going away.


How about this: it may be that every time the computer starts, one activity has to be done. For example, if you always start your computer and open your email client, then you may want that to be mandatory. If after you start the computer, you don't open your email, that's a good indication someone other than you is using your computer and it locks. That's a great way to protect your machine if someone watched you type in the password or somehow guessed it. On the user side to make things more secure, a more obscure program like Defrag or Volume Control could be set as the "key program".

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Linux actually may have more power than most people think; according to Wikipedia, MS believes Linux has a market share approximately equal to Apple's. That may not be much in percentage terms, but it does equal millions of users.
Moving to Linux is also a logical next step because Linux and open-source are hand-in-hand, so KidSafe should get a pretty good reception there.


Good idea. My younger siblings often turn on the computer, but they never do any of the normal things I would do. Your suggestion is a good, simple trap.
I've opened a feature request; is that what you're looking for?

> Linux and open-source are hand-in-hand, so KidSafe should get a pretty good reception there.

Agreed. I imagine something like this could get a warm reception and integrated into the OS on Ubuntu.

> I've opened a feature request; is that what you're looking for?

Looks great.

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I see there is a KidSafe_AIE.exe on the main site, is this connected with AutoIt3 as suggested?

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Yes, it is.

I've been tied up with other things, both online and IRL, so rcmaehl has temporarily taken over the project until I can get back to work on the C++ version. AutoIt is his development language of choice, so that's what he's using.
KidSafe_AIE.exe doesn't have as many features as the last build of KidSafe I released, but I talked to rcmaehl today and he says he's got more stuff in the works.

Once I finish working on Iron Portable and get my other PortableApps applications updated, I'll probably have a little time to continue work on the C++ version of KidSafe. In the meantime, if there are any C++ devs interested in working on an open-source project, I would love the help.