Internet Filtering Techniques

The following is an explanation of internet filtering techniques and products that people can use to protect their families.

PEFinternet.com offers pre-filtered Internet access to protect your family. The pre-filtering works with a combination of "bad site" filtering and content filtering. We recommend a combination of pre-filtered Internet access and the use of a monitoring/blocking software on your computer for the safest Internet experience. Read on to find out more about what you can do to protect your family.

Blocking Software:

Blocking software is software that uses a "bad site" list. It blocks access to sites on the list. Some of the software companies allow you to customize the list, by adding or removing sites from that list. Other software companies try to keep the sites on their list secret, and don't permit parents to add or remove sites from the list.

Blocked site lists need to be updated regularly. Some software companies allow you to download updated sites daily. Others may charge for updates after a certain period, and may update their lists less frequently.

No matter how frequently they are updated, however, the number of websites published each day far exceeds the ability of the software companies to review the sites, and categorize them for "bad site" lists.

Filtering:

Filtering software uses certain keywords. It blocks sites containing these keywords, alone or in context with other keywords. Software that uses standalone keywords may often filter out harmless sites, because of the inclusion of innocent words within those sites.

The biggest problem with using keyword filtering is that innocent sites may be blocked. In addition, some website operators have learned to get around the filtering by misspelling the typical keywords.

As with the "bad site" lists, the lists of keywords used by the filtering software should be customizable by the parent, and every parents should be able to see which terms are filtered.

Some software permits parents to select which kind of sites it wants to filter...such as tobacco products, or sexual content. Selecting the category of content enables a certain list of keywords unique to that category of sites, such as cigarettes, tobacco, and words that graphically describe sexual activities or selected vulgarities.

Monitoring and Tracking:

Some software allows parents to track where their children go online, how much time they spend online, how much time they spend on the computer (offline, such as playing games) and even allows parents to control what times of day their children can use the computer.

Many parents who find filtering or blocking distasteful, especially with older children and teens, find monitoring to satisfy their safety concerns. They can know, for sure, whether their children are following their rules.

This is particularly helpful when both parents are working outside of the home, or with working single-parents, who want to make sure their children aren't spending all of their time on the computer. They merely set a limit on the amount of time the child can use the computer and often "lock their children out" of the computer until they can get home from work.

Not all of these products, however, let the child know they are tracking them.

Comparing the Products:

Net Nanny allows parents to customize its "bad site" list, by adding or removing sites. It doesn't filter words in context, but blocks outgoing information. It has free daily updates. It's better when used with direct ISP access, rather than online services. In addition, parents can chose what to block and what not to block, sicne Net Nanny allows you to see which sites are blocked and modify the list. Net Nanny has two special features: it shuts down if a child seeks to access blocked sites to many times, and it prevents children from deleting files from your computer. It's easy to use and install.

CyberPatrol is harder to install and setup, but has some wonderful features. You can have up to 9 different user settings, which allows you to use a different setting for each child. It doesn't filter keywords in context or track where your child has been, but it can control offline, as well as online, activities. CyberPatrol updates its lists daily, and comes with a one-year subscription of free updates. It has outgoing blocking. It's the best product to use with online services, such as AOL.

CYBERSitter allows parents to customize their keyword and site lists. It doesn't warn a child when it blocks a site, something that I wish it did. It allow parents to monitor their child's online surfing by giving parents a tracking report and blocks outgoing information. It's also easy to setup and install. It has free daily updates, too.

SurfWatch is the only product that doesn't block outgoing information. It's the easiest to install and setup, though. It also has a very large good and bad site list inventory. It can block access to chatrooms, entirely, and allows parents to customize the site lists. It has free daily site updates.