Hello, I'm new here. I was just wondering if any of you can point me in the direction (provide a link maybe) of any good Internet filtering software, preferrably one that's free and quick to install.
I have a child and I'm worried that he might accidentally stumble across indecent things on the Internet (we all know that there are lots of indecent things on the Internet).
I know as a parent who wants to protect their child, this can be hard to except, but there is no 100% way to block pornography without keeping them off the computer. Especially if the child ever attempted to find it.
Now, the best filter is a program (I do not remember the name) which will make a list of every link visited by your child and email it to you. This will not block him from finding pornography, but it will give you the best chance to catch him, and the idea 'my mom/dad knows every link I visit' may alone be enough to stop him.
In the case of pornography 'popping up', the best bet is to install pop up filters. Even then, some 'nice' sites, such as Google, even with safe search turned on, will have pornographic material in one of their image search results from time to time.
As far as the 'net nanny' programs, I find most of them horribly inefficient, and 2/3 of the time, they will also block access to 'clean' sites (much like the 'mars explorer' incident).
And the big thing to remember is that in how ever many years, you child will be going into a world without filters. It is far better to teach him so s/he is able to make the right choice, than to stop them from ever having that choice, because one day, they will have that choice.
__________________
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..:
If history is to change, let it change. If the world is to be destroyed, so be it. If my fate is to die, I must simply laugh.
The past is dead. It was all just a dream...
- Magus
To help protect the sanctity of marriage, please keep all affairs heterosexual.
If no image appears, something has gone wrong. I don't know. Probably run out of squirrels.
My school uses websense. It's easy to find sites that should be blocked that aren't and find things that are blocked that shouldn't be. Heck, at my school, for a while it blocked most college websites under the "educational institution" category. I just have to ask, What the heck?
I think that you are the best monitoring tool. Until he learns responsibility, no program is a substitute for you watching what he does. That's my advice. But it really is up to you.
I went to a specialty high school for science and mathematics my junior/senior years, where you live on campus, and they had some messed up software. One day, the software decided to block everyone's (including the teacher's) access to news channels and such under 'news, entertainment, games' block.
Besides for that, there were about 30 different ways to get around the filter. There was something of a competition to see who could get around it the most interesting way. Also, since this filter blocked the ability to play World of Warcraft, you even had many of the 'good kids' trying to get past it.
__________________
.
..:
If history is to change, let it change. If the world is to be destroyed, so be it. If my fate is to die, I must simply laugh.
The past is dead. It was all just a dream...
- Magus
To help protect the sanctity of marriage, please keep all affairs heterosexual.
If no image appears, something has gone wrong. I don't know. Probably run out of squirrels.
You don't have to type anything specific to find porn unfortunately. One of my old professors found porn when she was doing research on women's social issues!
Ever heard of the 'Google game'? You first turn Google's safe search on, then you search something random (puppies, dolphins, how to cut grass) and see how many pages you go before you find an inappropriate image.
__________________
.
..:
If history is to change, let it change. If the world is to be destroyed, so be it. If my fate is to die, I must simply laugh.
The past is dead. It was all just a dream...
- Magus
To help protect the sanctity of marriage, please keep all affairs heterosexual.
If no image appears, something has gone wrong. I don't know. Probably run out of squirrels.
I agree that no filtering software works. But creating a whitelist of allowed sites (with no others allowed) does work. I know this is pretty drastic, but if a husband is "cheating" on his wife via pornography, I think drastic measures are in order. So hubby works with the wife to create the "Allowed List" and wife is the administrator. And if needed, wife can log in the administrator account if one needs to search for something and/or find some additional sites for the "Allowed List". Yes, drastic. But better than a marriage breaking up. I also think this is a good way to go with any teen boy, including my own.
If you are running Windows XP, the least expensive filtering software I found that allows "Allowed Sites Only" is EA Filtering found at filter-internet.org - $25 one time with no re-occurring annual fees. The EA filter, just used as a filter, does not work well I must say. But I only use the "Allowed Sites Only" option for my teen son so it works for me.
A few years ago when I was a teenager, that much restriction on my internet would have been horrible. And you can't even allow wikipedia or google on that list (You would be surprised what has nudity, as nudity is a substitute for pornography for those who are desperate).
You can't allow any classical art sites, and you will not be able to surf the web.
Really, if someone tried to do that to me, that would just make me find a way around the white list.
And here is a small tip, there are many other areas to get pornography, stores, other computers, even having stored back up. If a marriage is in danger due to pornography, blocking it is likely not going to fix the issue. And as far as a teenager goes, there is enough 'eye candy' walking around school as is. Any teen who is so intent on finding pornography that you have to result to the extreme will just take it to the next step (having actual sex). Putting a band aid over an infected wound heals nothing.
__________________
.
..:
If history is to change, let it change. If the world is to be destroyed, so be it. If my fate is to die, I must simply laugh.
The past is dead. It was all just a dream...
- Magus
To help protect the sanctity of marriage, please keep all affairs heterosexual.
If no image appears, something has gone wrong. I don't know. Probably run out of squirrels.
You can not have a perfect block because, all else fails, a kid can use a windows cd and reformat. Yes, you will know, but then there a numerous other methods where you will known anyways (key logger, history logger, ect.)
__________________
.
..:
If history is to change, let it change. If the world is to be destroyed, so be it. If my fate is to die, I must simply laugh.
The past is dead. It was all just a dream...
- Magus
To help protect the sanctity of marriage, please keep all affairs heterosexual.
If no image appears, something has gone wrong. I don't know. Probably run out of squirrels.
We've used "Safe Eyes" for years and found it to be very good. Not only because it stops all porn sites, but also because you can set it up to email or SMS you (if you want) whenever someone attempts to access a porn site.
Graeme
Now, the best filter is a program (I do not remember the name) which will make a list of every link visited by your child and email it to you. This will not block him from finding pornography, but it will give you the best chance to catch him, and the idea 'my mom/dad knows every link I visit' may alone be enough to stop him.
CovenantEyes does this. When I used it, I also found a glaring weakness in it which kids could easily get around without much thought. I reported it, and they claim they've patched it. I still hold to what I said earlier about needing a Christian ISP, though.
__________________ Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar.
- Proverbs 30:5-6
Sovereignty is not racism.
Last edited by twistedsketch; 11th August 2009 at 01:15 PM.
I once wrote an essay on the subject of internet filters and censorship. My simple answer is; if you are really worried about him seeing that kind of thing then just don't let him online. In my opinion though, he's likely going to see some sort of pornography at some point in his life to I really don't think it's worth the worry. You should be worrying about colleges and stranger danger and things like that because eventually they all get curious and they will find a way, better it be at the safety of your hom coputer then somewhere dangerous.
__________________ "People only see what they are prepared to see."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"For every joy there is a price to be paid."
- Egyptian proverb
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