To Internet Pornography
Monitor
Your Child's Access
To Internet Pornography
Software that filters or monitors Internet activity or regulates computer usage helps keep your children safe. Although none of the following products can substitute for parental supervision, the best can help you when you can't be there. Our tests included products that range from multifunction packages such as Cyber Patrol and Net Nanny, which block and filter Web content and help limit your child's use of computer games, to single-purpose products such as SurfWatch and X-Stop, which block and filter Internet content only. We also reviewed products such as Time's Up! and WatchDog, which do only time management.
In several products, parents can view and edit the lists of
objectionable sites. This ability is critical because none of the products have enough
built-in intelligence to distinguish among obviously inappropriate sites and sites that
are harmless (i.e., some programs block searches for Super Bowl XXX). Only Cyber
Snoop and Net Nanny permit both list viewing and list editing.
Our testing confirms that these
packages principally block sites with pornography, obscenity, and sexually explicit
content--and they do a pretty
good job. Still, parents should look for the tool that gives them the most control over
the sites their children can view. Before we release our rankings of software
filters, we believe it is important for you as parents to understand what type of sites
exist and hope that after viewing the following sites, will understand how important it is
to protect your children. Although the degrees of accuracy differed, all filters
were able to block children from the following types of sites.
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Protect Your Children from these types of sites!
We do not condone the use of these sites, but
place them on this page to serve as an example.
1. FREE ADULT SITE MEMBERSHIP
HERE!!! (Ass Awards Site)
2. Get
your FREE XXX Sex Roulette MEMBERSHIP here! (Sex Roulette Site)
3. FREE ADULT SITE
MEMBERSHIP ACT NOW!!!
(Sex Museum Site)
***********************************************************************
We hope that you now understand the necessity to protect your children from such sites and offer the following packages and links so you can gather more information about this innovation in software. Cyber Snoop 2.07b, from Pearl Software, was our clear winner but we suggest two other products to consider for particular circumstances. For parents willing to relinquish some control over what kind of content is filtered to the software, Cyber Patrol 4.01, from The Learning Company, is a well-rounded package. If you're not concerned about filtering but wish to regulate your child's computer time, Time's Up! 1.10, from The Fresh Software Company, is an excellent choice. We wish you the best of luck in parenting and in combating the availability of internet pornography to minors.
#1
Cyber Snoop 2.07b. List price: $29.95. Requires: 486-based PC or better, 4MB RAM,
10MB hard disk space, Windows 95 or NT 3.51 or later. Pearl Software Inc., Chester
Springs, PA; 800-732-7596. Download | www.pearlsw.com
#2
Cyber Patrol 4.01. List price: $29.95. Requires: 486-based PC or better; 8MB RAM;
800K hard disk space; Microsoft Windows 3.1, 95, or NT 3.5. The Learning Company,
Cambridge, MA; 617-494-1200. Download | www.cyberpatrol.com
#3
Time's Up! 1.10. List price: $19.95. Requires: 5MB hard disk space, Windows 3.1
or Windows 95. The Fresh Software Company, Coral Gables, FL; 800-846-3787, 305-569-6422.
Download | www.timesup.com
Runners Up (still amazing programs):
Cyber Sentinel 1.4. List price: $49.95; download, free for 30 days. Requires:
486-based PC or better, 4MB RAM, 20MB hard disk space, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or 95.
Security Software Systems Inc., Sugar Grove, IL; 888-835-7278. Download | www.securitysoft.com
Cybersitter 97. Street price: $40. Requires: 386-based PC or better, 8MB RAM, 1MB hard disk space, Microsoft Win-dows 95 or NT 4.0. Solid Oak Software Inc., Santa Barbara, CA; 800-388-2761, 805-967-9853; fax, 805-967-1614. Download | www.cybersitter.com
Net Nanny 3.1. List price: $39.95. Requires: 486-based PC or better, 4MB hard disk space, 4MB RAM, Microsoft Windows 3.x or 95. Net Nanny Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada; 800-340-7177, 604-662-8522. Download | www.netnanny.com
SurfWatch 3.0. List price: With one-year subscription, $49.95. Requires: 386-based PC or better, 4MB RAM, 8MB hard disk space, Windows 95, Winsock-compatible Internet software. SurfWatch Software Inc., Los Altos, CA; 800-458-6600, 650-948-9505. Download | www.surfwatch.com
WatchDog 1.2. List price: $25.00. Requires: 486/33-based PC or better, 8MB RAM, 2MB hard disk space, Microsoft Windows 95. Nic Jansma, Grand Rapids, MI; e-mail, djansma@vixa.voyager.net. Download | www.sarna.net/watchdog
WebChaperone 1.1.1. List price: $49.95. Requires: 486-based PC or better, 16MB RAM, 1.3MB hard disk space, Microsoft Windows 95. WebCo International Inc., Portland, OR; 800-387-8373, 503-417-2900. Download | www.webchaperone.com
X-Stop 3.01. List price: $39.95. Requires: 386-based PC or better, 8MB RAM, 3MB hard disk space, DOS 3.3 or later or Microsoft Windows 3.1 or 95. Log-On Data Corp., Anaheim, CA; 888-786-7999, 714-577-4929; fax, 714-577-4932. | www.xstop.com
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