A Look At Filtering/Blocking Software

Kathryn Munro

The Internet, while a virtual sea of knowledge, is also a barrier-free abyss, with a dark and seamy side. There's help out there for protecting your children from what you don't approve of with one of these software utilities.

We tested seven filtering tools that give parents the power of censorship, while leaving the rights of other Internet users intact. These tools don't take the place of vigilance or simple common sense but allow parents to give their children the freedom to explore the Internet in relative safety. Although not our focus here, many of these tools also can be used in a business environment to increase productivity and reduce exposure to unwanted material.

The tools reviewed range from simple to extremely complex. If you want to install a program and not be bothered with elaborate configuration routines, you can do so with products such as SurfWatch and X-Stop. On the other hand, you accept the challenge of an involved setup routine with a product such as Cyber Patrol or Rated- PG. In return for the effort, you can filter the Web, chats, and e-mail, as well as many applications. You also can set timing devices that give you control over how much time your kids spend on the computer., You can monitor your child's activity in the background, logging sites visited and time spent using different applications.

During testing, we concentrated primarily on the installation process, the features offered, and the ease of use of the features included. Although we tested how well each product filters words and sites, we suggest that what one person considers objectionable may be perfectly acceptable to another. So, we took a close look at how easy it is to modify each product's Allow and Block lists according to individual beliefs. Parents should be able to allow or block material as they wish, and not have a value system imposed on them by the program.

How do these programs block specific words and sites? They monitor the data stream coming from the network (TCP/IP packets), analyze what is typed (keyboard buffers), and look at what's displayed (screen). At press time, X-Stop was the only product here that didn't monitor the Winsock, instead relying on keyboard, screen, and Clipboard data. But X-Stop is planned to support Winsock 2.0 when it ships.

All of the products performed well in their areas. Our experience, however, is that a foolproof filter list is impossible to develop because of the subjective nature of what is considered objectionable, as well as the continually changing Internet. Nevertheless, these products can be a valuable tool in the process of parental monitoring of a child's computer activity.