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Filtering - Software which automatically blocks or screens material from the Internet

Please read this page carefully. There are several important facts to learn about filtering software and its use. You can down load several demo versions of filtering software futher down this page. We are pleased to bring you this page to assist you in your effort to provide educational experiences and an appropriate environment for your child.

It's true that objectionable content, even garbage, is available on the Internet, just as it is in many parts of a free society. But no blocking software is 100% successful in filtering all "bad" sites. And blocking software often includes a hidden cost-- censorship of genuinely worthwhile, wholesome information, and perfectly "good" sites.

We feel parents can be most effective in protecting their children by spending time discussing the values and risks of free access to information. Information to aid these discussions is available below. Please be warned: there is a great diversity of opinions about blocking and filtering software. Some parents find blocking and filtering software to be a useful tool for reducing the risks of objectionable materials coming into the home via the Internet, while other parents find "censorware" to be ineffective, offensive, expensive, and disruptive of the essence of the parent-child bond.

When you are deciding whether or not to use blocking and filtering software in your home, please remember that buying and installing software on a computer cannot be an adequate substitute for spending quality time parenting your child. Many experts and successful parents who have survived the Internet experience agree that Internet-connected computers cannot be safely used as electronic baby-sitters, regardless of the sales pitch of some software vendors.

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Parental Guides, Online Safety Handbooks, and Positive Examples

• Get Connected to Learning Using the Internet
  Resources for teachers, kids, and parents. Includes a free online course on "Internet Basics."
• KidsConnect Internet Question-Answering Service
  200+ volunteer school librarians answer questions for K-12 students. Also has help and referral resources for kids.
• Net Parents
  Links to blocking software, advice on safe access for kids, net rating systems, "kid-safe" sites, and other resources.
• Parents' Guide to the Information Superhighway.
  This advice is from the Children's Partnership organization.

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Reviews of software, advice and related information

Blocking software, like any other kind of software, varies in quality, and different packages are intended for different sorts of users. Furthermore, every publisher of blocking software has a different opinion of what kind of pages they should "censor". Some have political or social agendas which they don't necessarily advertise. Others "accidentally" block pages that you may want to see.

• Blacklisted by Cyber Patrol: From Ada to Yoyo
  A highly credible December 1997 report on the details of Cyber Patrol blocking errors.
• Cookie Central
  Ever wondered what Internet browser "cookies" are about? Cookie Central explains these tricky devices, and helps you understand the threat they can be to your families' privacy.
• CYBERsitter: Where Do We Not Want You To Go Today?
  This page exposes bias used in one filtering program -- CYBERsitter blocks access to sites that have information about safe sex, feminism, and progressive political causes, for instance.
• Fahrenheit 451.2: Is Cyberspace Burning?
  How Rating and Blocking Proposals May Torch Free Speech on the Internet
  Factual and logical American Civil Liberties Union position paper.
• Faulty Filters:
  How Content Filters Block Access to Kid-Friendly Information on the Internet
  Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) demonstrates several unflattering filter flaws
• The Internet Advocate
  This is one of the best resource sites. It contains links which debunk inaccurate perceptions of pornography on the Net, links which promote positive examples of youth internet use, and links which will help you understand blocking software.
• Internet Family Empowerment White Paper
  How Filtering Tools Enable Responsible Parents to Protect Their Children Online (July 17, 1997)
  This extended report builds a case for filtering Internet content.
• The Internet Filter Assessment Project
  This is the most scientific and comprehensive attempt to evaluate the blocking software programs to date.
• Internet Free Expression Alliance
  Excellent resources from a large coalition of free-expression advocates.
• Internet Online Summit: Focus On Children (December 1-3, 1997), Washington, D.C.
  Hosted by AT&T, America Online, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, and Time Warner, this media event even has its own web site!
• Is My Child Safe on the Internet?
  This site has online safety basics and guidelines for kids, and links to blocking software.
• Links to Sites with Internet Safety Software
  Brief reviews of blocking software are available here.
• Parental Control Software
  This site is fearful of a "proliferation of indecency" on the Net, and offers links and reviews for several of the blocking software programs, in an effort to empower and educate parents.
• Platform for Internet Content Selection
  "PICS" is one of the content rating systems being promoted.
• PeaceFire
  Teenagers advocating for human rights.
• Teen Net Anti-Censorship Alliance
  Teens fighting censorship.

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Where to get filtering software -

These are links to companies that sell blocking software or "censorware." We do not endorse any of these products. Please see the previous section for independent reviews and scientific evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of some widely-sold blocking packages. Please read the disclaimer.

• Cyber Patrol
• CyberSitter
• Net Nanny
• SurfWatch

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Evaluating Quality On The Net-

The Internet gives access to information from all over the world. Some of it is vital and valuable. Some is incomplete, erroneous, or out of date. Some is marketing hype presented as fact. And many pages are unsupported opinion, or political demagoguery. A few are, quite literally, the ravings of madmen!

It's all there on the Net. How do you, and your child, divide the information from the raving? The same way you do when you pick up a newspaper or a magazine: Consider the source.

• Testing the Surf: Criteria for Evaluating Internet Information Resources.
  This is a refereed article by Alastair G. Smith which was published in The Public-Access Computer Systems Review.
• Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
  Points to consider from Esther Grassian of the UCLA College Library.

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Disclaimer
We do not warrant or represent that any of the material referenced on this page (whether it is software or not) will function as advertised, will safely run on your computer or will achieve the results claimed by the author or programmer. We encourage you to make sure you get what you are looking for by researching any software you install on your computer.