Whilst the internet is a great interactive learning tool for kids, many parents worry that their children may be exposed to unsuitable material. One way of ensuring that unsuitable content does not appear on screen is to install adequate web filtering software.
There are a number of web filtering software packages available. Some are free whilst others are paid. There are great products on the market whilst others are inadequate and easily bypassed. The most effective free web filtering software we have used is called K9 Web Protection from Bluecoat.
This software allows you to easily block entire categories of content by choosing from any of K9’s 69 categories, including such things as violence, nudity, sex, racism, extreme, gambling, drugs etc. K9 Web protection also has a great Safe Search feature that enables you to force users to use Safe Search on search engines such as Google, Microsoft Live, and Yahoo. This will stop users from being able to search for inappropriate images.
The software also has a NightGuard features which enables you to allow or block Web access during certain times of the day i.e When you are at work. The Logging features of the software allow you to keep track of K9’s activity with convenient, detailed logs that show which sites were used and whether inappropriate material was blocked.
The software works by checking the website against known lists of unsuitable websites and also by scanning the content of a website and making a real time decision as to whether the site is suitable or not. It is a simple program to install and setup and the administrator section is protected by password. Importantly K9 web filtering software has a very low overblock rate meaning that it very rarely blocks sites that are harmless.
For more information about web filtering contact dave@nenaghpc.com
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