Family Safe Internet

One of the best web sites on the internet with information on web filtering services.

Focus on the Family also has a special Web site http://www.pureintimacy.org/ to help people struggling with Internet sex problems. It features resources, articles, Internet-filter information and counseling referrals.

For a review of individual filtering services, you may want to visit the tools section of the new Web site GetNetWise. This review feature is a service of the Internet Education Foundation.

Estimates on the number of Web pages on the Internet range from 30 to 100 million. How many have content that is objectionable to serious Christians and particularly parents? We don't know for sure, but it is undoubtedly measured in the millions.

Filtering out the undesirable web sites can be done five ways: by an Internet service provider, by proxy-based servers, by software on your own computer, by search engines, and by web browsers.

Christians don't have a monopoly on efforts made to screen Web content, but we certainly have a vested interest. The services and software described below are from both Christian and secu- lar sources.

http://www.getnetwise.org/

The Internet offers kids many opportunities for learning, constructive entertainment, and personal growth. At the same time, parents are concerned about the risks kids face online. The challenge for parents is to educate themselves and their children about how to use the Internet safely. GetNetWise can help.

Learn about the risks kids face online, based on age levels or types of activities. Also: Quick tips for kids, teens, and families. Search or browse for Internet safety products, including those that filter explicit or violent content, monitor a child's Internet access, or limit time online. See sample contracts for kids' Internet use. Learn how to identify online trouble and get law enforcement contact information. Find national child advocacy groups that can help you recognize and report online trouble. Explore educational or entertaining Web sites for kids, teens, and families.

GetNetWise is a resource for families and caregivers to help kids have safe, educational, and entertaining online experiences. We include a glossary of Internet terms, a guide to online safety, directions for reporting online trouble, a directory of online safety tools, and great sites for kids to visit. GetNetWise is a public service brought to you by a wide range of Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations. The GetNetWise coalition wants Internet users to be only "one click away" from the resources they need to make informed decisions about their family's use of the Internet.

Internet 4 Families uses a system called X-Stop. Where some products feature Internet filtering (missing thousands of offensive sites) they assert that X-Stop offers what Internet filtering cannot: Direct Access Blocking. It uses the latest automated search technology to seek out, identify and block pornographic sites on the Net.

Internet 4 Families' alliance also includes one of the largest and most technologically advanced carrier networks in the industry. This network provides local dial-up access throughout the U.S. and much of Canada. It features fiber optic lines with 56K modem speeds, along with triple redundancy, which virtually eliminates unwanted busy signals.

Number of access sites: more than 90% of the U.S. population.

Rated-G Online is a service of 711.NET Inc., a provider of pre- screened, pro-family services and one of the larger resources for Christian information on the Internet.

Rated-G Online uses state of the art "Server-Side" filtering and blocking technology. These computers and filters are monitored around the clock and updated daily.

Number of access cities: 976 in the U.S. and Canada

HonorGuard claims to have the world's largest list of blocked Web pages, totaling in the hundreds of thousands. Aided by proprietary software tools, their staff of human "web browsers" visually examines thousands of sites per day to determine what should be blocked. Human review means they can block objection- able material without inadvertently blocking acceptable content. They can even block selected portions of sites that are other- wise acceptable. Parents can override filtering with user name and password.

Number of access cities: Over 500 cities in the U.S.

FamilyConnect offers high speed Internet access and is pro- tected by one of the most effective server-side filtering systems, making their service virtually tamperproof. Plus, they update their database daily.

Number of access cities: Over 400 cities in the U.S.

Nation wide service, unlimited access, 6 email accounts, personal webspace, quality filtering and Internet access.

FamilyConnect forces Internet access through their proxy by modifying the Windows subsystem, so that all Internet access automatically goes first through their server-side filter. FamilyConnect removes the ability to change their proxy set- tings completely. You can not disable the service without canceling service.

FamilyConnect was the first Internet pornographic filtering and content provider to utilize this technology. They also provide full Internet service (see above)

HedgeBuilders is a nonprofit organization that provides Inter- net filtering to pastors, ministries, and missionaries for free. The rest of us are charged a modest monthly fee. HedgeBuilders uses a two step filtering process: 1. They block sites, not words. 2. They use 4 top search engines and filter all searches.

CrossingGuard uses the world's largest database of reviewed Web sites to filter out nearly 5 million of the more than 100 million pages on the Web. It excludes individual Web pages, and only blocks an entire site if the entire site is in- appropriate. CrossingGuard currently blocks access to more pages than any other exclusive filtering system. Sites are initially rated by automatic search tools and then reviewed by a team of human analysts.

Cyber Patrol features:

• Automatic blocking of access to specified Internet sites
• CyberNOT block list - researched Internet sites containing material parents may find questionable
• CyberYES allowed sites list - researched Internet sites containing only appropriate material for children
• HotNOTs - daily updated list of blocked sites to assure greater protection
• Multi-User capability - up to 9 users plus visitor/default. Allows each member of household their own separate selections and passwords
• "ChatGard" feature prevents children from divulging personal information online - such as name, phone number, e-mail address, etc.
• Restrict access to certain times of day and limit total time spent on-line

SurfWatch offers a wide range of Internet Content Management solutions that build on their experience - finding and review- ing sites that meet their published criteria. They offer filter- ing in five core categories -- Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco, Gambling, Hate Speech, Sexually Explicit, and Violence.

SurfWatch also offers ChatBlock. SurfWatch Productivity Cate- gories offer filtering in an additional 15 categories: Astrology/Mysticism, Entertainment, Games, General News, Glamour/Intimate Apparel, Hobbies, Investments, Job Search, Motor Vehicles, Personals/Dating, Real Estate, Shopping, Sports, Travel, and Usenet News.

In order to account for social, policy or personal preferences, all of their products and filtering solutions can be customized.

While no filtering program is 100 percent effective, SurfWatch is able to shield users from 90-95% percent of the explicit material on the 'net. SurfWatch currently tracks over 100,000 uniquely identified sites in our five core categories. Combined with their dynamic pattern blocking, SurfWatch blocks access to millions of URLs, 5000 newsgroups, and 200 Internet Relay Chat channels that contain explicit material.

SurfWatch adds over 400 new sites to the database every day, while also removing sites that no longer exist on the Internet or that have changed content.

Churches and individuals concerned about the limitations and failures of Internet filtering programs now have another choice. Christian Computing(R) Magazine (CCMAG) provides an online review of this new service as it was put to the test by CCMAG's Steve Hewitt. The service is unique in the way it provides third-party reporting to your choice of "accountability partners," no matter how the Internet is accessed from a subscribed computer. CCMAG article: http://www.gospelcom.net/ccmag/articles/0701/featurearticle.pdf