Guidelines for consumers in choosing an Internet filter
The Internet offers a global wealth of information. However, its success and diversity is in part due to the fact that its content is open to all and so is effectively unregulated. As such, policing the content is very difficult, particularly because Internet also offers a degree of anonymity for both its users and content providers. Legislation is also a problem because the Internet doesn't necessarily respect national borders and laws.
This means that as well as the wealth of useful information and entertainment, there is a proliferation of material on the Internet that is deemed 'unsuitable'. The common perception is that the problem is restricted to material of a sexual nature that could be seen by children. In fact the problem extends to a wider variety of material that is often considered unsuitable or unwanted by all members of society.
The following are 'core' subject areas that one test laboratory has identified as 'unwanted' or unsuitable internet content:-
- (Social) - Hate, intolerance,
- (Religious) -Intolerance, blasphemous , cult and satanic.
- (Indecent) - pornography, nudity, sexual and explicit material including images and videos
- (Violence) - Guns, drugs, bombs, illegal activity, anarchy, violence and 'gore'
- (I.T. related) - Warez, encryption-cracking and bootleg software
- (Political) - Terrorism, hooliganism
In addition there are issues concerned with communicating over the Internet. Chat rooms and online communities are known territories for child-grooming paedophiles and others indoctrination issues.
There are a number of 'softer' information bases which can be inappropriate to young children, for example:
- Online shopping
- Online dating and gambling
- Unsolicited advertising (e.g. SPAM)
"Filters" are software tools designed to filter out unwanted web pages or other internet related material so they do not appear on the screen. The "blocker" is a software tool that completely lock-out certain activities such as chat. These products can be bought over the counter, downloaded over the Internet from software providers or may be provided by your Internet service provider (ISP).
Filters must remove the unwanted content of the Internet while preserving the useful and genuine information. This is a mammoth task as there can be subtle variations of content, varying levels of decency for a range of users, as well as cultural and law variations among the potential Internet audiences. On top of this fresh content is added to the Internet daily.
Filter products must therefore deploy a level of flexibility and as such require time to set-up, depending on the scenario for each individual. Intelligent analysis of the Internet content should mean that a 'good' solution would distinguish between the subtlety of unwanted web sites and innocent sites such as educational sites (drugs, sex) or innocent websites with ambiguous names (e.g. www.middlesex.com). The better modern filter software can achieve this with an acceptable level of success.
Filtering out unwanted content is not the only job that needs to be done by the Internet safety software. It should offer extra security to ensure you are not pestered by unwanted persons or organisations. It should also prevent sensitive information from being sent from your computer, without permission. Credit card numbers, your names, your address, etc can all be protected by the right software.
Such protection and filtering is password protected and can be switched on or off only by an authorised members of the household.
Of course the software itself must be designed to be secure, it should not be able to be easily bypassed, deleted or tampered with.
How can you protect yourself?
A good filter or blocker will do more than tackle web pages, it should also be able to be applied to email, chat and other Internet activities. A good filter can be customised for different requirements and age groups e.g. from pre-school children through to teenagers and adults.
Some products also allow you to monitor internet usage and even control the amount of time allowed per day.
For the parent or authorised user this customisation should be straightforward and easy. This should be taken into account when deciding which product to buy. If it is too versatile it may be too awkward to use.
How can you protect yourself?
Hundreds of new web sites appear daily so it is important that any filter product can be kept 'up-to-date'. There are various ways of achieving this, it may be done remotely by an Internet service or it may require you to subscribe and download updates. So how do you choose the right software tool for your needs?Currently there is no 'approval mark' for Internet safety products. However, it is still possible to obtain good advice:
Read reports in consumer magazines and using the tips above make sure the product is versatile enough to meet your needs. Which? magazine and their sister magazine Computing Which? regularly report on Internet filtering solutions.
Use the tips we have given on the previous pages to make sure the product is versatile enough to meet your needs.
Page Created: Wed, September 8th, 2004
Page Modified: Thu, November 17th, 2005
