Internet filters block porn, but not savvy kids

'Nannyware' can help, but the best parental control is still a parent, experts say.

from the April 11, 2007 edition

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In the early days of Internet filters, users criticized some for overfiltering and blocking content based on political motivations rather than safety concerns. Experts say these issues are of far less concern now. "The filtering tools simply get better every year," says Stephen Balkam, CEO of the Family Online Safety Institute.

Surf Control, like many Internet filters,provides customizable options. It offers 54 categories of websites that users can block or allow.

"We stay out of the way and allow corporations and individuals to make their own policy choices," says Max Rayner, executive vice president of products and services for Surf Control, headquartered in Scotts Valley, Calif.

Vista, the latest version of Microsoft Windows, includes extensive parental controls with general or customizable settings. Parents can build separate user accounts with different privileges for each child. The oldest might have access to everything but pornographic or violent sites, while the youngest might have access only to a handful of kids' websites.

The explosion of social networking sites has raised safety concerns. "Most parents don't mind their kids interacting with their friends on MySpace, but they want to protect them from predators," says Aaron Kenny, chief technology officer of SafeBrowse in Acworth, Ga., which makes an Internet filter called Safe Eyes.

Safe Eyes users can specify which personal information is too sensitive and alert parents if children post it online.

Another program, IMSafer, monitors instant message conversations and notifies parents when their children are talking about topics that could put them at risk, like planning a meeting or setting up web­cam conversations. To respect children's privacy, IMSafer shares only questionable portions of conversations with parents.

While most discussion on content-control software focuses on combating porn­ography and sexual predators, many parents are interested in time controls, too.

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