Articles

This section contains a number of articles concerning how to best make sure that your family is protected when using the Internet.

Are your children downloading illegal material from the Internet?

Software and movie piracy is a problem that grows larger every day due to the ever-increasing bandwidth available to home users. Many parents are not aware that it is so easy to find and download illegal so-called dvd rips of popular movies online, sometimes before they are available in your local store! Many parents are not sure what their family members are doing on the computer. If the children know more about using the computer than the adults in the house, it can become an even more uncomfortable situation.

So, what can be done to avoid this situation? As always, we recommend having an open dialogue with your children in order to impress upon them the importance of staying on the right side of the law. Copyright infringement might seem insignificant, but can if you are unlucky lead to a fine or the termination of your Internet connection. The Motion Picture Association of America are bringing normal families to court for downloading pirated material, sometimes even individual movies. No matter what you think of this practice, it can be an uncomfortable situation to find yourself in.

In addition to establishing house rules with your children regarding their computer use, you can use a hard drive scanner such as SmutScanner to list all movie files on the computer which you can then manually inspect for downloaded movies. If you do not feel comfortable looking through the computer yourself, a specialised piece of software such as SmutScanner can save a lot of time and effort in uncovering files hidden deep within the directory structure of your computer. It will even find files deliberately hidden in difficult-to-find locations.

If you do find evidence of software or movie piracy on the computer, we recommend that you delete the offending material immediately and have a discussion with your child to explain why piracy is wrong.

Posted: 2009-11-23

What to look for in parental control software and Internet filters

Here are some important features to look for in parental control software if you opt to go that route. Remember to also use a computer scanner to make sure that improper or illegal material does not reach the computer via means that an internet filter can not detect, such as by CD or DVD discs or USB memory sticks.

Time Restrictions
If you want to disable Internet access at times when nobody is home to monitor computer use, or when it is improper for other reasons (such as late at night, when your family should be sleeping). Most common internet filters include this feature and lets you specify different rules for different days of the week. You can also sometimes specify a total amount of time each day that the computer can be used.

Keyword filters
No filter can have an exhaustive list of blocked websites, since the Internet contains billions of pages. Keyword filtering is a common method and optionally lets you specify your own keywords in addition to the built-in ones.

Whitelists
If you want to allow access to sites that would normally be blocked by the keyword filter, perhaps because they contain keywords in acceptable contexts.

History-keeping capability
All web browsers have an option for keeping website browsing history, but this can be easily cleared. Many filters keep an internal list of visited websites that can not be cleared through normal means and requires that the user knows the administration password. This can be a handy feature if you often find that the website browsing history has been cleared on the family computer. Some programs will even take a screenshot of the computer screen with regular intervals that can later be played back like a movie.

Usage statistics
The Internet can be addictive for other reasons than improper content. For example, some kids spend far too much time on social networks which can impact schoolwork. A good filter will remember how much time each day has been spent on different types of sites.

Remember, filters can also have the opposite effect of sparking an interest in that which is forbidden and exciting. You can not monitor every computer your child might use, such as those at school or at their friends. We recommend having an active dialogue with the child about online dangers and establishing house rules instead of trying to forbid specific activities.

Posted: 2009-11-22

Why Internet filters do not work

We do not believe in filtering software for the following reasons:

Your child will find out eventually. It is better to monitor your child's activities than trying to stop them so you can explain the dangers of the Internet to your child and teach them how to stay safe. Curiosity is a powerful motivator to get around filtering software. Furthermore, you cannot possibly control all computers your child might use, such as those at school or at their friends' houses.
It is impossible for filtering software to keep up with the development of the Internet. Tens of thousands of new sites are added to the Internet every single day. Makers of filtering software can't possibly keep up with additions and changes.
Almost all Internet filters are easily bypassed. Using proxy software or sites, anyone can easily mask the website they are visiting from filtering software. These techniques are very difficult for filtering software to detect and stop properly since new proxies are added often. You could also easily reboot the computer with a so-called live CD, which boots a new operating system that lets the user surf unhindered of any blocking software.
Internet filters do not stop inappropriate content procured by other means. It's so easy to burn a CD or transfer files via a USB stick. Content filters do not stop this. There are also chat networks that permi
Internet filters do not prevent grooming on chat networks. Monitoring your child's activities and teaching them a proper set of values is the most important part of Internet safety.
Internet filters can provide a false sense of safety. No filter is perfect and having one can make you lower your guard. Make sure that you involve yourself in your child's online life. Many parents feel they do not know what exactly their children are doing online, since the child often is much more computer literate than the parent. Our recommendation is that you take the time to learn.

Posted: 2009-11-02

Do you have hidden pornography on your PC?

Porn addiction is a growing problem for many Internet users. With the advent of broadband internet connections, pornography has become so much easier (and cheaper) to access. No longer do you need to embarrass yourself by going to a store and ask for it, but you can immediately access all the pornography you want online in the privacy of your own home. This ease of access means that concerned parents or partners have a more difficult time watching over their loved ones.

Habitual porn watchers often hide their pornography watching habits from their friends and family. Many have a habit of hiding their porn collection in difficult-to-access places on their computer's hard drive, such as deep inside the windows or program files directories. Doing this makes it difficult or impossible to locate the porn by casual inspection, and it becomes even more difficult if the files are renamed so the built-in Windows search tool cannot locate them. The first step to solving a problem is knowing about it, so the question is how one can be sure if a computer has hidden porn on it. A number of software tools have popped up that concerned family members can use to answer this question. By installing such a porn scanner, or porn cleaner, you can keep an eye on your spouse or children to make sure that they do not have a porn watching problem. If it turns out that they do, knowing about it means that you can turn to counseling or other resources to come to terms with the problem.

It can also act as a deterrent - knowing that a porn scanner is installed will have a preventive effect. This is especially important for teenagers and is the basic idea behind many parental control applications. The goal is not so much to block access to certain material, but to alert parents that their children might have a problem so that action can be taken to help them. When dealing with a curious teenager, we do not recommend the "block-only" approach to porn. It is better to deal with the problem, however difficult, by bringing it out into the open and talking about it. That is why it is so important to use a program that can alert you to any suspicious activity so you can catch the problem in the early stages.

If you are considering the moral aspects of watching over your family's computer usage habits, remember that pornography can be harmful. According to one study titled "Pornography's Impact on Sexual Satisfaction.", subjects exposed to pornography began devaluing the importance of monogamy and demonstrated a lack of confidence in marriage as a lasting institution; and began viewing non-monogamous relationships as a normal and natural behavior. This happened during a six-week period, so it is easy to imagine the effect on a young, impressionable mind. In this case, the ends truly do justify the means.

Posted: 2009-04-21

Be careful what your kids are doing on the Internet

Do you know for sure what your kids are doing online? Most teenagers are members of social network sites, such as MySpace or Facebook. It can be a great way to keep in touch with your friends, but it can also be a dangerous place for young, unexperienced people.

Some teenagers publish very private things about themselves online that they would never tell their parents. Ironically, if an internet predator catches sight of your child's MySpace page, they now know more private things about your child than you do. Kids sometimes don't think about the permanency of everything that's published online. For example, private pictures posted online can quickly spread online and once it is copied by someone else it is no longer under your control. Some girls, even those under 18, have had their private pictures used on pornography sites.

Another frightening aspect of posting pictures online is that even if your children only show them to their friends, you can never know what the friends do with them. Once the first copy is made it can spread quickly. And the scary thing is, no matter how careful you are, bugs in the social networks can still expose your private pictures to the world.

The conclusion is that it is very important to keep an eye on what your child is doing on the Internet. One option is to monitor the Internet traffic in your household at the router level, but that can be difficult and requires specialised knowledge and equipment. An easier option is to install a monitoring tool such as SmutScanner on your child's computer. No matter which option you choose, remember to discuss the dangers present on the Internet with your child first and make sure they understand why you are monitoring their activities.
Posted: 2009-04-15

Protecting your children on the Internet

If your child or teenager can use the computer unattended, it is a good idea to consider whether some form of content control is appropriate. If you have experienced your child minimising applications on the computer when you enter the room or otherwise start acting strangely when you arrive, chances are they are doing things online they do not want you to know about. This could include watching indecent or offensive material online.

No matter how good a parent you are, curiosity will often take the upper hand once children reach puberty. It is important to monitor your child's Internet usage so that you can guide and help them avoid the dangers so easily available online.

Recommendations

We recommend taking the following precautions with your child's computer:

Place the computer in the living room or another area with frequent traffic.
Make sure that the monitor is facing towards an open area where you can see it easily.
Tell your child about the dangers on the Internet as early as possible.
Get a non-intrusive content inspection program so that you can spot any problems early.

What SmutScanner Does

SmutScanner is designed to take the guesswork out of looking for inappropriate files on your computer. It will give you a list of all videos and pictures stored on the computer so you can decide for yourself whether they are suitable for your child to look at. It will inspect the harddrive using several techniques to try to spot offensive material, including keyword scans and the structure of the files on your hard drive. Files that are marked as suspicious will be presented to you for final inspection and removal. SmutScanner has been created to help parents and others who are concerned about their family members' activities on the computer.

Posted: 2009-03-01