Why Internet Filter Software?

The internet is among the most pervasive inventions of all time. As our businesses, families and particularly children and teens become increasingly intertwined with it, the more essential it becomes for us to take a proactive role to protect our loved ones from internet pornography and other dangers. Although nothing can take the place of well-informed parents who take an active part in their children's online activities, internet filter software adds a strong, additional layer of defense, giving parents an added measure of control and peace of mind.

The best of these internet filter software packages take the explosion of social networking sites into account. The sites can be blocked entirely, or more practically for most users, they can monitor the sites for inappropriate contacts that may be made by ill-intentioned individuals. Some can even send email or text message alerts to cell phones in real-time in the event of potentially dangerous interactions. Some can also prevent the display of inappropriate video content.

In our reviews, we detail the relative benefits of each of the best products. Each has its own merits so we urge you to read our objective reviews of Net Nanny Parental Controls, CYBERsitter and Safe Eyes. We also suggest reading our articles on internet filter software to help you understand the threats that exist and how to protect your family from them.

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Internet Filter Software: What to Look for

We won’t pretend that any software package will ever be able to replace the close interaction and dedicated involvement of a concerned parent. If you’re reading this article, however, it’s likely that you’re looking for some help in creating a safe online environment for your loved ones. Below is a brief synopsis of the criteria we used when selecting the best internet monitoring programs.

Feature Set
Internet filter software gives you the ability to control content displayed, block objectionable websites and set up passwords to allow access to sites on an ad hoc basis. Powerful features like email filtering, popup blocking and chat room monitoring are among the tools available with today's web filter programs, each designed to protect against and counteract the tactics of aggressive, online porn peddlers and other predators.

The best of these programs are highly customizable. While they offer a host of default settings that are often adequate, parents should also be able to add or remove restrictions as they deem appropriate. We are particularly fond of programs that offer multiple options for giving real-time alerts to dangerous situations and of those programs that are keeping up with the rapidly changing roles of social media sites.

Ease of Use
We have to face the fact that despite all of our best efforts to keep track of what our children are doing online, we all have numerous, often conflicting, demands placed on our time. An additional reality is that many kids are far more comfortable with computer usage than their parents. That means that in order to be useful, content filtering programs have to be easy to use, intuitive and not require much time to maintain them.

Ease of Installation
Related to ease of use, ease of installation addresses the initial set up of the filtering program. Some can be installed on more than one computer, a plus in today’s world in which kids frequently have access to multiple machines in the household. Most programs in these reviews can be monitored and controlled from any computer that has internet access and that remote functionality should be every bit as user friendly as the main program.

Filtering Effectiveness
No matter what else is said of web filtering software, it must be effective in blocking content that is unacceptable for users while allowing them to access content which is appropriate. The most useful internet filter software provides reports on what each family member has been doing on the computer, which includes websites visited, chat room activities, IM conversations and more.

Top content filtering software can prevent the use of proxy servers which could be used to circumvent the monitoring process. Excellent programs can also block objectionable sites regardless of the language in which they’re written.

With internet filter software and proper supervision, parents can keep their families safe from ever more resourceful and persistent pornography vendors and other online predators. These efforts can help the internet reach its potential as the greatest communications medium ever while avoiding some of its greatest dangers.

 
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Shield Your Family from Pornography and Predators

Today's high-tech porn-pushers make it a challenge to protect families from unwanted pornography. Fortunately, with tools like internet filter software, it's possible to fight back.

Rank #1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8
Excellent score   Excellent
Very good score   Very Good
Good score   Good
Fair score   Fair
Poor score   Poor
Net Nanny Parental Controls CYBERsitter Safe Eyes PureSight PC CyberPatrol McAfee Family Protection FilterPak imView
Net Nanny Parental Controls CYBERsitter Safe Eyes PureSight PC CyberPatrol McAfee Family Protection FilterPak imView
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Lowest Price Buy Net Nanny Parental Controls 6.5
$28.99
Buy CYBERsitter 11
$24.95
Buy Safe Eyes 6
$49.95
Buy PureSight PC 6.1
$29.50
Buy CyberPatrol 7.7
$39.95
Buy McAfee Family Protection 1.0
$39.99
Buy FilterPak 7.7
$49.95
Buy imView
$59.99
Proportion of people who buy the product 95.97% 1.21% 2.42% 0.20% 0.20% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
 
Overall Rating Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Good
Ratings
Feature Set Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Good Good
Ease of Use Excellent Excellent Very Good Excellent Very Good Very Good Good Very Good
Ease of Installation Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Excellent Good
Filtering Effectiveness Excellent Excellent Excellent Very Good Very Good Very Good Very Good Good
View Specifications Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!
View Screenshots View Net Nanny Parental Controls screenshots View CYBERsitter screenshots View Safe Eyes screenshots View PureSight PC screenshots View CyberPatrol screenshots View McAfee Family Protection screenshots   View imView screenshots
Filtering Algorithm
Object Analysis Check Mark    Check Mark     
URL Based Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Keyword Based Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark
Dynamic Categorization Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark
Filtering Capabilites
Filter Categories 35 35 35 14 14 35 23  
Editable Filter Lists Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark
Chat Filtering Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
Chat Monitoring Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark
Chat Blocking Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Social Network Reporting Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark    Check Mark   
Social Network Filtering Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark     
Newsgroup Blocking Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
IM Port Blocking Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark  
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Blocking Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
FTP Blocking Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark     Check Mark  
Email Filtering Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark     
Email Blocking Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark  
Predator Blocking Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark     
PC Game Blocking Check Mark      Check Mark   
Customizable Port Blocking   Check Mark       
Popup Blocking   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark     
Personal Info Blocking   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
Reporting Capabilities
Remote Reporting Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Notification Alerts by E-mail Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark
Log Reports Sent by E-mail Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark   Check Mark
Summary History Reporting Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Detailed History Reporting Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Graphical Reporting Check Mark        
Logging of Security Violations Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark    
Management Capabilities
Individual User Profiles Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Password Controls Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Remote Management Check Mark Check Mark    Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark
Stealth Options Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Other Features
Immediate Overriding of Blocks Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark  
Warning, Not Just Blocking Check Mark    Check Mark Check Mark    
Daily Time Limits Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark   
Negligible Surfing Time Impacts Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Updated URL/Filtering Rules Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Blocking Sensitivity Settings Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark Check Mark    
Help/Support Options
Help Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Product Documentation Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Technical Support Available Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Supported Browsers
Internet Explorer Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
FireFox Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Opera Check Mark Check Mark   Check Mark    Check Mark  
Google Chrome Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark    Check Mark  
Safari Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark     Check Mark  
Supported Configurations
Windows 7 Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark  
Windows Vista Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Windows XP Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark Check Mark
Mac Check Mark   Check Mark    Check Mark   
Upgrades
Small Business Internet Filter Software ContentProtect Professional   Safe Eyes Business   SiteSURV   Centipede WebFilter  
Enterprise Internet Filter Appliance ContentProtect Security Appliance   EtherShield Web Filter      
 
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Lowest Price Buy Net Nanny Parental Controls 6.5
$28.99
Buy CYBERsitter 11
$24.95
Buy Safe Eyes 6
$49.95
Buy PureSight PC 6.1
$29.50
Buy CyberPatrol 7.7
$39.95
Buy McAfee Family Protection 1.0
$39.99
Buy FilterPak 7.7
$49.95
Buy imView
$59.99
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