Programs that Censor

By Corinne Eckel

There are various programs on the market that allow parents to monitor and/or restrict what their children see. There is a short comparison of five programs that give parent this type of control and a more extensive description of each software below the table.


Take a look a the Web Grid for programs that monitor and censor

Comparison of Monitoring Software
Net Nanny
Cyber Sitter
Surf Watch
Cyber Patrol
The Internet Filter
Capabilities can add to and delete from dictionary can add to but cannot delete from dictionary cannot add to nor delete from dictionary can add to and delete from dictionary V0:cannot add to nor delete from dictionary V1:can add to and delete from dictionary
Comes with an empty dictionary, but can download one from the home pageprovides a file filter filter set of 2,000 sites of sexual nature (only)CyberNOT list of 6,000 sites concering Sexual Acts/Text, Racist/Ethnic and Violence/Profanitydownload dictionary from home page
monitors WWW, IRC, e-mail, ftp, gopher, browsers, BBS's monitors WWW, newsgroups, IRC monitors WWW, newgroups, ftp, gopher, IRC bit browsers, news readers and IRCWWW, specific newsgroups, specific Internet hosts, IRC
monitors ALL computer activitychecks context of wordscan restrict access to certain time of day, limit total time spent on-line per day or weeke-mail another computer when violations occur
Updatesfree, bi-monthlyfree, daily$8 a month, monthly$3.50 per month, every 7 days can get updated list in real time from home page
Cost $49.95 US or $42.00 Cdn in Costco 39.95 US$41.86 US free with CompuServe
renew subscription after 6 months for $19.95 or $29.95 after 1 year		 V0: free
V1:$40.00 US or $49.95 Cdn
SystemsWindows, PC Intel platforms,286+Microsoft Windows '95, Windows 3.1xSystem 7.x with MacTCP 2.0+Windows, MacintoshWindows 3.1x
On-Line ServicesAOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, Delphi, Genieunknownnone CompuServeunknown

Net Nanny
Developers: Canadian group called Trove Investment Corp located in Vancouver.
Capabilities: Comes with an empty dictionary so parents can added personal information such as address, telephone numbers etc. A recommended dictionary can be downloaded from the Net Nanny home page. Parents can add to or delete from dictionary. They can prevent names, addresses, phone numbers or credit card numbers from being given out over the Internet. Net Nanny monitors all applications, all Internet activity and the operating system. This includes IRC, WWW sites, E-Mail, FTP, Gopher etc. It works with all browsers, and non-Internet BBS's and Applications. Net Nanny monitors characters, words, phrases in real-time. It has a two-way real-time screening tool which filters all conversations coming in and out of the computer. It also monitors the computer by screening phone numbers dialled by the modem, blocks access to certain games (like Leisure Suit Larry) and other specified files on the hard drive, as well as the floppy and CD-ROM drives. Net Nanny currently logs every violation and can terminate the application if rules are violated. There is currently a new version being developed that runs only on Windows adn will black out violating words or phrases and will have password over-rides. the new version will also be networkable.
Cost: $49.95 US or $42.00 Cdn in Costco.
Updates: Can be downloaded free from the Net Nanny home page which is updated twice a month
Systems:Windows program, all PC Intel platforms and can run on a 286 up to a Pentium. To run the administration program you must have approx 520K and disk requirements for total installation are less than 1Meg.
On Line Services: AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, Delphi, Genie, etc
Location:http://www.netnanny.com/netnanny
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Cyber Sitter
Developers: Solid Oak Software of Santa Barbara Calif.
Capabilities: Cyber Sitter provides a filter file that lists illegal, adult orientated or potentially offensive material. Parents can add to this file but cannot delete any of the items already on the list. They can prevent names, addresses, phone number or credit card numbers from being given out over the Internet. Cyber Sitter monitors WWW sites, newsgroups and chat lines and actually looks at the context of the word instead of just blocking it out. It can alert parents of any attempted access to these sites. Users can block, block and alert or just alert when access is attempted to restricted areas. Cyber Sitter analyzes all Internet activity and maintain complete history. Cyber Sitter is password protected and editable by parents.
Cost: 39.95 US
Updates:: Free and daily
Systems: Microsoft Windows '95 or Windows 3.1x. Needs 1Meg of free hard disk space
On Line Services:unknown
Location:http://www.solidoak.com/cybersit.htm
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Surf Watch
Developers: Surf Watch Software in Los Altos, Calif.
Capabilities: Has a filter set of 2,000 sites of only sexual nature. It does not allow parents to add to and delete from the filter set but the new version will allow updates to the filter set as well the ability to add sites from other categories other than of sexual nature Surf Watch monitors WWW, newgroups, ftp, gopher, chat, and other sites. It also allows for password access.
Cost: $41.86 US
Updates: Charges $8 a month and is updated monthly and automatically
Systems: System 7.x with MacTCP 2.0 or higher
On Line Services: Not for use with online services such as AOL, CompuServce or Prodigy
Location:http://www.blol.com/bld/catS/subCG/19332_l.html
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Cyber Patrol
Developers: Microsystems Software Inc. of Framingham Mass.
Capabilities: Comes with a CyberNOT list of 6,00 different sites divided into categories such as Sexual Acts/Text, Racist/Ethnic and Violence/Profanity. Parents can add to and delete from CyberNOT list. Cyber Patrol works with bit browsers, news readers and chat clients. Cyber Patrol also allows parents to restrict access to certain time of day, limit total time spent on-line per day or week and control access to on-line providers and local applications such as games. The new version will log on-line activity and also require a different password for each child.
Cost: CompuServe provides Cyber Patrol free and can renew the subscription after 6 months for $19.95 or $29.95 after 1 year.
Updates: $3.50 per month updates CyberNOT list every seven days
Systems: Windows and Macintosh
On Line Services: CompuServe
Location:http://www.microsys.com/cyber/default.htm
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The Internet Filter
Developers: : Turner Investigations,Research and Communications from Vancouver
Capabilities: The Internet Filter is easily configurable for parents. It can scan, block or log all data transactions including WWW, specific newsgroups, specific Internet hosts and chat sessions. It has the ability to e-mail parents if access violations occur. The next version will log all e-mail transactions and allow users to post warnings about new adult orientated sites on the company's home page.
Cost: $40.00 US or $49.95 Cdn
Updates: no current update system
Systems: any Windows 3.1 system and silent installation
On Line Services: unknown
Location:http://www.xmission.com/~seer/jdksoftware/netfilt.html
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References
The Internet Filter

Cyber Patrol
Surf Watch
Cyber Sitter

Net Nanny