The only 100% sure fire way to prevent this is to stop them from accessing the internet, lock the devices away and throw away the key. Now, we’re not suggesting that route as there is content out there on the web that can teach, inspire and entertain.
What are your options?
So you don’t want to take away your kids devices but want a bit more security when it comes to the content that’s available. There’s a wide range of options available using various technologies, there are small companies and giant corporations, expensive options and some you don’t need to pay a penny for.
As parents there are two criteria that are important when choosing a website blocking & content filtering solution for you family:
How effective is it?
As with any type of internet security there are companies that are trying to make money defending you from the worst the internet has to offer and then there are their counterparts, who are trying to get their content seen.
Both sides have a wealth of resources on their side and both are ingenious when it comes to finding ways around each other’s attack/defence. As we said earlier on the only way to be 100% sure nothing gets through is to take the devices away. And this is what some solutions do, they lock down the device so thoroughly that nothing gets through.
This is one of the areas where the big kids win. It takes a huge amount of resources both human and machine to properly filter unsuitable content, which is something that smaller companies often don’t have access to.
Who watches the watchmen?
If you use a content filtering service then that usually means that every single piece of information that goes through your device or web browser is monitored. Where does that data go? Who has access to it? What are they doing with it?
All important questions and ones that any service that you use should be able to answer.
Who are OpenDNS?
One of the best solutions that we’ve come across is provided by OpenDNS, which has been leading the way in security and filtering since 2006. While it was started by one man, it grew to point where it was bought by Cisco, if you haven’t heard of them they make a lot of equipment that the internet runs on.
Anyway, there are a number of things that we like about this service:
- Being part of Cisco now they have the resources to make their solution bulletproof.
- It’s free, well there are two options that are free and a third that is paid for if you want to have a bit more flexibility.
- It’s Truste Certified which ensures businesses adhere to privacy best practices regarding the collection and use of personal information on their websites and apps.
- Because it’s set up on your home wifi all attached devices like iPod Touch or the Nintendo DS and on video game consoles like Xbox and Wii are blocked.
- Unlike apps installed directly on the device that you want to block, OpenDNS is very difficult to find a loophole in, even for especially enterprising kids.
- It won’t slow down your child’s device, infact OpenDNS quite often speeds up internet browsing.
There is one negative, because of the way that the technology works you can only filter and block websites on your home network. If your kids move onto a cellular network or are using their devices on a friend’s wifi for example then they won’t be covered.
..and what are they offering?
There are 2 free options that vary only in the amount of control that you have:
Set it and forget it
The service blocks pornographic content, including “Pornography,” “Tasteless,” and “Sexuality” categories. As well as this it prevents phishing and will block some Malware.
This service is ideal for most families that want to block all of this type of content, however if you want to have more choice about what’s blocked and filtered then there are no options to do that. You just have to go with the presets.
Get in control
If you want a bit more control, no problem. You can choose to use the OpenDNS Home option, which gives you options to choose what categories are blocked. Also it allows you to pull view some stats about what websites are being visited and how often.
If you’re looking for a simple to setup solution that covers all wifi connected devices then it’s hard to find a better solution than OpenDNS. There are other features that parents are looking for that OpenDNS doesn’t provide like real time alerts, application blocking, etc. If those are essential to you then you’ll need to look into one of the paid solutions.
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