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Gaps found in Internet screening software
Parental control still needed
April 25, 1997
Web posted at: 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT) In this story:From Correspondent Brian Nelson
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- When Consumer Reports magazine rated parental control software -- designed to help block access to objectionable Internet sites -- it found the promised protection to be riddled with holes.
"No software is perfect," says Andrew Dietz of BellSouth.Net, one of many Internet service providers that offers parents free screening software.
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"They're very effective tools, some more so than others," agrees Matt Carlson, a suburban Atlanta father with two young children.
Operating a company called Safe Surfing, Carlson and his wife Beth teach other parents to avoid the pitfalls of the Internet.
The Carlsons praised Cyber Patrol, one of five blocking programs Consumer Reports said have faults.
Test results
For the test, software was checked to see if children could still reach any of 22 pre-selected adult-oriented Web sites. In every case, the answer was yes.
SurfWatch (version 1.6 V-2) fared best. It was able to block 18 specific sites, but four others slipped through. "It's part of a solution. It's not the complete solution," acknowledges SurfWatch co-founder Jay Friendland.
Next were Cyber Patrol (version 3.1), which intercepted 16 of the 22 sites, and Cybersitter (version 2.1), which blocked 14. Microsoft's Internet Explorer stopped just three, and Net Nanny (version 3.1) was the worst -- unable to block any of the pre-selected adult sites.
Parental involvement required
Part of Explorer's poor showing is because the browser relies on a rating system that isn't yet widely adopted, Consumer Reports said.
Some of the blocking programs rely on heavy parental involvement, meaning moms and dads must download updates of objectionable sites and add them to their screening software's database.
Net Nanny is designed to be "totally under the user control," said Gordon Ross of Net Nanny Software.
As father Matt Carlson put it, "technology doesn't know moral right from moral wrong."
For parents trying to screen what their children see, that means doing more work than they may have bargained for.
Related stories:
- Sex and the Internet: A volatile mix when kids are involved - December 14, 1996
- Court says colleges can restrict Internet access - January 28, 1997
- What's indecent on the Internet, and who should decide? - March 21, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Parental Control of the Internet - resource for parental control software and organizations
- Cyber Patrol
- SurfWatch from Spyglass
- CYBERsitter Product Information
- Trove Investment Corporation - Home Page - makers of Net Nanny
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
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