From...

November 12, 1999
Web posted at: 8:51 a.m. EST (1351 GMT)

by James A. Martin

(IDG) -- In the past 15 minutes you received three messages on your pager. The first was from a client. The second was from your mother. And the third was from a software program, informing you that your child is up to no good on the Internet.

Security Software Systems announced this week the $34.95 Cyber Sentinel 2.0, a new version of the monitoring program that promises to automatically send warnings via e-mail or pager when someone has accessed "inappropriate material" on a designated PC.

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Cyber Sentinel can scan and block information entering and exiting a PC for inappropriate words, phrases, and other content in its database. The software checks Web pages, chat rooms, e-mail messages, e-mail attachments -- in short, any text on the Internet, according to William Mortl, director of software development.

Cyber Sentinel is unable to monitor graphics, but the sites that contain off-limit images usually contain words and phrases likely to trigger an alert, Mortl says. What the program can do is take screen grabs of offensive material and send you a message, reading: "Cyber Sentinel has taken new screen captures of inappropriate material that has been accessed on your computer. Please check the capture database as soon as possible. The most recent screen capture was taken (date and time). This material was accessed by (user name)."

The message is automatically sent to your pager, as long as you subscribe to an e-mail paging service, or to your regular e-mail address. If the child, employee, or other user tries to send or access inappropriate content while offline, Cyber Sentinel will send you e-mail warnings the next time that user goes online.

Cyber Sentinel can work in two ways: in stealth mode or in active mode. In stealth mode users don't know they are being monitored, while the active mode informs them that they are being watched.

The Windows 95/98/NT/2000 program also enables you to determine when and how long others have been online and to deny access to sites based on the URL suffix (such as ".com"). The program's Site Management feature lets you block specific sites or all sites except those you choose. You can also decide which Internet services, such as instant messaging, e-mail, and secure Web sites (for e-commerce), are allowed or denied.