Free Parental Control & Web Filtering Software

Most family homes now have a PC with connection to the internet, and it is a constant source of worry for most parents when they think of what their child could be accessing or seeing online.

There are numerous pieces of software commercially available which allow some measure of protection, but we have found that most problems can be avoided using a free piece of software, such as Bluecoat K9 Web Protection.

K9 is not software for anti-virus, anti-spam, etc.  Instead it deals directly with ‘Web Content’ and browsing, filtering the content available to your child.  When you have it turned on, it prevents the computer user from viewing Web sites that contain unwanted content. It can block more than 55 different categories of content, including pornography, hate speech and sites that promote violence or permit gambling.

To get K9, simply go into your Internet Browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc) and go to the site www.getk9.com.  This is a website designed primarily for parents, and will provide a wealth of information.  Read the information there, then click on ‘Get K9 Now’ to download and install.

The main features of K9 are:

• Blocks up to 60 content categories (eg porn, gambling, etc)
• Set time restrictions on when your child can access the internet
• Block specific websites not covered in the software automatically
• Audible feature (a barking noise) to alert parents that their child is trying to access or has stumbled across something inappropriate
• Block sites with specific words in their url (website address)
• View reports of all internet activity and administrative actions
• Very simple to use interface

At present K9 does not provide controls for Instant Messaging or Peer-Peer, but these are planned for its upcoming new release.  You do have to register with the site to get a license key for the software, but it is a little price to pay for this level of protection from a piece of free software.

Whilst we ask that parents consider the use of something like K9, we also strongly advise home users to have adequate Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware protection enabled.  There is no need to purchase a product for home use, as AVG have a free version (AVG Free 8.5) which will cover your needs.  It updates and scans automatically, and has no renewal date like the commercial versions.

And now for the scary part, the following are some of the statistics (taken from BlueCoat’s site) regarding youths and the internet:

• 1 in 4 youths have unwanted exposure to inappropriate pictures each year
• 9 out of 10 kids, aged 8-16, have viewed pornography on the internet
• 1 in 5 children, aged 10-17, have received a sexual solicitation over the internet
• 74% of commercial pornography sites display free porn images on their home page

Protect your child today, for free, and give yourself peace of mind.