 A family guide to Internet content
censoring and
access controlpart 2: ISP's
and Hardware
Censorship  Censorship is the most popular form of
Internet control. It can also be done on the hardware or software or
even the ISP level. Keep in mind that censorship can't solve
everything. Some software does not block enough, some software
blocks too much.
Companies that write censorship 'block lists'
have come under fire for blocking political sites and statements
critical of their practices. Censorship is a HOT topic but I would
like to keep things focused on the HOME - not schools, libraries or
anything else. Censorship is a parents right to exorcise as they see
fit.
ISP Based Blocking
ISP's with parental
controls fall into two cagegories. AOL and everyone else. AOL's parental
controlls are some of the best and do not require any extra expense
on the parents side to set up. They are also very
easy to configure.
QUOTE FROM
AOL:
"AOL has four
Parental Controls catagory levels. You can choose from the Kids Only
(ages 12 and under), Young Teen (ages 13-15), Mature Teen (ages
16-17), and General Access (ages 18 and older) categories. Each
category has a different level of access to information on AOL and
the rest of the Internet and to features that allow member to
communicate with others online (including Instant Message
conversations, chat rooms, newsgroups and e-mail). Using the Custom
Controls accessible from the Set Parental Controls window, you can
adjust the controls to best suit your child's maturity.
You can change the Parental Controls categories or
Custom Controls at any time. We recommend that you periodically
review the Parental Controls settings for your child. You may find
that child has grown beyond the settings or that you are not taking
full advantage of Parental Controls."
Mark, a
HomeNetHelp reader writes:
 " AOL's parental
controls are great. You can set time limits that the children are
online each day. You can restrict the hours they are online by time
of day & day of week (Monday & Tuesday's are big homework
nights so you must be offline by 9PM). You can restrict viewing of
website entirely or you can allow age-specific websites. You can
restrict Instant Messaging or whether the child can send or receive
e-mail (you can even restrict e-mail coming from specific domains or
mailboxes). You can restrict access to chatrooms and only allow
"kids" chat rooms."
There are also other family oriented ISP's out there that
do content filtering for parents. None of these support broadband -
only dial-up service. Usually religious in nature, these ISP's have
come under a lot of criticism for blocking more than profanity and
violence. Remember these ISP's will block content from you as well
as your kids. Since they only support 56k modems, I will not delve
into them much further. To find an ISP that supports censoring,
click this link:
Hardware Based Family Control
Broadband routers are becoming more and more
family friendly. Networking companies are starting to recognize the
need for advanced blocking and filtering capabilities in today's
home - not just in corporate America. We have yet to see widely
adopted family access control in broadband routers but there are a
few companies making some progress.
Hardware Solution Categories
Port Blocking Hardware
Applications like WEB, email, FTP, on-line
games and even most IM programs use specific TCP/IP 'ports'. Many
broadband routers allow the blocking of specific or ranges of ports.
Using port blocking, access can be granted to some applications
while keeping others blocked. This feature is most effective when
combined with access control lists (ACL). ACL's allow you to specify
what computers are subject to the port blocking rules and what
computers can bypass them. Some routers even include the ability to
'time' the rules.
Port blocking can provide a part of the
solution but can not be considered complete since it is simply
access control, not content control (censorship).
String Filtering 
String filtering in broadband routers is
fairly useless. By adding 'strings' of letters and words to the
filter, sites can be blocked by URL. For instance a filter of 'xxx'
will block many porn sites with xxx in their name but will do
nothing for other porn sites. Maintaining a comprehensive list of
strings to filter out is exhaustive work and impossible for a
parent. If there's one or two sites you don’t want your kids to get
to, string filtering works but fails for any larger plans.
Routers with CyberNOT
Category blocking A few manufacturers have
worked with CyberPatrol to
include their CyberNot content
blocking software right into the broadband routers themselves.
CyberPatrol catches a lot of criticism about its use in schools and
libraries but I think it is a great solution for parents when
integrated into a broadband router. The current
firewall/router manufacturers that support CyberPatrol are ZyXEL,
NetGear, WatchGuard and SonicWall. A CyberPatrol subscription can
cost $50-$100 a year on top of the cost of one of these advanced
routers. The subscription service allows the router to keep itself
updated with the latest ' block lists
' from
the CyberPatrol web site. Once set up, these router solutions are
easy to maintain and are very effective at what they do. Links:
Limitations:
Cyberpatrol classifies objectionable Internet
content into 16 categories. These categories can be enabled and
disabled by a parent. The lists of sites themselves are 'controlled'
and can not be viewed by the parent. Also, cyberpatrol lists provide
WEB SITE blocking. It does nothing for any other services like chat
rooms, email and instant messengers.
In the Future
There are many companies working on 'family
gateways' to the Internet that will include internet sharing,
content blocking, privacy security and more. Most of these solutions
are still in development but I expect a whole new class of 'family
gateways' to arrive on the market soon. See:(link removed, dobox out of business)
Outside Links of
interest:
Childnet International sponsored
website giving advice to parents and children on teenage safety on
the internet - especially as it pertains to chat rooms
DMOZ Internet Child Safety
Links
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Part 2: ISP's and Hardware
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