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safe browsing

Why do we need to browse safely?
The Internet as a medium is not moderated, and while this has obvious advantages, there are also disadvantages. Most countries have formulated their own rules for the media within them, based on majority moral standards and political interest, so censorship levels vary from culture to culture. The global nature of the Internet, both culturally and physically, makes centralised regulation impossible. This issue is often particularly worrying for parents, for while the Internet is an excellent resource for children and an exciting new means of communication, they cannot be sure their children access only content that is appropriate for them.

Governments around the world are currently grappling with the issue of regulation. The challenge is to allow people access to the benefits of the Internet while ensuring content doesn't offend community standards. The Movie Ratings system is one example of the way content is regulated in Australia.

The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Act was passed by the Australian Government in 1999. This Act is enforced by the ABA and requires ISPs to provide filtering products or services to their subscribers. These products are designed to allow users a choice about the content they can access online.

This page has been created to let iiNet subscribers know what the various options are regarding content filtering, and to present the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.

Possible Solutions
There is no better solution to keeping children safe on the Internet than to make sure they are ALWAYS supervised when online. The Internet is not like television which only allows adult shows to broadcast late at night. It is more like a library where anyone can access, and insert, content anywhere on the shelves at any time. Undesirable content can be accessed just as easily as content that is useful, so it’s always better if an adult can be on hand to assist children when using the Internet. Adult supervision can help children avoid or at least put into context any Adult material found.

However, you may not want to risk the chance of any material inadvertently popping up, or you may wish to make sure you yourself are not confronted with material you are not comfortable viewing. The ABA has provided a list of 24 approved filtering programs that you can use to help avoid this material (see the list following this article). We have also provided several links to allow you to be better equipped in deciding if, and how, you want to moderate your access to the World Wide Web.

About Filtering Software
Consumers should be aware that no filtering solution is foolproof. The main advantage filtering software offers is that it tends to make it harder to access adult material on the Internet, although some of the applications available have other really useful features as well (eg. Restricting access to the computer to certain times).

What you may wish to keep in mind when choosing a solution is that there are other online services around other than the WWW (sites with an address like http://www.xxxxxx.com). All kinds of content can be accessed through FTP, IRC, Instant Messaging, Email, Newsgroups and File Sharing, among others. Also remember that Adult Content is not the only concern when accessing the Internet - children should also be warned about 'stranger danger'. The links at the end of this article provide detailed discussion on how to deal with these issues.

All filtering software works with one or a combination of the following three methods:

White Lists

Black Lists

Keyword Filtering

To Sum Up...
Software filtering will prevent access to the more obvious offensive sites, but as mentioned, there are still many ways to get around it. It cannot be stressed enough that the best solution to keep children safe on the Internet is to make sure they are ALWAYS supervised when online.

Kids are ‘information sponges’, constantly learning, and if they set their minds to it will discover how to bypass filters almost faster than it took to install them. If you are concerned about the content children in your charge may be accessing, sit with them and involve yourself in their Internet activities, or keep the computer in a public area where you can easily see the monitor.

Available Software
As stated earlier, the ABA has provided ISPs with a list of filtering software they consider appropriate for use in Australia. These are some that are appropriate for home users:

Product Name
Demo
Price
Method
Checks other applications?
Custom Profiles?
Logging?
White List
Black List
Keyword List
Arlington Custom Browser Download USD$25/year
Cyber Patrol Download USD$50/year
Cyber Sentinel Download AU$99
CyberSitter Download USD$39.95
N2H2 Download USD$39.95
NetNanny No USD$39.95
Norton Internet Security No USD$69.95

Please Note: iiNet does not provide support for any of these applications and are not responsible for any problems occuring from the installation of any of this software.
Legend 
Product Name:The softwares name
Demo:A link to download a demo/trial version of this software (if available).
Price:The price of the software package, and if its a once off fee or subscription based.
Method:The way in which the software performs its blocking (see above for descriptions of the three methods).
Checks Other Applications:If the software performs any filtering on non-www applications (such as Newsgroups/IRC/ICQ).
Custom Profiles:If the software allows you to specify different settings for different family members.
Logging:If the software logs any attempted accesses to unauthorised material.

These are the main client applications for Windows. If you use a Macintosh you don't really have much to choose from, CyberPatrol was the only product found that advertised availability on the Mac platform. Linux desktop users will have to install one of the more advanced proxy filters you can find listed on the INA website.

Other safe browsing resources
For more information about safe browsing, or before installing any of these applications, you may wish to visit some of the following sites which provide more detail on the filtering situation, and how to handle looking after your children on the Internet.