Keep an Eye on Your Child's Net Habits

One Configuration Is Not for All Users

Net Nanny now comes preloaded with two editable lists of Web sites, Can't Go and Can Go. While Net Nanny previously required you to download and install these lists before using the product, this is a nice timesaver.

The Can't Go list is a group of Web sites deemed by Net Nanny to be inappropriate, as judged by the following criteria: sexual explicitness, hate, violence, crime, and drugs. The Can Go list presents sites that have been selected by Jean Armour Polly, the author of the Internet Kids & Family Yellow Pages. Net Nanny also incorporates the Internet Content Rating Association and SafeSurf systems. You may add or delete sites of your own choosing at any time, and clicking any item in the list will bring it up for your review. You can also download free list updates manually or set the program to download them automatically on daily, weekly, or monthly schedules.

The editable Words and Phrase list is independent of the Can Go and Can't Go lists. When the Words and Phrases list is activated, Net Nanny blocks specifics words, such as cybersex, on searches, Web pages, or in a URL. Objectionable words and phrases are blocked by a series of pound signs (#) in Web pages and POP3-based e-mail. Chats can also be fully recorded, although this eats up disk space.

You can configure Net Nanny to just log violations, display a messages to block, or shut down the browser if someone tries to access an unauthorized site. Net Nanny can keep a log of most actions, including violations, URLs visited, entire chat conversations, and newsgroup activity. By clicking a logged URL, the administrator can go right to the site.

In addition to monitoring where your child is going, Net Nanny also lets you control how much time your child spends online when using a Web browser. The graphical schedule access screen provides a weeklong timeline to set each person's usage profile. The screen provides a grid of days, with each day divided into half-hour increments. To make adjustments, the administrator simply clicks and drags the cursor over the time blocks they want to allow or block for the child's online access.

Surfing on the Wrong Side of the Track

In testing, Net Nanny blocked unsuitable content fairly well and appropriately. However, occasionally a page would open with a Net Nanny warning message that didn't follow through and revealed indecorous pictures. For example, since Net Nanny blocks Web sites based on URLs, when we searched on sex, we got a search page with explicit targeted banners and images that weren't blocked. However, if we selected any of the resulting porn links, we were immediately blocked.

When we had words and phrases blocked, we got a message warning of inappropriate material and the search page had inappropriate words blocked out. While the days of getting blocked when trying to research breast cancer are gone, no filter can catch everything--due to the volatility of the Web and the multiple contexts of certain words--without overblocking the good sites. With respect to monitoring and logging, Net Nanny proved excellent.

The software allows you to prevent your kids from sending personal information. Names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, financial information, and school and work names may all be entered into a form; all future outgoing information (whether entered into a Web-based form or an e-mail) will then be checked against this master list. If it matches the software will replace it with pound signs (###).

In order for this system to be effective, it's important to remember to list all variations of nicknames, abbreviations (Street, St., and so on), and phone numbers (1-234-555-6789, 12345556789, 234-555-6789). If you need to fill out an online form, just temporarily deactivate Net Nanny with your administrator password.

While no filtering utility can replace the vigilance of a caring parent, Net Nanny 4 can make the job a little easier. By providing easily editable lists, Net Nanny 4 lets busy parents take charge of their children's surfing, and even less-computer-savvy parents will find the installation and configuration simple and therefore be more likely to use it.