See Also
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by Editors of Choice.com.au
Australia's Choice magazine, similar to Consumer Reports in the U.S., has a comprehensive, comparative and newly updated review of many of the leading Internet filtering programs on the market, including… several free programs. Each program is analyzed in detail, looking at how it handles each of eleven content categories, as well as ease of use, flexibility and performance. Numerical scores in all areas are provided, making it easy to compare programs, and the site makes specific recommendations. Choice says that Net Nanny ranks highest, but only by a slim margin, as there was not a lot to separate the top six contenders and any will do a good job of screening. They find that the main difference between freeware and commercial programs is that the freeware versions generally have fewer features.
by Neil J. Rubenking, Ben Z. Gottesman, John Clyman
PC Magazine periodically covers parental control software in single-product reports and multi-review roundups. Software gets an editor's rating, and those are varied enough so that you can see at a glance… which products do better or worse. The best of all are further recognized with an Editors' Choice designation. Net Nanny 5.6 is so honored in a very recent review. Neil J. Rubenking calls it "an excellent choice for controlling and monitoring what your kids do online" in his lengthy and well-done review. PC Magazine also gives an Editors' Choice award to Safe Eyes 5.0 in a June 2007 review. Rubenking says that this latest version of Safe Eyes offers worthwhile improvements over its also excellent predecessor, such as the ability to maintain profiles for up to ten users instead of four. Most other parental control programs are not as well received.
by Editors of Computer Shopper
Computer Shopper (UK) takes a comparative approach to reviewing eight parental control software products. A freeware program, Crawler Parental Controls, wins the top rating and Best Buy award. Net Nanny 5.6… comes in second place and is lauded for its easy-to-use interface, although editors say it tends to over-restrict sites, and they had a hard time accessing adult content on the "adult" account they created. CyberPatrol 7.6 lands in third place overall. It is described as a solid program with some deficiencies in chat filtering abilities (which many other programs don't even offer).
by Mark Wilson
In its latest round of testing, Britain's WebUser recognizes three programs that don't offer parental control features, but do warn users if they are entering a site that's not child-safe or could… compromise their computer's security. Each program receives an overall rating and sub-category ratings for features, performance, ease of use and value. However, discussion of the software is limited, and sometimes is not much more than a paragraph. Some older reviews of parental control software do appear on the site, but except for a May 2007 review of In Loco Parentis, and an older review of the still current CyberPatrol 7.6, most are dated.
by Editors of MoralMetric
MoralMetric is a fairly new site that takes a strong stance for "morally friendly" computing. Site editors test and report on a wide variety of parental control software reviews that, while not nearly as… comprehensive as sites we rate higher, seem to hit the high points. Visitors have the opportunity to provide their own ratings and comments as well. Unfortunately, old versions and discontinued programs continue to be listed on the site and in its list of "Highest Rated Web Safety Products." The editors find that the web filtering for Bsafe Online 5.0 is the most powerful they tested, and that it has the best features for filtering IM and social networking sites. However, several user reviews complain of slowing system performance and over-blocking issues. Safe Eyes has the best notification system, but the review appears to be of the previous version. Net Nanny is much improved as a rebranded update to ContentProtect and is the easiest to use. But, again, the review is of the previous version.
by Editors of TopTenReviews.com
Ten parental control programs are reviewed, rated and ranked. Net Nanny 5.6 wins the gold award, CYBERsitter the silver and CyberPatrol the bronze. The introduction and conclusion to the review are… advertising copy, where readers are teased with special offers if they buy. This unusual presentation compromises the credibility of the review. However, program testing is believable and consistent with other sources, even though there is confusion as to which versions are being evaluated. Editors say Net Nanny offers cutting-edge technology, yet is easy to use for even non-tech or Internet savvy parents. CYBERsitter's blocking features also work well, and it offers basic e-mail filtering. CyberPatrol is also a solid product, but isn't as easy to use and the reviewer ran into an installation problem.
by Editors of Child-Internet-Safety.com
This site has almost the same site design as TopTenReviews, and the ratings of parental control software are very similar. Here, Net Nanny gets the highest rating as well, but CyberPatrol is ranked second… and CYBERsitter is ranked fifth. In addition, the review of Net Nanny is for the previous edition (5.5). Reviews describe some of the testing methodology, and pros and cons are listed. Writers reveal the percentage of sites that were blocked correctly and the percentage that were over-blocked. While the reviews are never comparative, overall and sub-category ratings provide a frame of reference. Users can also post their own opinions and ratings.
by NetAlert
The Australian Government devotes significant financial resources to family Internet security and has set up a non-profit organization to provide information, advice and free downloads of Internet content… filters. It provides information on how to choose a filter and a comparison table. The organization does not review software per se, but it provides a list of recommended programs that are free to Australian citizens via download or CD.
by Elsa Wenzel and Robert Vamosi
This article is a good overview of parental controls in general, excluding the actual software you can purchase. It provides information on which ISPs provide built-in filtering and what kind. AOL,… EarthLink and AT&T Yahoo! high-speed Internet and dial-up offer time limits, web browsing protection and e-mail and IM filtering. Comcast, a cable and broadband ISP, offers McAfee Internet Security Suite to its subscribers for free; McAfee includes a parental control module. Several routers that offer subscription-based controls are briefly mentioned. Several options for social networking sites are discussed, such as MySpaceWatch and BeNetSafe. No parental control software is reviewed, but authors criticize it for either being ineffective or not "appropriately selective" (for example, filtering out legitimate medical information).
by Neil J. Rubenking
As part of a larger "super guide" covering all aspects of security from anti-spyware to security suites to identity theft protection, this roundup analyzes the current features of parental control programs,… both standalone and those that are part of a security suite or integrated with computer operating systems like Vista. It notes that some programs are tied to Windows user accounts, some create their own accounts, and still others offer both options. Though the article links to older, now dated reviews, most of the information provided is still both valid and useful.
by Donna Tapellini
This article focuses on the risks children encounter online, especially on social networking sites like MySpace. Consumer Reports' Survey of the Net found that a significant percentage of MySpace users are… under 14 years of age, which is MySpace's minimum age requirement. Their survey also found that not enough parents are talking to their kids about Internet safety. However, Consumer Reports does not currently rate or review any parental control software.
by Christy Matte
This article lists several ways parents can protect their children from dangers on the Internet, from inappropriate content to online predators. The author encourages parents to talk to their children and… to monitor their activities just by paying attention. She also recommends setting guidelines for children's Internet usage. Learning about and making use of a parental control program is one of the recommended tips but specific programs are not discussed. (Note that ConsumerSearch is owned by the same parent company as About.com.)
by Christy Matte
This article suggests steps parents can take to help protect their children from inappropriate contacts and content on MySpace.com. Matte recommends parents set limits, get their own MySpace account and… friend their child, familiarize themselves with how the site works, talk with their kids about Internet safety and follow through on the rules they set. (Note that ConsumerSearch is owned by the same parent company as About.com.)
by Stephanie Olsen
by Island Dog
Blogger "Island Dog" tests and reviews the parental controls in Windows Vista. The reviewer makes no comparisons to commercial alternatives, but says Vista works better than any of the many freeware and… shareware programs he or she has previously tried. Strengths and weaknesses of the controls are discussed. Overall, Vista's tools are a good solution for many parents, though parents are advised not to rely on software alone. The controls are easy to set up and use, very effective and difficult to circumvent. The reviewer likes Vista's ability to block access to specific programs and chat. However, the reviewer implies that the tools won't block Internet Explorer.
by Editors of Netsweeper.com
Netsweeper offers its take on the parental controls that are included in Windows Vista. The article points out several of Vista's biggest weaknesses: it doesn't block proxies, which can be used to easily… circumvent parental controls, it doesn't offer options for restricting web-based instant messaging and it doesn't block sites that freely use profanity but don't fall into one of the other categories. The conclusion is that while Vista's controls might be sufficient for young children of about nine years old or less, the filtering is not robust enough for older children or adults. However, though the conclusions might be valid, the fact that is written by a company that makes third-party filtering software doesn't leave us confident that it is unbiased.
by Lori Bowen Ayre
This website does not review software, nor is it very up-to-date, but library technology consultant Lori Bowen Ayre compiles an objective, comprehensive analysis of filtering programs. Some of the programs… are intended for professional use (e.g. libraries forced to comply with legal regulations), but others are sold to the public, such as CYBERsitter. Ayre's charts take readers under the hood of each program. If you have technical expertise and want to understand how programs of interest work -- and exactly what they do -- then this is the best source of information.
by Contributors to Amazon.com
by Editors and Contributors to CNet's Download.com
CNet's downloads section lists both editorial and user reviews and ratings of parental control software. Most of the programs are lesser known, and CNet.com's short, non-comparative reviews all result in… ratings ranging from two to four stars. CNet fairly consistently rates programs higher than its readers do. Few programs receive high user ratings and even fewer are reviewed by CNet's editors. Monitoring software and keyloggers are mixed in with parental control software. Links are provided to lists of top-rated Internet filters, free parental control software and most popular parental control software.
by Richard Seng
At first glance, FilterGuide.com looks like a good review source, but a deeper look tells a different story. Ten Internet-filtering software packages are ranked. All we know for sure, however, is that five… of the first six listed programs are labeled as Editor's Choices. Links from a chart lead to lengthy product description pages, but Richard Seng just seems to be touting features as a reason to buy each program. Programs aren't compared or criticized. Seng's unclear copy doesn't cite any testing. Net Nanny is touted as "the world's best" parental control software, yet Safe Eyes is described as "the best choice for most people."
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