Combat Net nasties

Life

Did you know that approximately one in ten Websites contain pornographic material? Or that 500 such sites are added on a daily basis to the World Wide Web? And that’s before we even begin to mention material related to devil-worship, terrorism or racism. Unfortunately, it’s not just the case that one can inadvertently stumble upon such material by taking a wrong turn on the information superhighway. The power of search engines allows curious kids to find material on any subject—no matter how distasteful—just by typing in a keyword.

On the other hand, however, there is a lot that is good on the Internet which offers unprecedented potential for learning, entertainment and communication. Certainly, in the educational arena, the Net offers unlimited scope for previously impractical collaboration, research and sharing of resources. Whether we like it or not, the Internet here to stay, and despite all the risks, the Internet is being used throughout the world to benefit children and adults in a myriad of ways.

It would be foolish in the extreme to bury our heads in our hands, however, and ignore the Internet’s dangers. There’s a lot that can be done, at no great effort or expense, to minimise the risks to our children. In my opinion, the advantages of the Internet far outweigh the disadvantages. And it is possible for children of all ages to use and benefit from all that it offers, without ever having to come in contact with offensive or inappropriate material. With regard to schools, Seaghan Moriarity, Webmaster of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation, offers the following guidelines:

• No child be allowed use the Internet in the absence of adult supervision;
• All Internet usage should be planned and structured with deliberate educational objectives in mind;
• While filtering software should be deployed, it is no substitute for the presence of an adult.

These simple rules, which I suggest should apply equally at home as at school. John Hurley, National Coordinator of the Scoilnet site concurs: “No software is foolproof and its use may even engender a false sense of security. Vigilance is the most effective form of protection, and filtering software is only part of the answer.”

In the home, Hurley suggests that, if at all possible, the computer should be used in a family living room, so that all online activity is visible.

Cormac Callinan, chairperson of the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Ireland and devisor of the self-regulatory Internet Hotline service, advocates adult supervision and encourages parents to sit with their children—at least some of the time. He says it can be a two way learning process, particularly where parents feel their children know more about computers than they do! Callinan suggests that parents to talk to their children in relation to what they should do if they come across inappropriate material and that it is particularly important to emphasise that no personal information—no matter how trivial it may seem—should be given out to strangers. Callinan encourages the use of filtering software as a means of reducing risk, but in common with the views expressed above, he emphasises the fact that parental supervision is the only foolproof way of ensuring that all risks are negated.

In practical terms, as we all know, having a responsible adult in the room every time a child uses the Internet is not always possible. Depending on your circumstances, the simplest solution of all may be to password-protect Internet access, so that nobody can log on if you’re not there. If it’s the case that there will be some times when the Internet is in use by children in your absence, then it’s essential that software controls are in place. Your Browser contains control facilities that can be easily configured to help minimise risks. Although very limited when compared with commercial software packages, they should be deployed as a first line of defence if nothing else. When the Browser (in this example, Internet Explorer 5) is open, click on Tools*Internet Options and select the Content tab. Click Enable  in the Content Advisor area and then adjust the slider as appropriate to restrict sites containing material related to Language, Nudity, Sex and Violence.

This process is of only limited value and if you have a concern that your children may be at risk of accessing inappropriate Websites, you should consider investing in one of the proprietary software packages designed specifically for this purpose. There is a number available, some of which are free, but most of which cost about £30.

Two of the best known filters are CyberPatrol and Net Nanny, which cost about the same and work in more or less the same way. They allow parents to sent when, and how long, children may be online and which Websites, newsgroups and chat facilities they may access. Specific words and phrases may be blocked, as well as graphics. Also, records are kept of Websites visited and newsgroup activity.

Which one should you buy? That is a difficult question to answer—several Web sites, listed below, have carried out independent comparison studies—but one thing is clear: Neither package can be relied upon to guarantee complete safety online for children. Undoubtedly, some Internet filter programmes are more effective than others in terms of blocking undesirable material, but the benefits must often be seen in the context of ease of use and customisation, upgrade prices and the degree to which innocent sites (such as medical sites) are also blocked.

Given that so many new sites are added to the Web on a daily basis, filtering software must be updated in much the same way as anti-virus software. The cost of updating varies considerably from package to package. One of the most respected filtering applications, CyberPatrol can be downloaded for a free fourteen-day trial, which allows you to test it and to examine the customisation process before purchase.

Children can be very determined and very ingenious—and so too can the publishers of undesirable Websites. It isn’t that long ago that typing in the URLs TheWhiteHouse.Come or BertieAhern.Com resulted in being transported to a pornography site.

Filtering software and advice sites

• Scoil Net: Lots of practical suggestions contained in ‘Safe Surfing–a parents guide’.
• Hotline: Published by the Internet Service Providers’ Association, this contains ideas and suggestions related to the child protection issue, plus contact details for reporting child pornography.
• Cyber Patrol: Read about and download a trial version of the software.
• Net Nanny: Read about the features of the Net Nanny filtering software.
• Chat Danger: Explains about the different types of online chatting facilities and offers guidelines to help safeguard your children.
• IWF: Contains a detailed comparison of filtering software titles, as analysed by Which?,  the Consumers’ Association’s magazine.
• Cybersitter: Read about and download a trial version of this filtering software.

Read More: Tips & How-To