Child Safe Internet

Chat Controller is a parental-control application, that enables you to limit the use of Instant Messengers on your computer. It allows you to restrict usage based on the user, application and day/time. The program is compatible with all popular chat applications, including AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, Miranda IM, MSN Messenger, Skype, Trillian, Windows Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger. You can create individual rules for different users, restricting some, allowing others as needed. Chat Controller also includes an audit tool that will find all supported Instant Messengers installed on your PC, including version and install location. The program runs as a Windows Service.

Filtergate is a 4-in-1 filtering package that allows you to remove web advertising and popup windows as well as protect your privacy and filter adult content. It uses a patented filtering technology to analyze each web page decides whether the content is an advertisement or promotion, a friendly cookie or a rogue cookie. You can exclude sites from being filtered, set custom filtering parameters and more. Filtering is based on an internal filtering engine, that can be udated online. You also choose to turn off all banner sized graphics, as well as all offsite graphics, blinking text, background music and more. FilterGate does not require you to set proxy settings in your browser.

iProtectYou is a Internet Filtering/Parental Control package that provides parents with control over Internet usage. It allows to block e-mails, chat sessions and instant messages that contain inappropriate words, stop annoying ads, and/or restrict internet time to a pre-determined schedule. You have full control over which web sites can be accessed and which programs can have Internet access. Options include to set levels of sensitivity, detailed log files of web and application activity, time-sensitive settings and more. You can specify separate patterns, keywords or blocks for web sites, newsgroups and advertising and edit the list of inappropriate words. The program comes provided with a large built-in list of pre-screened, undesirable sites, and keywords.

Anti-Porn is an automatic content filter software to protect your kids from pornographic web sites. In addition, the program can also filter chat conversations when offensive language is used and limit internet access based on specified usage times. Anti-Porn includes a database with thousands of web sites and you can easily add your own or exclude specified sites from filtering. The database can be updated online, so you always have the latest version. In addition to the blocking of sites, the program can also log all sites that are accessed and even take screenshots of the desktop at regular intervals. Additional features include options to limit usage of games and support for content in multiple languages. Anti-Porn also includes a time synchronization feature, however we found it to be buggy, and the system time was set incorrectly for our time zone (EST).

SaferSpace is a simple but effective program that allows parents to block access to the MySpace.com website. It runs as a service and can optionally log all blocked access attempts to a file. The user will be notified with a dialog box whenever a MySpace window is blocked. You can choose to block MySpace for all users of your computer or just for selected users accounts.

My Kids Browser is a web browser interface, designed to be used by children. It comes preloaded with fun and educational sites for kids, and allows parents to add a custom list of web sites that they want to allow access to. The browser can run in a full-screen mode, thereby blocking access to the desktop, and you can also choose to make it the default browser and prevent usage of other browsers installed on your computer. Other features include optional time limits, disabling of the print feature, password protected parental control options, and analyzing of web page content. Even though the initial set of sites that comes with My Kids Browser is primarily geared towards younger children, you can easily change the sites to whatever content you find suitable.

Integard is an internet content filter that enables you to block unwanted web content based on individual settings for each user. The program comes with pre-configured filter settings for different age levels (young child, teenager etc.) and allows for custom addition of websites and keywords to be allowed or blocked. You can aso choose to set daily time limits for Internet usage, restrict (and/or log) the use of certain applications as well as Chat/IM programs, and optionally block foreign sites and online ordering. Integard not only filters web pages but also chat and email content and can maintain detailed logs for each user. Other features include blocking of personal data, email alerts, remote browser administration, automatic filter updates, stealth mode, integrated firewall and more. Integard works with all browsers and supports multiple users.

Peanut Butter PC provides a kid-friendly desktop environment for your computer that allows easy launching of selected websites and programs, while preventing access to the rest of the PC. You can easily configure the program for multiple kids, and select applications and websites for each one individually. Once the Peanut Butter PC desktop is loaded, it can only be exited via a keyboard hotkey and (optional) password. You can choose to load the desktop automatically each time the computer starts, or launch it manually with a click of your mouse.

KidsWatch is a parental control software package that enables you to protect children from the negative aspects of Internet use and allows you to restrict access to programs and certain computer functions. It comes with a built-in web content filter that automatically blocks access to web sites that contain content that is considered inappropriate for kids of a certain age range. You can set age specific restrictions for each of your user accounts and also customize the filtering by adding or removing restrictions to meet your personal filtering preferences. You can also set daily and weekly limits for Internet and computer usage and have the options to generate temporary passwords that can be issued to grant extensions as needed. Other features include chat conversation and Internet monitoring, application blocking, automatic email notifications if suspect words or phrases are encountered, detailed activity reports, predator watch and more.

KidSplorer is a web browser interface that is designed to provide safe Internet access for children, by limiting web access to a selection of sites that are determined by the parent. The browser comes pre-configured with various sites, and you can modify the list by adding or removing sites at your discretion. In addition to restricting the content your kids can access on the Internet, the program can also limit prevent access to the Start button, Task Manager, Taskbar and Desktop icons (disabled during trial), and you can control the amount of time that your kids can spent on the Internet.