Contents

Software which automatically blocks or screens material on the Internet


Welcome to the Texas ISP Association's (TISPA's) courtesy page for parents seeking information about blocking software. The Texas Internet Service Providers Association is pleased to bring you this page to assist you in your effort to provide educational experiences and an appropriate environment for your child. Please note: We, along with other Internet organizations, do not normally recommend the use of online content censor software. In our hope to empower you by providing you with full information, and in compliance with Texas state law, these links are provided to assist parents with information to help guide decisions about blocking and filtering software.

It's true that objectionable content, even garbage, is available on the Internet, just as it is in many parts of a free society. But no blocking software is 100% successful in filtering all "bad" sites. And blocking software often includes a hidden cost -- censorship of genuinely worthwhile, wholesome information, and perfectly "good" sites.

The Texas ISP Association feels parents can be most effective in protecting their children by spending time discussing the values and risks of free access to information. Information to aid these discussions is available below. Please be warned: there is a great diversity of opinions about blocking and filtering software. Some parents find blocking and filtering software to be a useful tool for reducing the risks of objectionable materials coming into the home via the Internet, while other parents find "censorware" to be ineffective, offensive, expensive, and disruptive of the essence of the parent-child bond.

When you are deciding whether or not to use blocking and filtering software in your home, please remember that buying and installing software on a computer cannot be an adequate substitute for spending quality time parenting your child. Many experts and successful parents who have survived the Internet experience agree that Internet-connected computers cannot be safely used as electronic baby-sitters, regardless of the sales pitch of some software vendors.

Where to Start: Parental Guides, Online Safety Handbooks, and Positive Examples

[green ball] Electronic Resources for Youth Services
Rich resources in children's literature, for children's writers, illustrators, parents, school librarians, and storytellers.
[green ball] Get Connected to Learning Using the Internet
Resources for teachers, kids, and parents. Includes a free online course on "Internet Basics."
[green ball] Guiding Children Through Cyberspace
Contains links to lots of advice, filter software, reviews, ratings, and other tools.
[green ball] Net Parents
Links to blocking software, advice on safe access for kids, net rating systems, "kid-safe" sites, and other resources.
[green ball] NetSurfing Aids For Child Safety
Resources for parents and kids, including links to several positive examples and links to "child protection software."
[green ball] The Parents Guide to Cyberspace
Solid, common-sense advice from The American Library Association.
[green ball] Parents' Guide to the Information Superhighway.
This advice is from the Children's Partnership organization.
[green ball] Protecting Our Children From the Internet (and the World)
Excellent analysis and advice from a leading educator.

Reviews of software, advice and related information

Blocking software, like any other kind of software, varies in quality, and different packages are intended for different sorts of users. Furthermore, every publisher of blocking software has a different opinion of what kind of pages they should "censor" . . . some have political or social agendas which they don't necessarily advertise. Others "accidentally" block pages that you may want to see.

[button]The Big Cookie: What's Behind Internet Privacy Concerns: Part II
A cogent discussion from the Internet Legal Practice Newsletter of important privacy concerns for families and individuals.
[button] Censorship, Freedom of Speech, Child Safety on the Internet
An award winning mixture of advice and links to further information.
[button] CNET reviews - comparative reviews - 8 programs to porn-proof the Net
Basically, software is no substitute for parental guidance. Most products can be defeated; those that can't are so restrictive that kids may be prevented from getting the most from their online experience. Their advice: supervise your children when they're online, just as you do during other activities.
[button] Cyber Angels (Guardian Angels)
The online version of the Guardian Angels organization, heavy on what could go wrong online.
[button] Filtering Information on the Internet
A special report from Scientific American. "Look for the labels to decide if unknown software and World Wide Web sites are safe and interesting."
[button] Information Filtering Resources
A librarian's scholarly approach to filtering information.
[button] Internet Filters and Monitoring Software
This site has links and brief reviews for many of the blocking software programs.
[button] The Internet Advocate
This is one of the best resource sites. It contains links which debunk inaccurate perceptions of pornography on the Net, links which promote positive examples of youth internet use, and links which will help you understand blocking software.
[button] The Internet Filter Assessment Project
This is the most scientific and comprehensive attempt to evaluate the blocking software programs to date.
[button] Is My Child Safe on the Internet?
This site has online safety basics and guidelines for kids, and links to blocking software.
[button] Is My Child Safe on the Internet?
The same information from a different source.
[button] Links to Sites with Internet Safety Software
Brief reviews of blocking software are available here.
[button] Net Nanny 2.1 for Windows 95
This Australian site provides technical details about how to use the program Net Nanny.
[button] Parental Control Software
This site is fearful of a "proliferation of indecency" on the Net, and offers links and reviews for several of the blocking software programs, in an effort to empower and educate parents.
[button] Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS)
This site has an interesting discussion of legal issues around rating systems enabled and delivered through PICS.
[button] Platform for Internet Content Selection
"PICS" is one of the content rating systems being promoted.
[button] Safety Tips
Parental instructions for kids, from The American Library Association
[button] Talk to your kids; silence is far more dangerous than any information
A large collection of free speech links.
[button] United Federation of ChildSafe Websites
An organization of websites labeled as "childsafe." Shows no activity as of early August 1997.
[button] CYBERsitter: Where Do We Not Want You To Go Today?
This page exposes bias used in one filtering program -- CYBERsitter blocks access to sites that have information about safe sex, feminism, gay/lesbian rights, and progressive political causes, for instance.
[button] Why Censoring Cyberspace Is Futile
Another version of the previous article by best selling author, Howard Rheingold.

Where to get filtering software:
Makers of software which blocks or screens Internet material

These are links to companies that sell blocking software or "censorware." Neither TISPA nor your Internet Service Provider (ISP) endorses any of these products -- this section is provided to fulfill obligations of your ISP under Texas state law. Please see the previous section for independent reviews and scientific evaluations of the quality and effectiveness of some widely-sold blocking packages. Please read the disclaimer.

[red dot] Bess
[red dot] Cyber Patrol
[red dot] Cyber Snoop
[red dot] ChatNet
[red dot] CyberSitter
[red dot] Guardian
[red dot] Infoscan
[red dot] Intergo
[red dot] Internet Filter
[red dot] Net Nanny
[red dot] Net Shepherd
[red dot] PlanetView
[red dot] NetRated
[red dot] SurfWatch
[red dot] Time's Up
[red dot] Triple Exposure
For more, here is Yahoo

Evaluating Quality On The Net:
Okay, I found this information on the Net. How do I know if it's any good?

It's not called the "Net of a Million Lies" for nothing. The Internet gives access to information from all over the world. Some of it is vital and valuable. Some is incomplete . . . or erroneous . . . or out of date. Some is marketing hype presented as fact. And many pages are unsupported opinion, or political demagoguery. A few are, quite literally, the ravings of madmen!

It's all there on the Net. How do you, and your child, divide the information from the raving? The same way you do when you pick up a newspaper or a magazine: Consider the source.

[pointer] Evaluating Information on the Internet
Over a dozen credited links to Internet evaluation information, from the University of Washington Libraries.
[pointer] Evaluating Quality on the Net
Common sense from a distiguished librarian's point of view.
[pointer] Evaluation of Information Sources
A long list of credited links from New Zealand.
[pointer] Librarians Information Online Network
A large collection of annotated links to valuable resources.
[pointer] Library Selection Criteria for WWW Resources
The latest revised version of Carolyn Caywood's classic 1995 essay.
[pointer] Peter Milbury's School Library & School Librarian Web Pages
This site is the center of the K-12 school library world.
[pointer] Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
Points to consider from Esther Grassian of the UCLA College Library.
[Texas Flag]

Texas Legislature At Work

Texas State law requires all Texas Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to link to blocking and filtering software sites. In 1997, during the 75th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, House Bill 1300 (HB 1300) was passed. HB 1300 requires Internet Service Providers to make a link available on their first world wide web page which leads to Internet "censorware" software, also known as 'automatic' blocking and screening software.

The two most important portions of the law are shown here:

If you want to read the entire law, it's available in several formats here:
The bill's history is given here:
And here is the legislative staff analysis of the bill:

Return To

Disclaimer
Neither TISPA nor your ISP warrant or represent that any of the material referenced on this page (whether it is software or not) will function as advertised, will safely run on your computer or will acheive the results claimed by the author or programmer. TISPA and your ISP encourage you to thoroughly research any software you install on your computer to make sure it is what you are looking for.
This page is brought to you as a public service by the Texas Internet Service Providers Association. Your comments and suggestions are welcome! For more information, please contact:
"Dave Kinnaman" (kinnaman@Io.Com)

Version 0.091

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The Net address URL for this document = http://www.Io.Com/~kinnaman/pchealth/draft.html (Updated 14 Sep 97 )
Copyright 1997 by Dave Kinnaman - All rights reserved. Links to this document are welcome. Copies or excerpts of this publication may be made and distributed in any medium for any non-commercial purpose provided that this notice, the author's name, and the document's Net address URL remain intact. All commercial distribution must obtain written permission in advance. Please send comments and questions to kinnaman@Io.Com