Internet Filter Software

BumperCar Browser (For Mac OSX) - $29.99

BumperCar 2.0, the content filtering Mac OS X web browser, is a major revision to last years MacWorld San Francisco's Best of Show winner. It has been rewritten from scratch using Apple's WebKit technology. It now features faster rendering of complex pages, increased stability and takes advantage of web standards for improved compatibility. Key features remain the simplest to use and most comprehensive set of content filtering and parental controls available for any platform

Safe Eyes - $39.00

Consumer Reports rated Safe Eyes their #1 internet filter. Safe eyes is effective at blocking unsuitable sites in 35 categories. After blocking categories you can make an exceptions list. Sites can also be blocked by time. The program is hard to get around and has an undeletable usage log. If you kill the process which runs the program it restarts itself when you attempt to connect. The application can only be uninstalled with the provided install disk.

Important Notes:

• As a security feature simply deleting the program will not release the computer to go online. This makes Safe Eyes very effective, but could also really mess up your computer if someone tries to delete the progam as a way of getting around the blocking.
• Programs like DiamondCS Port Explorer can kill the process and prevent it from ever running again. This flaw is hard to find, but renders the program useless. If you have children who are not very computer savvy this program will be more than sufficient.

The option to have Safe Eyes alert a third party if a certain number of block-list hits have been made is nice. It keeps everyone accountable. It also keeps you from trying to test the filter because you know your friend (or whomever) will get a notice that you've been hitting off-limit sites. You can also block other things besides internet (IM, P2P, email, etc.). And the fact that you can set a separate admin password from the user password-say, if two people want to share part of the admin password (admin allows you to unblock certain sites), but each have your own user password (user allows you to get online).

You are allowed to install SafeEyes on up to three computers

CYBERsitter

CYBERsitter 9.0 is designed primarily for home, educational and small business use. Even though CYBERsitter has been designed to be easily installed and used by the most inexperienced users, there are plenty of advanced features for power users too.

* Now records all Instant Messenger chat conversations for AOL (AIM), and Yahoo Messengers.
* CYBERsitter provides over 30 categories of filtering making it the most complete Internet filter available.
* CYBERsitter allows parents to override blocked sites, add their own sites to block, specify allowable times to access the Internet, and maintains a detailed log of all Internet activity and violations.

Net Nanny - $27.00

Net Nanny is one of the most popular internet filtering programs. It lets you filter and block Web sites by URL or keyword, and filter content in e-mail, IRC chat, and newsgroups. You can also limit access to your PC by time of day and total amount of connect time, or restrict access to online activities (chat, instant messengers, games, file sharing). Net Nanny also lets you monitor Internet activity for an individual, a group, or all users.

Disadvantages of Net Nanny are that at times it under-blocks content. Also, if you are logged into Net Nanny and then log off of Windows, the next person who logged onto Windows is automatically logged into Net Nanny as you.

Content Protect - $39.99 (plus monthly subscription)

Content Protect may be the best software for internet filtering. It is constantly updated and has great features. It is also easy to install and use. One nice feature of Content Protect is remote monitoring, The only problem with this software is that it requires a monthly subscription to use it.