About Website Blocking
In today's world with children being exposed to computers at the same time as they are learning to read, their exposure to predators and unsuitable content on the Internet is at an all-time high. No adult has the time to spend monitoring 100 percent of every website that their children view. As a result, they need to rely on technology to aid in the parenting responsibilities. Corporations and small companies face similar issues with respect to preventing employees from accessing potentially damaging sites to the business information technology infrastructure through the inadvertent download of spyware or computer viruses as well as the potential loss of employee productivity. Website blocking technology improves with each passing year since the idea was first introduced, giving consumers the ability to block unsuitable content on the television as the number of TVs in the home started to grow to the point where parents would not be able to monitor all of the content that their children watch. The web is no different, and if anything is a more dangerous environment when coupled with Internet chat forums and email that allows others to contact the children without parental knowledge or preventing inadvertent download of potentially damaging software in the business environment. There is no cookie cutter solution to 100 percent protecting your children or company from unsuitable content or predators, but there are a number of tips and tools available that are worth looking into for implementation, since your children or subordinates will manage to get online if you take a draconian measure, such as securing the Internet in the home or at work.
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Types
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Since Internet use started to become wide spread in the late 1990s at home and at work, businesses and parents have been searching for the best means to control the content that employees and children can view when online. In the last 10 years there have been essentially three methods which have evolved to pursue effective website blocking of inappropriate content: Manual Uniform Resource Locate (URL) blocking, the use of software packages to block content based on 'black lists' and flagged content phrases, and the physical presence in the work environment of the manager or at home the parent to check the content being surfed. None of the three measures is fool-proof on its own, but when combined can prove to be an effective solution.
Prevention/Solution
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Most website blocking software has a 'black list' website blocking feature which allows you to take an already existing list of known inappropriate sites and add to them for manually blocking unsuitable Internet pages. Most web browsers also have the functionality to allow websites to be manually blocked. In Internet Explorer, on can manually block any Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and combine with a password to prevent access. This feature allows for the parent that either does not know how to establish separate accounts on a shared family computer, or wants to manually configure their child's own computer with sites that can not be navigated to from the computer. There are a few problems with solely relying on this technique. One, the parent has to think of what websites to block. It takes time to enter the undesirable URLs into the web browser. Finally, your child will figure out how to find an Internet re-hosting site and still possibly access the content you desire to block.
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Types
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There are a number of types of website blocking software products on the market that one can review to purchase for either the home or a business. When purchasing software, ensure that it is designed to meet the intended need. A business's goal for using blocking software is to prevent access to inappropriate content on the company's equipment to prevent a loss of productivity as well as to prevent inadvertent download of spy or mal-ware and computer viruses but will likely want to allow services such as text or video chat and message boards. The parent, however, will likely want to block sites that allow others to communicate with her children without parental oversight to a certain extent. In either case, much of the software available for purchase has special functions that will analyze page content before allowing the user to view. Typically these software packages analyze the web page for forbidden phrases, or partial phrases depending on the configuration settings used and will default to prevention of viewing unless the administrator access is used to allow access to the site. This permits inadvertent blocking of useful websites from being permanently forbidden, but does default to safety. In a business environment, depending on the company policy used, employees can email the desired website to the company administrator or webmaster for review to be added to an 'allowed' list of websites.
Considerations
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Whether in the business or at home, there is no substitute for augmentation of whichever solution chosen for website blocking that the walking around approach. If in the home, requiring your child to surf in a public room such as the living room or kitchen vice their bedroom with the threat of Mom or Dad walking in can not be overstated. If you walk in and the child acts rushed or in a weird manner its time to view the Internet history to see what they were doing on the computer that wasn't suitable for you to view. At work, walking around to chat with employees as a non-smoking smoke break or coffee break can also give insight on how well or not-well your Internet policies are doing in the workplace.
Expert Insight
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Although none of the website blocking techniques is foolproof, consideration should be given to what combination of techniques is required for the home or business to achieve one's goals. Solely relying on one technique or solution for website blocking will ultimately prove to be either circumvented or make the local area network that the solution is employed unusable. When considering a commercial solution for your home or buisiness, ensure to compare and contrast capabilities versus price before making a monetary purchase.
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Resources
- Photo Credit image taken by the author
