Choosing a Filter Filters General Notes

If you really cannot arrange to have you or a trusted adult available to supervise your children's internet access, you should consider a filter as part of a larger strategy. You may also consider a filter even for supervised access, just to minimize the probability of unfortunte mistakes, although there are often other ways to get the same, or similar, effects with other techniques. It may be that none of the filters mentioned will fit your needs, but you certainly want to make sure that you make a decision based on as much knowledge as you can get. 

 

Choosing a Filter

There are several things to think about when choosing a filter.  One solution does not fit all, but you should be able to find something that is useful.

• Cost - There are some free computer based filters.  However, most filters do cost something, either up-front to purchase, or on a monthly subscription basis.  Some have both costs.  ISP based filtering generally has no up front costs, but tends to expensive over time.
• Age and quality of equipment - Older and lower end computers will be more likely to show a noticeable slowdown with software based filtering, and is also the most likely to run into other problems with the software.  In addition, some newer programs won't run with the older computers. If you do decide to use a software based filter, make sure that it will work with your set up and that it is known for having minimal impact on performance.
• Operating System - Many software based filters expect you to be using Windows.  If you have a Apple computer, or are running Linux, you will probably need an ISP or hardware based firewall.  This is not universal, but that is the most likely outcome
• Number of computers to protect - If you have multiple computers to protect, an ISP or hardware firewall is generally much more practical, as you need a separate copy of the software for each compurter, and you have to install and maintain it on each computer separately. For a single computer, especially a relatively rencent computer with enough memory and processing power, a software based filter could be a good choice.
• Family dynamics - In Better Filtering I note some of the family dynamics issues that can crop up. 
• What you need and what you use the internet for - Some filters are more rstricitve than others, and some are more flexible than others.  This can make a real difference.  For instance, do you have a very limited repertoir of sites that you want to visit or do you regularly do research on the Web? Do you need to shop on the internet, and for what? (Eg some filters block many drug stores, but some insurance plans require people to purchase medications from specific vendors, who can only practically be reached on the internet.)
• How much control, and flexibility do you need - Generally, ISP based filter limits how much control and flexibility you have regarding the filters, although the better ones do allow youto set different levels of access based on log in. The better ones are also responsive to specific needs, and allow a certain amount of individualization. Low end hardware based filters generally don't give much flexibility, but they make it easy to do things like simply block certain computers from the internet altogether.
• Tehnical capacity - Aside from family dynamics, to gain the most advantage from higher end firewalls, you need a certain amount of technical knowledge, especially for set up. To a certain extent, this is also true of software firewalls, althoug some are designed to make it as easy as possible to get the best effect they are capable of. If you cannot do the setup or management yourself, or pay someune to do it, ISP based filtering is probably your best solution.

 

Filters

This list is not exhaustive.  Also, it is quite possible that other people may have different experiences with the products mentioned, so if you have a knowledgeable person to ask, it is a good idea.  (In fact, it's a good idea for just about anything on this, or almost any other, site.)  I would also love to hear about any experiences anyone has had.

Filter	Information Website	Comments
Koshernet	http://www.koshernet.com/	ISP based.  Moderately expensive (although less so than some of the others.)  Feedback has been neutral to positive.  Their filtering infrastructure is also used by KleenWeb, which I have also had very good feedback with. Their options seem reasonable. A viable choice where a moderate level of control and flexibility is needed.
The Jnet	http://www.thejnet.com/	ISP Based.  Although they have a page for home accounts, they have not offered DSL for the home in at least 2 years.  Their business level accounts can be brought to the home, but are expensive.  I've had rather poor feedback regarding connection quality and tech support.  Feedback on filtering success is not current enough for accurate judgement.
YeshivaNet	http://yeshivanet.com/	ISP based. The service is rather expensive.  This is not a typical filtering service.  Rather, the baseline service allows only email through their servers.  Their second level service will allow you to navigate to a list of sites that you choose, subject to their approval.  Search sites are not generally approved.  They do try to make sure that important important functions work (eg remote access to work) and they are very responsive to questions (at least pre sale). Definitely worth considering if there areyoung adolescents in the home and the coputer is only intended for remote access to work.
Home Level Firewalls		The filters in these units are very hard to bypass.  However, filtering cpacity is very limited and inflexible at this level. For instance, if you have children using your computer, these filters will generally not allow you to differentiate between what you should have access to (most things) and your 10 year old (very, very few tings.) You will also almost certainly be limited in how many sites you can allow or disallow. And they rarely use any sort of sophisticated filtering methid that increases your chances of blocking the bad stuff while allowing the good.
Computer Based / Software Firewalls and Filters		These filters are the most likely to be bypassed by a child (or other user of the computer) who is looking to bypass restrictions, although some are harder to bypass than others.  If you have a good handle on your child's access, or can be sure of cooperation, but want protection from mistakes, these filters are almost always more flexible than the home level firewall based filters.  In fact, some of them are almost as flexible as the high end firewals with filtering features.  Ease of use and setting up monitoring rules ranges from trivially easy to extremely confusing, so check that aspect out. These packages may not work on older computers, and they can also affect performance or interfere with other activities.  They also needs to be set up individually for each computer in your house. I will be posting notes on ones that I try, or ones that I get really solid feedback on.
Sonic Wall Firewall	http://sonicwall.com/us/	Although Sonic Wall makes some of the less expensive business class firewalls, these are not inexpensive.  Most non-IT professionals will probably need some help getting this set up, and may also need some help making the right choice, as they have an extensive product line, some of which may actually be useful, but much of which is definitely overkill.  When considering the cost, it's worth looking at the cost for at least a year's worth of the cost of an ISP based filering service, to see how much of a premium you will actually be paying.  Depending on what your available options are, you may actualy be paying little or no premium when figured over the expected lifetime of your internet access.
KleenWeb	http://www.kleenweb.com/	Hybrid ISP / Computer software based filtering.  This service is offered by Koshernet, and uses their servers for filtering, so you don't have to worry about updates. It needs to be installed on each computer that accesses the internet. The makers say that the program cannot be bypassed.  Nor can it be uninstalled without a special password and assistance from the publisher.  If they are correct, then only totally reformatting the machine will allow someone without the necessary information to get rid of the program.  Feedback has been very positive.  If you call them, the staff may not mention it at first, preferring to discuss the Koshernet Service, unless it is not available in your area. It is Windows only. If you use low end DSL, it comes out less expensive than Koshernet, and if you you use cable with it, it gives a faster connection.
K9	http://www1.k9webprotection.com/	This is reccommended by a number of Yeshivos, and some people seem to have good results with it. I had installed it to deal with a particular situation, and the results were disastrous. The initial install caused so many problems, that I had to uninstall and to major repair work on my Widows installation.
Norton Parental Controls	https://onlinefamily.norton.com/familysafety/	This is actually part of Norton Internet Security, however at this point (Novermber 2009) it's free. I found it very easy to set up, and the way it is set up makes it very hard to bypass, unless someone really is a hacker. It does require that you do set up different Windows accounts for each level of monitoring, but once you do that it is very transparent. I am using it to keep my younger children from having any internet when they are on their own. When they need internet access, it happens when a desiganted adult (generally me or my husband) logs them on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Notes

There are other filters available.  For ISP based fiters, I have chosen to include only ones from Jewish providers, both because I have more information avaialble, and also because I believe that the inherent limitations of a non-Jewish filtering service to be too important to ignore.

I am grouping Home Level Firewalls together, because after doing a good deal of research on the matter, I have come to realize that they are generally very similar with respect to how much protection they offer, and how they do it.  I grouped the software based firewalls toggether for the same reason.  Any home level firewall, or computer / software based firewall that I discover to be significantly different from these general conditions will get its own entry in the table.  If I am missing anything, please do let me know.