Internet Content Filtering

Learn How to Protect Your Family from the Worst of the Web!

-
The Internet is magnificent in its resources for families. Educational resources abound. Kids can easily find help for their homework blues without venturing to the library. Kids can chat with friends from far away for free; friends who, probably just a few years ago, they would never hear from again. And, of course, there s plenty of entertainment to satisfy the whole family once the chores and homework are complete.

However, the Internet can often be an inappropriate place for kids to surf unsupervised. Plenty of content is only appropriate for mature audiences. And, sadly, there are bad seeds , those who the children never should talk to.

Help keep your children away from these unsuitable materials. Many search engines and directories have filters and options that only return pages that have passed a particular profanity or kid-safe filter. These types of filters vary from web site to web site, but may do one of the following:

* Only allow you to search a selection of links picked by the site s editors to be kid-safe or free of profanity.

* Not show links containing profane words, these being words designated by a site to be profane. This list may not contain all possible profane words or combinations.

* Show links containing profane words but block out the profane words with asterisks, dollar signs, or other symbols. Again, the blocked-out words are those the site deems profane and might not include all such words.

Unfortunately, no filter can be 100% accurate.

Here are some search engines that have filters you can enable to try to weed out inappropriate content.

AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com/

Above and to the right of the search query box you can find the link labeled Family Filter . Turn on this filter to cause AltaVista to filter out inappropriate content. Be sure to read the linked-to FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) before using this filter. Again, no family filter is 100% accurate, but it s better than nothing.

Ask Jeeves For Kids
http://www.ajkids.com/

You can provide kids with their very own search butler. Ask Jeeves for Kids is a special version of the popular Ask Jeeves web site geared towards the younger set. It is used the same way as the normal Ask Jeeves just ask a question and click the Ask button.

You will notice the site design is quite different from the main Ask Jeeves. The page is colorful and includes fonts more suited for kids. There are links to games, study tools, news resources, and message boards. Be sure to check out Jeeves hat as you move your mouse over each resource

According to the Parents page, Ask Jeeves For Kids only searches for G-Rated information. However, they do warn that since web sites change, there is no guarantee that adult content cannot slip through the cracks. Still, they do a good job at trying to filter out information, so if you have children surfing the net, you may want to point them over to this popular resource.

Google
http://www.google.com/

Visit the Advanced Search link and take a look at the SafeSearch section. Click the Filter using SafeSearch radio button to cause Google to only returns sites that match Google s SafeSearch filter. This filter attempts to remove material containing pornography or sexual content, but it is not and cannot be 100% accurate. Click the link SafeSearch on this page for more information about this filter.

You can also click the Preferences link from the front page to set preferences on how you want Google to search through documents. From here you can enable the SafeSearch setting by default. These preferences are placed in the form of a cookie stored on your browser, so if you disable cookies your preference choices will not stick. Be sure to press the Save Preferences button when you are done with your choices or they will not stick.

Lycos
http://www.lycos.com/

Click on the Parental Controls link on the front page (located under the search bar), or turn on the Adult Filter from the advanced search page to enable the Lycos SearchGuard . This feature attempts to filter out sites containing inappropriate or offensive material such as adult, violent, hate and weapons-related content . Note that while no filter can be 100% effective this is a good start.

You may also want to visit the following family and kid-friendly Lycos sites:

Lycos Family Zone
http://familyzone.lycos.com/

Lycos Zone (For Kids)
http://lycoszone.lycos.com/

No matter which site you use, realize that no filter can be 100% accurate. All it takes is a little web browser knowledge to defeat cookie-based filters. Inappropriate sites can and sometimes will slip through the cracks . Thus, I recommend that you always supervise your kids Internet usage whenever possible. These filters, however, may make your supervision easier and your entire family s Internet experience more enjoyable without any surprises.

About the Author

This article was written by and copyright 2002 Andrew Malek, Internet Search Guru and author of Find Stuff On the Net, an e-book that can show even beginning computer users how to navigate the Internet without fear. Catch-up with your kids knowledge when it comes to using the net. For further information and free snippets of the book, visit http://www.findstuffonthenet.com/

Learn How to Protect Your Family from the Worst of the Web!

-
A common problem with filters is the fact that they are
a one-size-fits all solution to SPAM. The rules are concrete
and only change based on input from updates from the Anti-spam
service.

SPAM changes too quickly to make that method effective.
Additionally, what is SPAM to you may not be to someone else.
That is where Bayesian filters come in.

They are very effective at eliminating SPAM and have
very low false-positive rates for their users.

Bayesian filters are based on Bayesian logic, a branch
of logic named for Thomas Bayes, an eighteenth century
Mathematician.

This type of logic applies to decision making by
determining the probability of a certain event based on the
history of past events.

Using this as a model seemed a logical step for SPAM
filtering. If you can predict what SPAM will look like now
based on what is has looked like in the past, you are halfway to
the solution.

To finish solving the problem, Bayesian filters were
developed to be dynamic and continue to be effective as the SPAM
changes.

Bayesian filters are content based. They look for
characteristics in each email that you receive and calculate the
probability of it actually being SPAM.

These characteristics are generally words in the content
and the header file information that each email contains. They
can also include common SPAM HTML code, word pairs, phrases, and
the location of a phrase in the body of the email.

Typical words in SPAM would be “Free” and “Win”, while
“humility” would probably not appear. The filter begins with a
50% neutral score for the email, and then adds points for SPAM
characteristics.

Likewise, deductions are made for non-SPAM characteristics
present. The total score is calculated and then action is taken
based on its likelihood of being SPAM.

The filter does not assume that all arriving email is
bad, rather that all email is neutral and should be considered
equally.

Bayesian filters are better than traditional content
scoring filters in that they are trained by you to recognize
your email.

A doctor, for example, might have many emails
legitimately using the word “Viagra”. A traditional content
scoring filter would probably shoot that email to the SPAM
folder, or delete it.

This would result in a high false-positive rate for the
doctor, even if you don’t want Viagra emails. The filter will
build a list based on the doctors email use and corrections to
incorrectly marked email.

The initial training period may be a little time consuming,
but once complete offers a tailored solution to SPAM
control for each user.

In addition to protecting the good email, the filter makes
it difficult for Spammers to trick as every filter will have
individual requirements.

That being said, Spammers do have a few weapons in their
arsenal to attempt to circumvent Bayesian filters. The easiest
would be to create SPAM that looks like an everyday letter.

This would remove their ability to use typical marketing
techniques and so is not as likely with normal commercial email.
For the purveyors of fraud, however, this would be easier.

Spammers could also so weight a message with a common
good word, or distort the bad ones, that it becomes scored as
neutral or lower and get through.

Once correctly marked as SPAM by you, though, the filter
will adjust and not be fooled again. This automation and
ability of the software to grow as you and SPAM change over time
is key to the significance of these types of filters.

Widespread use of good Bayesian filters will not only
eliminate SPAM on your end, but would reduce the practice of
Spamming altogether. If they cannot get the mail through, they
are just wasting their time.

About the Author

Debbie Hamstead is the webmaster of http://www.StompingOutSPAM.com
Offering a comprehensive Quick Start Guide to keeping SPAM out
of your inbox. She also manages http://www.nichesites4profit.com

Learn How to Protect Your Family from the Worst of the Web!

-
As the flood of spam increases end users are looking for new and more efficient solutions to block spam. In turn software developers are knocking themselves out trying to come up with the killer app that will stop spam forever.

For several years now companies have been focusing on faster and smarter software to be installed on your PC or on your servers that will detect spam through increasingly more complex algorithms. The ingenuity behind these products can’t be argued with. The problem was that as the spam filters became better so did the quality of the bulk email software used by the spammers. The battle to fight spam was spiralling out of control.

There’s an old scientific principle called Occams Razor. It simply means that all things being equal the most simple solution is often the best one.

Somebody somewhere realized that there was a simple solution to the vast majority of spam. Spammers email millions of people each day. This is an automated process that they can’t possibly monitor manually. Enter challenge response spam email filtering.

When using a challenge response system each email address must be authorized to deliver email to you. You can either authorize these email addresses manually by adding them to your challenge response whitelist or the challenge response email server can take care of that for you.

The process is simple but incredibly efficient.

Spammer sends email

Challenge response email server doesn’t recognize address so issues a challenge email that must be phyiscally answered by a real human.

Challenge answer = yes = sender is authorized to send you email

Challenge answer = no = senders email address is added to blacklist and all future email from them is automatically blocked.

Challenge repsonse spam filters demand that a real person reply to the challenge email. Spammers who generate millions of emails a day simply don’t have the time to do this and are therefore blocked from sending you any future junk email.

Using a challenge response system initially can be extra work but after 30 days you’ll see a dramatic reduction in the amount of email you receive from spammers. Our challenge response system is currently showing 11,000 blocked pieces of spam in the last *5 months*. Those are hard figures to argue with.

About the Author

Niall Roche is the content author and owner of www.spam-site.com which reviews spam blocker software.

Learn How to Protect Your Family from the Worst of the Web!

-
The Internet is magnificent in its resources for families. Educational resources abound. Kids can easily find help for their homework blues without venturing to the library. Kids can chat with friends from far away for free; friends who, probably just a few years ago, they would never hear from again. And, of course, there s plenty of entertainment to satisfy the whole family once the chores and homework are complete.

However, the Internet can often be an inappropriate place for kids to surf unsupervised. Plenty of content is only appropriate for mature audiences. And, sadly, there are bad seeds , those who the children never should talk to.

Help keep your children away from these unsuitable materials. Many search engines and directories have filters and options that only return pages that have passed a particular profanity or kid-safe filter. These types of filters vary from web site to web site, but may do one of the following:

* Only allow you to search a selection of links picked by the site s editors to be kid-safe or free of profanity.

* Not show links containing profane words, these being words designated by a site to be profane. This list may not contain all possible profane words or combinations.

* Show links containing profane words but block out the profane words with asterisks, dollar signs, or other symbols. Again, the blocked-out words are those the site deems profane and might not include all such words.

Unfortunately, no filter can be 100% accurate.

Here are some search engines that have filters you can enable to try to weed out inappropriate content.

AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com/

Above and to the right of the search query box you can find the link labeled Family Filter . Turn on this filter to cause AltaVista to filter out inappropriate content. Be sure to read the linked-to FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) before using this filter. Again, no family filter is 100% accurate, but it s better than nothing.

Ask Jeeves For Kids
http://www.ajkids.com/

You can provide kids with their very own search butler. Ask Jeeves for Kids is a special version of the popular Ask Jeeves web site geared towards the younger set. It is used the same way as the normal Ask Jeeves just ask a question and click the Ask button.

You will notice the site design is quite different from the main Ask Jeeves. The page is colorful and includes fonts more suited for kids. There are links to games, study tools, news resources, and message boards. Be sure to check out Jeeves hat as you move your mouse over each resource

According to the Parents page, Ask Jeeves For Kids only searches for G-Rated information. However, they do warn that since web sites change, there is no guarantee that adult content cannot slip through the cracks. Still, they do a good job at trying to filter out information, so if you have children surfing the net, you may want to point them over to this popular resource.

Google
http://www.google.com/

Visit the Advanced Search link and take a look at the SafeSearch section. Click the Filter using SafeSearch radio button to cause Google to only returns sites that match Google s SafeSearch filter. This filter attempts to remove material containing pornography or sexual content, but it is not and cannot be 100% accurate. Click the link SafeSearch on this page for more information about this filter.

You can also click the Preferences link from the front page to set preferences on how you want Google to search through documents. From here you can enable the SafeSearch setting by default. These preferences are placed in the form of a cookie stored on your browser, so if you disable cookies your preference choices will not stick. Be sure to press the Save Preferences button when you are done with your choices or they will not stick.

Lycos
http://www.lycos.com/

Click on the Parental Controls link on the front page (located under the search bar), or turn on the Adult Filter from the advanced search page to enable the Lycos SearchGuard . This feature attempts to filter out sites containing inappropriate or offensive material such as adult, violent, hate and weapons-related content . Note that while no filter can be 100% effective this is a good start.

You may also want to visit the following family and kid-friendly Lycos sites:

Lycos Family Zone
http://familyzone.lycos.com/

Lycos Zone (For Kids)
http://lycoszone.lycos.com/

No matter which site you use, realize that no filter can be 100% accurate. All it takes is a little web browser knowledge to defeat cookie-based filters. Inappropriate sites can and sometimes will slip through the cracks . Thus, I recommend that you always supervise your kids Internet usage whenever possible. These filters, however, may make your supervision easier and your entire family s Internet experience more enjoyable without any surprises.

About the Author

This article was written by and copyright 2002 Andrew Malek, Internet Search Guru and author of Find Stuff On the Net, an e-book that can show even beginning computer users how to navigate the Internet without fear. Catch-up with your kids knowledge when it comes to using the net. For further information and free snippets of the book, visit http://www.findstuffonthenet.com/