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Of course, there is still plenty of porn available on the Internet, and if you don’t want people who use your computer to look at it, namely your children, there are things you can do. Following is a quick guide about what porn filtering is, as well as the dangers (to your computer!) of viewing pornographic material.
Porn – putting your computer at risk
We’ve all been told at some point or another, by someone, why looking at porn is bad. Yet another very good reason is your computer’s health.
Spyware and viruses are to be found in many places but the popularity of porn in terms of Internet traffic means spyware infest pornographic websites, as well as emails sent to computers.
Although certainly not unique to this type of material, spyware and other viruses have the potential to be disastrous. Laying quiet on your hard drive without your knowledge, spyware uses a variety of techniques, such as logging key-strokes, to collect information about the user.
Key loggers can be used to track your browsing habits then direct specific advertising to your browser or, more sinisterly, to track your usernames, passwords, credit card and Internet banking details.
These viruses can also slow your computer down while eating your memory up, hijack your browser by changing the home page to take you to specific sites containing even dodgier programs.
Software on your side
Thankfully, there is plenty of software available which can prevent someone using the Internet on your computer from ever reaching a pornographic site. Certain products can be set to allow different results depending on the user – so when your child logs in, they get different results to you.
You can also block specific sites and restrict times of the day when individuals are able to surf. Content filtering software is never 100 per cent successful but many companies today will make claims such as “97 percent accurate”. This is obviously better than not having it at all, especially where your children are concerned.
Users have more and more options when it comes to porn filtering software. There are plenty of brands to choose from but it is probably best to start out by talking to your internet service provider to get their insights. Alternatively, do a web search to find out key brand names. To give you a headstart, searching for names such as Surfcontrol, Safe Eyes and Net Dog will be a good beginning.
