Net Nanny Parental Control Software
Net Nanny is a content-control software developed by ContentWatch, Inc. for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is aimed at parents of children and teenagers to block access to websites with objectional content, such as pornography.
Net Nanny Features
- The ability to block illegal file sharing.
- Blocking websites the user chooses.
- Block social networking sites
- Limit time on internet games
- Generate interactive activity reports of internet activity
- Remote Management
- Monitoring of Instant Messaging programs, such as AIM.
- Net Nanny Standout Features:
- SSL Filtering (not just blocking)
- IM monitoring
- Facebook reporting, filtering, and/or blocking
- PC game blocking
- Block proxy (work-around) sites
Net Nanny Parental Control Software Screenshot
In reality, the majority of the nastiness online is buried deeper than it used to be. But if you have kids and they have access to the Net, it's still a good idea to take some precautionary steps, and one of the most important is using blocking software such as Net Nanny. Version 4.0 of this program offers an easier interface than previous versions, and, as with previous iterations, it lets users view and edit its questionable sites list.
Net Nanny keeps tabs on what comes into your system from the at-large Web, filtering out pornographic sites and images as well as questionable words in chatrooms and newsgroups, hate literature, and even bomb recipes.
Net Nanny's IM monitoring supports AIM/ICQ, Jabber/Google, MSN, MySpace IM, and Yahoo, as well as Tencent QQ, popular in China. At the simplest level, Net Nanny can block access to any of the supported IM protocols. The client programs will still run; they just won't be able to communicate. Bsafe and Safe Eyes offer to block specific IM clients, but, as they don't block at the protocol level, kids can evade them by using third-party clients. Net Nanny also has the ability to block chat, newsgroups, and peer-to-peer file sharing at the protocol level.
Net Nanny Parental Control Software Screenshot
The game management feature in Net Nanny 5.6 (and ContentProtect before it) was a joke, a simple dialog box that offered to block seven games nobody ever heard of. The current game management feature is completely different. It relies on Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings: Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10 and Older, Teen, Mature, and Adults Only. A simple slider defines just how far each user can go.
Net Nanny is the PC Magazine Editor's Choice for Parental Control Filters. It consistently outperforms its competitors with a web-filtering program which combines cutting-edge technology with non-technical settings and reports, perfect for informed proactive parents who may not be computer or Internet savvy. For those of you who would prefer to personalise the settings more, there are plenty of options for customisation.
Net Nanny installs easily and begins running automatically after a system reboot. The administrator sets up accounts (up to 12) for each family member with a specific login name and password, and can easily choose the filtering settings for each user, as well as scheduling the days and times that each user is allowed online. Sites can be blocked for individual users, or alternatively the administrator can create a list of only the sites he or she wants individual users to visit.
Net Nanny can be set to automatically update its database of filtered Web sites, so as new sites are added to the list, the software is kept up to date. The administrator can also check out the log file, which tracks the sites, newsgroups, and chatrooms that users visit, and logs information sent and received. The admin password is required to deactivate Net Nanny, view the log file, affect any changes to other users' settings, and even to uninstall the software.
While no filtering software is perfect--like other filtering software, Net Nanny sometimes blocks out the good with the bad, such as artistic sites--it's a flexible program that lets an administrator create unique sets of online user rules with an easy-to-use interface. If you're struggling with how to limit your child's Internet access, Net Nanny could provide a helping hand. It's much more powerful than the parental controls included in the popular security suites, and it's flexible enough that you can customize the restrictions to suit both you and your child.
Net Nanny 6 incorporates a unique Message Monitor feature which examines the content of instant messages (IM) and alerts parents via e-mail to potential online predatory behaviour, cyberbullying and other inappropriate contacts and comments made through popular Instant Messaging programs. Net Nanny reports provide details about social networking profiles including friends' lists, pictures, personal descriptions and more. Net Nanny 6 will help you to keep your children safe online.
Net Nanny assigns one or more of 31 different categories to every Web site. Its configuration page sensibly defaults to displaying just 11 significant ones, like Gambling, Hate/Violence, and Pornography. Opening up the full list lets you control access to categories like E-mail, Shopping, Personals, and Sports.
For each user, you can create a weekly schedule in half-hour increments that defines when Internet access is permitted. As with most parental-control products, Net Nanny has a handy grid that lets you edit the schedule by clicking and dragging with the mouse. The current grid is more attractive and convenient than the split grid found in the last version.
Helful Resources About Net Nanny
Internet Filter, Parental Control & Filter Software | Net Nanny
Net Nanny Products from ContentWatch provide Internet Protection software, including parental controls and internet filtering software, computer cleaning ...
www.netnanny.com
Net Nanny' Advocate Does Back Flip
http://newmatilda.com/2009/06/05/original-net-nanny-advocate-does-back-flip
Net Nanny vs. Great Firewall
The short answer is that we're simply accustomed to using the term "Net Nanny" and see no reason to change.
"Net Nanny" conveys the idea that content management policies are set down by paternalistic government agencies, which actually operate in similar ways in off-line areas as well.
www.danwei.org/net_nanny_follies/net_nanny_vs_great_firewall.php
Peacefire.org: How to disable Net Nanny
This will kill Net Nanny until the next time you restart your computer. After you restart your computer or restart Windows, Net Nanny will be running again. ...
www.peacefire.org/bypass/Net_Nanny/
How to disable CYBERsitter, Net Nanny, Cyber Patrol, Surfwatch and other Internet Filtering Programs
Internet filtering software, internet babysitter programs, web blocking software...call it what you will, it is software that runs in the background on the machine you surf the 'net with for the purpose of restricting access to certain types of Web content--client-side Web censorship.
www.cexx.org/censware.htm
How to Buy Parental-Control Software - Net Nanny 6.0 - At A Glance
Parental-control favorite Net Nanny fixes a few rough spots and adds significant and unique new features. It's the best way to keep your kids safe online.
www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335359,00.asp
Amazon.com: Net Nanny: Software
Net Nanny 4.0 installs easily and begins running automatically after a system reboot. The administrator sets up accounts (up to 12) for each family member ...
www.amazon.com/Bio-Net-1896680089-Nanny/dp/B00005BC23
Net Nanny Parental Controls Review 2009 - TopTenREVIEWS
New, improved and ready to watch over your children's interaction with the internet—Net Nanny, powered by ContentWatch, receives the "TopTenREVIEWS Gold ...
internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/netnanny-review.html3
Net Nanny - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Net Nanny is a content-control software developed by ContentWatch, Inc. for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is aimed at parents of children and teenagers ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Nanny
Net Nanny also supports a daily or weekly cap on Internet access. It doesn't go as far as CyberPatrol, which allows a separate cap for each day of the week. The kids can't break out of the schedule by tweaking the system time, because, like Safe Eyes, Net Nanny gets its time from the Internet. Webroot and Bsafe can be fooled by kids who tweak the system clock; CyberPatrol too, to some extent.
Most parental-control systems offer an activity log of some sort, but none of the competition approaches the interactivity and flexibility of Net Nanny's reports. For whatever time-period you choose, the Web activity report shows a pie chart of all sites visited by category, a bar chart of the actions taken (allow, block, warn, or override), a bar chart of activity by user, and a line graph of activity over time.
So what do you do when you get an alert on your work e-mail indicating that Suzie is getting bullied in IM or that Johnnie is using the override password to view naughty pictures? Just log in to Net Nanny's remote management console from any Web-equipped computer. This gives you full access to all features of the local system's configuration.
The latest version also adds PC-game blocking based on Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings. It's similar to the game blocking that's included with Windows Vista, so it's more useful for systems running Windows XP.
The original version of Net Nanny was released in 1994 by Net Nanny Software, Inc. ContentWatch acquired Net Nanny back in 2007 and released its first product based on the melded technologies early in 2008.
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