This week I have 2 resources to use for the internet. Now first, let me say that NOTHING is fail-safe. And in all likely hood you will probably need a combination of plans in place if the addiction is strong enough. But with proper treatment you can be victorious.
My first resource is opendns.com.
What is DNS. Think of DNS as the map of getting to where you want to go on the internet. Regular DNS does not distinguish between sites. It's just takes you where you need to be based on what you type (and some stuff in the background). OpenDNS has a filtering mechanism. Think of it as a firewall to keep out unwanted visitors as well as unwanted sites.
OpenDNS is EASY to implement and I think by far one of the best systems out there. You might think it's going to be slow because if you ever tried a filter piece of software..well it does bog down your machine. I am not going to explain how it does it (but I do know if you are interested). It is very fast!
We have young children here at our house that use their iDevices all the time. And with TV's being able to access internet sites directly from your remote control, the scenarios of pornography being accessible is so much more complex than adding a piece of software as was done in days past. Well, OpenDNS fixes some of that. When implemented it will make all of your devices go through this filtering.
For home solutions, check out their site. And the best part is that it is FREE! Actually what I love best is that if one of my kids tries to access an inappropriate website, they will see a message with a picture I uploaded letting them know that Mom and Dad think it's inappropriate.
NOTE:: with any search engines, visuals are so HARD to block. So you might want to think about blocking search engine use or using Safe Searches using Google. I could get into why it's almost impossible to block these images, but in reality it's a Google thing (and I truly wish they would take a stronger look at this).
But for a HUGE number of these sites, OPENDNS will block it.
My next resource is CovenentEyes.com
Now this is a different solution as it requires adding a piece of software onto your machine. It currently works for Windows, iDevices, Android (sorry no Blackberry or Windows Phone 7..at least not as of this writing). As of this writing the Mac only allows for accountability and not filtering..
What makes this different if that you can have time controls as well as sensitivity levels. but more importantly it sends a report to your accountability partner of all the sites that you have visited.
- using the smart searches for google
- the mac or pc parental controls
- blocking the browser capabilities on smart phones
- use app ratings
- use TV controls with password protections
- blocking certain sites
- having computers only able to be used out in the open for others to see
- have a person next to you while on the internet
As I said before there is NO fail-safe way to block this stuff. And sadly googling will always provide a way around if someone is savvy enough. It will take a combination of all these to get a good start.
Sorry I couldn't provide you with clear cut definitive ways but I hope these are a few ideas that can get you going in the right directions.
Want to download recoveryBox, do it today and be accountable.
