PCMag.com Lists Best Porn Filters

CYBERSPACE—With a nod to a claim in the British press that "one in eight British parents either didn't know how to install a porn filter program or didn't realize such things exist," PCMag.com has decided to help the poor ignorant masses by listing a few of what it considers to be the best over-the-counter porn filters on the market. We don't know how many Brits visit the American site, but it's the idea that counts, and reminding citizens of the U.K. (albeit subtly) that filtering is best accomplished in the home and not at the ISP level is a very good idea. In fact, some of the solutions on their list don't even cost anything, but are, yes, free! You don't have to be American to appreciate that. The magazine also reminds readers that today's filters do far more than ... well, filter. "Most let you control when the kids can go online, and they can put a cap on the amount of time they spend on the computer or on the Internet, too," notes writer Neil J. Rubenking. "Many will track IM conversations and flag risky communication, or let parents control the list of IM contacts. Some will limit use of games based on ESRB ratings, monitor social media activity, force Safe Search, and more. It can get pretty complicated!" The list is meant to apply not just to parents. "Small businesses should pay attention, too," adds Rubenking. "If one employee is offended by another employee surfing porn in the next cubicle, you might face a lawsuit. Sure, you can let employees use company PCs for non-work Web browsing, but you don't have to let them visit NSFW sites." The article includes a few more hints about what special features to look for, but we'll let you discover those for yourself. The list of recommended filters includes: AVG Family Safety McAfee Family Protection 2.0 Net Nanny 6.5 Norton Online Family Premier PureSight Owl 2011 Qustodio v1.9 Safe Eyes 6.0 WebSafetyPC Windows Live Family Safety 2011 And while it isn't listed by PCMag.com, we would be remiss to not mention the industry's own filter, the RTA Label, offered by ASACP, and available here for free.