WebWatcher - How WebWatcher Compares to the Competition

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Matt_Collins]Matt Collins

A disturbing statistic in a 2006 study performed by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention indicates that increased proportions of young internet users were encountering unwanted exposures to sexual materials and online harassment, and 1 in 7 received unwanted sexual solicitations. As bad as this seems the even more disturbing fact in the study is that the increase in exposure to unwanted sexual material occurred despite increased use of internet filtering, blocking, and monitoring software in households of youth internet users. This means that either the parental control software being used was either ineffective or the parents were ineffective in their application of the internet filtering software. WebWatcher is claimed by many to be the most effective monitoring software on the market today. In this article we will examine three key features of monitoring software and how WebWatcher compares to other popular internet filter products on the market today in these areas.

Filtering Capabilities

This is what most parents look for in parental control software. A parents first thought is generally to have the ability to block access to inappropriate sites and material (i.e. keep the bad stuff out and let only the good stuff in). Filtering is done generally is two ways. The first is by direct blocking of websites and the second is blocking thru keyword lists and/or categories. Almost all control software will allow you to input websites to block. Only the more advanced and more expensive software will also provide the ability to filter by keywords. WebWatcher, in addition to direct and keyword blocking, will also allow you to block by category selection, which can be a big time saver (e.g. select gambling for example and all gambling websites are blocked). It also has the ability to create a white list, which allows the parent to block everything on the internet except for pre-approved websites (e.g. homework sites). Still, filtering, as advanced as it is, cannot totally block all unacceptable content. To overcome this inherent limitation in all monitoring software, the logging and monitoring capabilities are used to catch what might otherwise might me overlooked or missed.

Logging/Monitoring Capabilities

The logging and monitoring capabilities are generally what separate the good internet filters from the really excellent ones. Quality software will be able to record keystrokes (key logger), monitor internet activity, log chats, etc.. Instant messaging logging should include all popular networks including AOL, AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Windows Messenger and the currently popular MySpace chat (currently only the WebWatcher software appears to have the ability to monitor MySpace chat). The software should also be able to record email sent and received on all the popular email systems. And finally, make sure that the parental control software, in addition to performing the above tasks, also has the ability to properly format and display the results in a useable format. Raw keystrokes recorded in an unformatted form require too much additional time to try to decipher and can lead to frustration and eventually non use by the parent, which defeats the purpose of the software to begin with.

Ease of Use

The best internet filtering software in the world is completely useless if the parents cannot figure out how to quickly use and customize the software to suit their particular needs. Thus the ability to use the software and get the expected results are key to effective parental control software. Although WebWatcher rates well in its ease of use along with many other popular brands, it has two distinct additional features that appear to separate from the rest. Those features are its remote monitoring and multiple computer capabilities. WebWatcher is web-based, which means you have total access to the data from any computer, anywhere, anytime. Other parental control software with similar features charge an additional $10 per month for this feature. This can become quite expensive if the software is used for two or three years. WebWatcher is also designed to monitor multiple computers from one location. This is a great feature if you have several children and computers that you want to monitor from a central location (separate software purchase is required for each additional computer).

Despite all our best efforts it appears that the threat to our children's safety from the internet is still growing. It is our responsibility and duty as parents to protect our children while they are under our roof. Finding quality internet filtering software that can be used effectively is one way we as parents can protect our children.

Matt Collins is a father, author, and the owner of several small businesses. He is an outspoken advocate regarding child safety on the internet. He runs an informational website where you can find useful information about parental control software products including [http://www.webwatcher-review.com]WebWatcher. To visit his website go to [http://www.webwatcher-review.com]WebWatcher-Review.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Collins http://EzineArticles.com/?WebWatcher---How-WebWatcher-Compares-to-the-Competition&id=593818

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