Monitoring and filtering
Monitoring
Monitoring your system allows you to know who uses your computer, when they use it and what they do while they are using it. Installation of a monitoring software program can give you clear information on usage and can produce a detailed report of traffic (what type and volume of files have been downloaded and when) as well as of the activity of specific people logged onto your computer. Some programs allow remote 'real time' monitoring, for example, from your workplace. As well, some monitoring software is part of larger package of services.
Filtering
Filtering is the screening of material (emails, websites, etc) for inappropriate or offensive content and can be achieved through either the installation of a software package or the use of a filtering service from an ISP.
Filtering programs used to be fairly rudimentary with crude filtering based on word combinations. Many of the systems today are far more flexible, allowing a system administrator (most often the parent) to set up individual accounts with individualised settings for the level of the filtering required, e.g. very rigorous for a six-year-old, less stringent for a 16-year-old. If you are wanting a filtering program you can either install filtering software onto your computer yourself or you can subscribe to the service of an ISP which filters the material for you. Many of the ISPs filter Internet browsing based on a huge database of acceptable, and unacceptable, websites. You can customise that list as you please, blocking additional sites or unblocking sites based on personal preference or needs.
Filtering can be very useful to help prevent the inadvertent access of inappropriate content when URLs are mistyped and to help protect very young or inexperienced Internet users.
How do you keep tabs on who does what?
Even if you do not have monitoring software installed on your machine you can monitor web-browsing by checking the Internet browsers history of websites that have been visited. The number of sites that can be recorded before being over-written can be adjusted. However, you do need to be aware that the History is easy to manipulate by deleting sites, etc.
To see your settings for the History, and where to delete the sites in the History:
Open your browser (Internet Explorer) and choose Tools and then Internet Options. Go to the History area on the General tab and adjust the Days to keep History to reflect how long you want to keep your browsing history records and click Clear History to clear the history
What is reasonable accountability and what is spying?
The issue of monitoring is a complex one. At home, if the administrator of the computer makes it clear to all users the level of monitoring they are going to use, then everyone is informed and cannot assume a level of privacy that does not exist. Parents can choose to covertly look at their children's files or emails, but that might not fit in with their family 'code', for example that children's diaries are private. Parents also need to be aware that skilled children can spy on their parents, despite having separate accounts. Perhaps the best strategy is for the administrator (parent) to establish rules for usage and be open about how these are monitored.
It is recommended that the administrator (parent) set up several user accounts on the system, which clearly defines by policy what is permissible on the computer system and what is not. This means that the user has to login into the system, which provides a form of privacy and defined boundaries to the user. However, the administrator (parent) is able to review the activities of other users on the system on a regular basis. This can even be negotiated in a 'use agreement'. If there is a breach of those rules, it can be discussed and dealt with fairly. Basically, the same is true for the workplace, where use agreements are very commonplace and often quite detailed. Be open and transparent about the rules and the accountability so the level of privacy is well understood by all. To check out the latest NetSafe Use Agreements for use in Schools click here.
Both filtering and monitoring are excellent tools. However, parents, in particular, need to be aware that these tools are not the 'solution' for keeping young people safe. Ongoing education and discussion of cybersafety issues is the best avenue for safety online so that children and young people are safe wherever they access the online environment.
Click here to return to the NetSafe Computer Security home page.
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