Before I used Webshield, I would constantly be checking my children on the internet, worried and anxious about what they might 'accidently' find.... Angie Read more
More detailed explanations about the 2 main filtering options. Safetynet and Weave your own web. Scroll down or click on the links below for more info about each.
Safetynet - Open Filtered Internet Access There is no magic bullet when it comes to filtering the Internet. Like everything from security alarms, fences and privacy laws, to manage risk you must accept a degree of inconvenience.
Your choice of Risk vs Convenience is the balance that safetynet profiles seek to achieve.
The Internet is not neatly divided up into good and bad sites. With the rise of interaction and user generated content there are now many shades of grey. It is therefore impossible to have zero risk with no inconvenience. With this in mind, each Webshield client needs to decide what level of protection they would like and how much inconvenience that protection is worth.
Shades of Grey
For example, Flicker is a very popular photo sharing site, however with a free user account it is possible to adjust the account content profile to access hard core pornographic content.
Blogspot is a free web log service run by google, while there is a lot of useful educational content blogspot is also one of the largest repositories of adult and pornographic content on the web.
Facebook / Myspace are popular online communities for young people, however porn stars and adult models also have myspace pages and there is little to stop predators from targeting your children online.
Webshield can provide any combination of filtering categories and protocols, we can allow you to control content on a time of the day or day of the week basis. However we need you our members to think carefully about the kind of content you would like to control, when you would like to control it and communicate that with our staff.
You are free to make as many changes and adjustments to your filtering profile in consultation with our experts. But the ultimate decision about content and the tradeoff between managing risk and convenience is yours.
Examples of Safetynet
Our aim is to give you what you want, when you want it and for however long you want it for.
Some of our clients have the following profiles. Example 1
On weekdays Facebook available for 2 hours per day between the hours of 4-6pm.
On weekends Facebook available between 9am – 12pm youtube available all day.
Lock the Internet down after 12am on weekdays. Example 2
On weekdays Youtube and games available between 4pm and 6pm. Chat and Instant messaging available from 6pm – 8pm.
Weekends Instant messaging available all day till 9pm, you tube from 6am till 12pm. Limitations of Safetynet.
As we said earlier, there is no magic bullet when it comes to filtering the Internet and depending on your choice we can offer a good balance between risk management and convenience. However you need to be aware that Safetynet will not address the needs of those wishing to manage problems and addictions.
Flickr, Youtube, Dailymotion, Myspace, Facebook, Wikipedia, Wikimedia, Ebay, forums, foreign language sites and even university web sites can contain inappropriate content.
A premeditated search using a Safetynet profile will eventually result in an obscure site or forum which has inappropriate content. If you are seeking to manage an internet addiction, we would strongly recommend our Weave your own web whitelist profiles with perhaps a time based profile that permits safetynet access for a limited time for convenience.
Weave your own Web
As the name suggests weave your own web is for those who wish to exercise complete control over all internet content. Weave your own web works on the basis of limiting the Internet to lists of safe sites called whitelists.
Problem management Weave your own web is the ideal way to address and prevent internet related problems. People who develop Internet addictions need a walled garden approach to the Internet to help them to overcome their problems. Banning the Internet may not be practical, weave your own web allows Internet functionality with scalable, intelligent access restrictions. Time spent online is time lost offline
The Internet is a lifestyle and a culture all rolled into one. Surfing the Internet is an individual thing and cannot generally be shared. This can present problems balancing family time with Internet time. It can also give rise to trends which result in family members isolating themselves by spending excessive time online.
Weave your own web is perfect for people who want to utilize the practical elements of the Internet, but do not want it to become a sub culture that competes with family time.
Scalable protection, customised options.
Like all of Webshield’s filtering profiles the choice is yours. There is a range of different whitelists from strict to convenient as well as the option to create your own list of safe sites and services and add to the as you go along.
Risk vs Convenience
Weave your own web has not been designed to be convenient, it is designed to put safety and risk management first. This means that researching diverse topics online will generate a number of false positives as sites that are not on the whitelist will be blocked.
Examples of Weave your own Web profiles.
Control
Control - Only the barest minimum functionality, antivirus, banks, airlines. Sites can be added but go through strict vetting process. Convenient
A large range of safe sites including all Australian sites and services. There is a slight risk of inappropriate content but otherwise a good balance between high control and convenience.
Custom You give us a list of sites that you want and we give you your own personal Internet experience. Sites can be added to by authorised party.
Weave your own web profile security
Managing Internet addictions can be a difficult process. Preventing unauthorised changes or additions to your filtering profile is essential.
Webshield offers you the ability to select whatever profile protection suits your circumstances. Simply tell us how you want to manage changes and we will attach your conditions to your profile which need to be acknowledged by our staff when any changes are made.
For example You can nominate an authorised party to manage all filtering changes.
You can request that a pass word be quoted before filtering changes are made.
You can request that all changes to be made verbally or in writing.
You can invent your own process by which changes are to be made.
The Choice is yours.
Examples of live customer profiles
Example 1
A lock down whitelist 24 / 7 with 3 hours of open filtered access between 1pm and 3pm and the Internet disabled after 12am. Wife to make changes verbally.
Example 2
A convenient whitelist profile including all Australian sites and services from 6pm till 8am, open access with online games blocked during the day. Whitelist with youtube Saturday morning.
Example 3
A custom whitelist profile 24/7 with a filter bypass proxy for wifes laptop. Partner is only party authorised to make changes. Talk to us about the best solution in confidence
Managing Internet addictions can be difficult. The Internet is the biggest anything anywhere, dwarfing real life in terms of options and scope. Talk to our experts about what you are trying to achieve and we will advise you of the most effective solution that suits your needs. Once we have an understanding of your objectives, if you inadvertently request a site that may contain inappropriate material, we will alert you before the changes are made. In navigating the challenges presented by the online world Webshield is here to help. Our technology is the best, our customer service without peer and our objective is to give all of our customers freedom of choice and control of all content with confidence.