Net Nanny is the well-known name in the internet filtering and surveillance tools. In spite of the popularity and recognition, it is not at par monitoring tool when compared to the other software in competition.
This application is good for internet vigilance for kids under the age of 10. However, it might not be that useful and effective to older kids. When used for policing internet usage for older kids, many loop-holes may crop up. Yet it is easy to use, comparatively cheap and effective for younger kids. In fact, it acts as well as a mere block and gives good value for your money.
Features
The application, Net Nanny, breaks the rules of the industry in a way to show the list of blocked sites. This is a very nice feature; however, these sites are not grouped into various categories. Sometimes, this long list of blocked websites may be a bit discouraging to the parents who want to modify the list to keep it updated with the new websites coming up every day.
The most desirable feature is the time control and the capability to entirely block total categories of web content, for example - newsgroups. With this the user can eliminate objectionable content embedded in the normal pages which kids often visit.
However, when Net Nanny has the good capability to scan through the documents and web-pages for un-appropriate language and content, at the same time it fails to block the offensive images. For text matter, it replaces the wrong words with the pound sign but the content in the form of images is escaped from the filter.
Ease of use
Net Nanny is very easy to use, with its simple user interface. The process of setup is also very easy which helps to set default user account in little time. This is a good software to the aid of the novice parents who have recently started learning computer and are keen to protect their kids from the offensive contents available on internet.
Effectiveness?
The activity reports are quite detailed, they cover - number of online sessions, web sites visited during session, files downloaded, and filters violations per session. Here again the screen capturing is not available so overall effectiveness is low.
The information can be made available on other computer via periodic email of the reports. So apart from updating the list of blocked sites, the access to the computer under monitor is not necessary.
Customer Support
The customer support from the Net Nanny team is good. They offer free support by email or an option of phone call with rate $19.95 per call is also available.
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