

But to be fair, all three programs we reviewed permitted some porn and gun sites, and CyberSitter also allowed cults. Porn, cults, guns, bestiality-Nanny's default settings let most of these sites through without batting an eyelash.
#REMOVING NET NANNY SOFTWARE#
In our tests, on its default setting, the software blocked just 3 of 30 sites we deemed objectionable-a mere 10 percent. Unfortunately, even with all these security features, the Nanny is easily the most permissive filter we tested. You can add these variants to the word list, but it's a thankless, time-consuming chore. And even after you program the Nanny to block certain naughty words, it doesn't automatically block variations on a word so bleep might be blocked, but bleeps, bleeper, and bleeping are not. Your kids also won't be able to view the pics at legitimate sites and may struggle to make sense out of a page on Vice President # Cheney. The downside? Net Nanny can't tell the difference between a nudie picture or a baby picture, so it blocks all images without discretion. (Your Web browser lets you hide images, but there's no way to keep someone from undoing your settings.) You can also program Net Nanny to let Web pages and e-mail messages through but wipe out certain words, replacing them with #. What about sites that don't post objectionable words, but display "Nude XXX Celebrity Pix"? You can set Net Nanny to blank out GIF and JPEG images (primary Web image formats), so even if your 15-year-old made it to (not a real site, by the way), he wouldn't find much to look at. Now, Net Nanny's all set to start protecting your kids. Next, click the Schedule Access tab to limit the amount of time Junior spends surfing. Select sites from the Nanny's default list of blocked sites or create a custom list yourself. You decide which sites, newsgroups, and IRC chat rooms to block for each user. Simply choose an icon (they look like Keith Haring drawings) to create identities for every member of your household. You can set up and configure Net Nanny in moments. If you want an easy-to-use, customizable filter, Net Nanny's the way to go.

True, the program's default filters block the fewest objectionable sites overall, but it's a cinch to add sites to your restricted list. For example, create a less restrictive filter for your teenage daughter but stricter controls for your toddler son. It's easy to customize Nanny for multiple users. If you want an easy-to-use, customizable filter, Net Nanny's the way to go.As its name implies, Net Nanny is friendly, flexible, and none too strict. As its name implies, Net Nanny is friendly, flexible, and none too strict.
