If you’re like me, I’m thankful that such a rating system is in place and that some type of filter is being used as a “starting point” to help parents make smart choices.

 

The Internet, on the other hand, has no such universal content rating system.

 

This can be frustrating or scary when you have children or teens in your home using the Internet.  Whether accidentally or intentionally, they can wander into undesired areas.

As you might suspect, most school districts have successfully addressed this concern by using third-party Internet-filtering and monitoring services.

 

* * *

I recently started using one popular solution called OpenDNS (www.OpenDNS.com).

 

According to their website, OpenDNS is “trusted by over 20,000 public and private schools, as well as millions of corporate users.” In fact, a whopping ninety percent of the K-through-12 schools in Maine use OpenDNS.

 

What Does It Cost?
OpenDNS is available for commercial and home use.  The commercial version is called OpenDNS Enterprise, and is priced based upon the size of your organization (you have to contact them for a quote).

 

However... home use of OpenDNS is completely free! So you can try it out and get a better understanding of how it works before taking the leap to implementing it in the workplace.

 

How Does It Work?  
Anytime you access a website link, your web browser looks up that website’s domain name and converts it to a numeric web address (an ‘I.P. address’, like ‘209.111.222.333’).  Because it always has to look up this address, there’s a single (sometimes double) point through which all requests must pass.  As a result, it is possible to record all traffic - and to redirect any of it, any time (such as displaying an ‘access denied’ web page, instead of the target page).

You simply configure your Internet connection (your router) to ‘look up’ all web requests at the OpenDNS servers and they do the rest.  Once set up, the system provides filtering on all devices that connect to your network, including game consoles, iPads, iTouches, laptop computers and cell phones (that use your WiFi connection, not the cellular data (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) network).

 

OpenDNS provides a web-browser-based control panel that allows you to configure the level of filtering you’d like enforced.  Basically, they’ve categorized millions of websites into 57 categories, such as:

 

• “adult sites”, “pornography”
• “games”, “gambling”
• ”academic”
• “fraud”
• ”social media”
• …and over 50 other categories

 

OpenDNS permits you to block the entire “category” or pick and choose individual websites to block. If an attempt is made to access a blocked website, a message will appear alerting the user that access is denied.

Another benefit of using OpenDNS is anti-fraud and phishing protection. This service is designed to make you (or your kids) feel more comfortable about clicking website links found in e-mails you’ve received. In the event that someone actually clicks an illegitimate website link, OpenDNS will prevent the bad website from loading!

Naturally, OpenDNS also provides online reports that help you keep track of your network’s Internet activity. You can see which websites have been accessed and the number of times they have been accessed.  You can also see blocked sites that have been requested.  With this information you can custom tailor your accessibility settings based upon your preferences.

Want to learn more about OpenDNS?
OpenDNS offers free informational webinars, including one this Wednesday.  Check out their website for more details.