Another good family safety tip is to block access to certain websites. In the past, I had done this via blocking known troublesome domains (myspace.com, rotten.com, etc.) in my hosts files on each computer, but it was a pain. There are software suites out there that claim to do the same, but those require constant updates.
I've found a good, free solution: OpenDNS. A few years ago, when I used Comcast for my internet, I had frequent problems with their DNS servers going bad on me. I was still getting e-mail (as I accessed it via IP address), but any web access was dead. Someone tipped me off to using Genuity's public DNS servers (4.2.2.1 to 4.2.2.6...pick any two or three), and my problems went away. Very reliable. Another good, free DNS server is at OpenDNS: use 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220, and you'll be able to use their DNS service. The nice thing is, it works with any browser, any operating system and any internet device you own--it filters before it even reaches your modem.
The added bonus is that if you create a free account at OpenDNS, you get access to filtering content on your "network". For individual users, like cable modem or DSL, your "network" is simply your IP address assigned to your modem (and OpenDNS will detect that for you). OpenDNS has greatly expanded their fltering to include many different categories of sites, so you can even block bandwidth- and time-wasters like YouTube. By their choices in categories (such as, blocking the free e-mail services), I can tell that they are also gearing this toward the corporate market. Still have a favorite site in a category you would normally block? They have a "whitelist" feature where you can allow individual domains. Got sites that aren't covered by the filters? Block that too!
For the family, I've blocked mainly the "nasty" stuff. I don't have to worry about the kids falling into a porn site, gambling, tasteless/gross-out sites, phishing sites, etc. Categories, and sites within them, are actually voted on by many users, so sites will not get added to the blocking list until there have been enough votes.
http://www.opendns.comIn the event your IP address changes, there is a companion service called DNS-O-Matic (
https://www.dnsomatic.com) that will broadcast your changes to whatever DNS services you choose, like OpenDNS (to keep your filtering active if the IP changes), and services like DynDNS. So that you don't have to submit your DNS information manually, there is a tiny Windows client you can install that will send updates to DNS-O-Matic on your behalf, located here:
http://dnsomatic.marc-hoersken.deChanging your DNS server settings is as easy as logging into your router's web interface and changing them there, or if you use a modem only, you can change your DNS server addresses right in Windows.
(Not affiliated with any of these services--just a satisfied user.)
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