VPN’s and Content Filtering
Virtual Private Networks (VPN) create a private tunnel that keeps curious eyes out of your online activities. They were designed to help systems outside of trusted environment access the trusted environment, but over the years have grown as a staple of good security hygiene amongst online users. While we don’t believe everyone needs one,…
Read MoreBrowser Extensions Function as a Gateway to the Outside World
We recently shared some of our insights around Encryption, explaining what it is, and how it’s affecting families and small network owners. In those articles we explained how it’s quickly becoming the #1 preferred mechanism to bypass network controls because of it’s ease of use. I alluded to VPN’s, but didn’t talk much about…
Read MoreEncrypted DNS: What it Is and Why we should Care
Encrypted DNS itself is not new, it’s been around for a decade. What is changing is how it’s being deployed and made available. While some of the changes can be applauded, many of the deployments are proving to be problematic to parents, schools, and other organizations looking to create family-friendly environments for kids. …
Read MoreHow Encrypted DNS is used to Bypass Content Filtering Services
Encryption is a mechanism by which you make things that are traditionally readable, unreadable. It’s the technology that helps keep those that should not be able to see something, from seeing something. As a security professional and privacy advocate, it’s a great thing! As a parent, or a network administrator, charged with creating family-friendly…
Read MoreOnline Pornograhpy Ranks #2 for Reported Harmful Content on the Internet
The Reports Harmful Content (RHC) organization is a impartial dispute resolution service that works with organizations and users to report content that is deemed harmful. What is harmful is, obviously, very subjective so to address they analyzed community guidelines across multiple industry platforms and defined eight (8) content types that fit into the harmful classification:…
Read MoreHow to Make Netflix Kid Friendly
Platforms like Netflix are closed-platforms. This means that it’s impossible for content filtering services like CleanBrowsing to filter its content. To do this, they would have to do something similar to Google and their Safe Search that would allow a network provider to enforce a “safe search” like experience. Until that’s made available, the best…
Read MoreThe Importance of Public IP’s on the CleanBrowsing Platform
CleanBrowsing works at the network level, specifically via the Domain Name System (DNS). Via DNS, we can intercept outgoing requests and make a determination if it should be accessible based on the rules created in your account. Do you allow social media? Should we allow Twitter? Do you allow adult / pornographic content? Should we…
Read MoreNew CleanBrowsing Apps Released
We are constantly reminded that what we think is “easy” isn’t necessarily the case for everyone, and we take that for granted. In an effort to improve that thinking, we have devoted a majority of the first quarter to updating the apps for key platforms in an effort to improve your experience. Tech talk: CleanBrowsing is…
Read MoreUtah Passes Legislation to Restrict Content on Mobile Devices
Congrats to Utah for passing new legislation (H.B. 72) that introduces a “default-on” mechanism for pornographic content on devices sold in Utah. This bill establishes filter requirements and enforcement mechanisms for tablets and smart phones activated in the state on or after January 1 of the year following the year this bill takes effect. (Description of HB72)…
Read MoreApple Makes Managing Kids Devices Easier with “Apple for Kids”
One of the most popular mobile platforms, iOS by Apple, has taken a big step forward in placing more emphasis on the tools parents have at their disposal to more easily manage their child devices with the introduction of “Apple for Kids”. Although this feature to manage a family accounts was introduced in iOS 8, many…
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