Long-awaited filter reviews

Now that more than half of US families with teenagers use filtering software (see my 3/18 issue), it's surprising how seldom Consumer Reports tests filters - the last time was four years ago. But software testing's very involved, and it's great when they do apply their solid methodology to this important product category. There are four basic take-aways from CR's latest review: 1) Filtering software has gotten better but is still flawed, 2) the 11 products tested are "very good or excellent" at blocking porn (the worst product blocked 88%), 3) "they blocked more than porn but not effectively" (not great at blocking hate and violence sites or those that aided weapons-making or advocated illegal drug use), and 4) they over-blocked ("the best porn blockers were heavy-handed against sites about health issues, sex education, civil rights, and politics"). CR's top 3 picks were SafeBrowse "for most people," AOL's Parental Controls "for Mac users or families with young children," and Microsoft's Parental Controls "if you use MSN or want protection built into your Internet service." But the overview also had good things to say about KidsNet for ease of use and porn-blocking effectiveness (though it overblocked a bit too). Here's the page with at-a-glance ratings of the 11 products reviewed.