Protecting Against Pornography In The Digital Age

It was inevitable with the birth of the Internet that pornography would wind its way into this new digital territory. With all of the value provided by online information and communication technologies, these advancements have nonetheless also become inextricably linked with developments in pornography distribution. Fortunately, new technology brings not only new outlets for pornography, but also new ways to protect against it.

There are several sources of unwanted pornography. The web is the most obvious one, but adult content also makes its way on to external drives (floppy, CD-ROM, DVD and flash), into email attachments and on to files that may be shared in a networked environment. The right software can protect you across all of these distribution avenues.

The first factor to evaluate when choosing protection software is how the software does its job. Many products designed to protect against pornography rely on databases of known pornographic web sites. Unfortunately, the speed of life on the Internet means that web sites are added and edited around the clock, and databases quickly grow outdated. The best software solutions use technology that dynamically blocks offensive images before they are displayed and viewed. This type of technology, unlike database-driven software, means that even new threats are recognized and blocked before they hit your screen.

Monitoring computer usage goes hand in hand with detecting pornography on the PC. Strong protection software uses two monitoring weapons: a visible deterrent that lets users know they are being monitored, and a reporting function that keeps detailed records of what, when and where pornography is viewed. Sometimes the visible deterrent is enough to ward of inappropriate behavior. When it