PRNewswire/ -- Blocking YouTube from your children's Internet surfing is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The site has its share of R- and even X-rated content that is as easy to find as typing "naked pictures" or "hot girls" in the search box, but it's also packed with harmlessly funny and even educational videos. Now InternetSafety.com's Safe Eyes(R) parental control software screens each YouTube video individually instead of blocking the entire site, allowing children to enjoy unobjectionable material while protecting them from over 8,000 clips about phone sex, 130,000 about girls kissing and 457,000 in the porn category.
In this latest enhancement to its award-winning program, Safe Eyes automatically evaluates YouTube videos for inappropriate content. The system then blocks offending clips while allowing the computer to display the rest. This goes beyond YouTube's own self-policing system -- which enables site users to voluntarily flag videos as unsuitable for viewers under 18 -- to ensure that individual clips are screened against filters defined by Safe Eyes' pre-configured controls.
Because so many YouTube videos are shared virally through online channels other than the YouTube site itself, Safe Eyes' new intelligent YouTube filtering also evaluates videos embedded in emails, blogs, and sites like Facebook and MySpace. This feature -- unique to Safe Eyes -- prevents children from accidentally or deliberately viewing undesirable footage through the back door. It also makes Safe Eyes the first program to filter YouTube videos no matter where they appear on the Internet.
The new YouTube controls are included with the latest edition of Safe Eyes, now available at http://www.safeeyes.com/. Parents also have the option to block YouTube entirely if they wish.
"YouTube is the third most heavily trafficked website in the world and the fourth in the U.S., after Google, Yahoo and MySpace. Blocking the whole site is unnecessary for families because it means blocking good content along with bad, including perfectly innocent videos making the rounds among friends," said Forrest Collier, CEO of InternetSafety.com. "Safe Eyes' new ability to filter out only the offensive clips solves the problem."
"Internet filtering is a useful tool for shielding children from online material they shouldn't see, but being too restrictive can backfire. There is no reason to keep kids away from every YouTube video just because some of them are off-color or otherwise undesirable," said Aaron Kenny, CTO of InternetSafety.com. "Evaluating each video on its merits is a smarter way to handle the issue and one that will give children access to positive content ranging from footage of migrating birds to a speech from the latest political convention."
Safe Eyes enables parents to easily block objectionable websites, control Internet use by length of time as well as time of day and day of the week, block or record instant messenger chats, and block peer-to-peer file sharing programs that may expose children to dangerous material. It also allows parents to limit email use to certain addresses, and detect the posting of inappropriate or personal information on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.
The software provides broader controls than any other filtering product, including the ability to define which websites will be blocked by category, URL and keyword; receive instant alerts about inappropriate online behavior by email, text message or phone call; and remotely change program settings or view reports from any Internet-enabled computer.
Safe Eyes is also the only program of its kind that can be used in mixed Mac/PC households. A single $49.95 annual subscription covers up to three Mac and/or PC computers with the ability to customize settings for each child and enforce them on any machine. The product's website blacklist is updated automatically every day, eliminating the need for manual updates.
The new Safe Eyes edition with YouTube controls can be purchased at http://www.safeeyes.com/ or downloaded free of charge at the site by existing owners.
About InternetSafety.com
Established in 1999, InternetSafety.com(TM) specializes in providing Internet safety solutions. Its flagship software, Safe Eyes(R), is the two- time recipient of the PC Magazine Editors' Choice Award, earned a separate Editor's Choice Award from LAPTOP magazine, and was rated as the #1 parental control solution by America's leading consumer advocacy publication. The company's Safe Eyes and EtherShield products are providing online protection for PCs and Macs in homes, businesses and schools across more than 125 countries.
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