Snoopstick & ScrubIT

2 great products have come out in the recent dates that pair together well for protecting our families from the dangers of online pornography. Whenever I lecture on this subject, I always point out that protection has to be three fold.

1. PUBLIC PLACES & AGREED ON SPACES - All computers should be in locations within the home that are public and shared between multiple members of the family. NO ONE (Dad & Mom) included should be privately using a computer. No closed doors! is the most important line of defense.

2. PROTECT THE MACHINE - Accountability is key in this pursuit. Every family should have software in place that allows parents and the other spouse to see ALL online activity. Monitoring and Filtering is a practice that should be disclosed to all family members. Remember the battle is for the heart and mind and so the family should be together in the discussion.

3. PROTECT THE NETWORK - In addition to filtering and monitoring the computer parents must also be aware that Sony PS3 - Nintendo DS - Nintendo Wii - TiVo and other net connected devices can also be used to surf internet photos. Additionally through the usage of Linux boxes, Live CDS, and other techniques PC filters can all be avoided. I have been discouraged recently since Linksys stopped supporting the abilty to parental control on the router. However I was excited to see there is a new (less end-user friendly) solution.

There is so much more to be said about these issues, but this is not a lecture about internet protection. For that you will need to invite me to come spend a weekend with your church. This is about the Snoopstick and ScrubIT service.

Snoopstick - I don't have one yet so my comments are based on what I read on the site. As soon as I can get one of these cats I will give a more thorough review. Snoopstick looks like a similar product to SpectorPro which I have recommended for some time. The advantages of Snoopstick is it seems to have easier remote access.
One other potential advantage of the Snoopstick over SpectorPro is that the programmers could set it up to require both (mom and dad) USB keys to uninstall and disable the filter. This protects couple who choose to use the configuration from the temptation of disabling the filter for their own addictions. At this time Snoopstick does not contain that functionality, but it would make it a perfect product.

ScrubIT - Since Linksys stopped shipping WRT54Gs with the Parental control option I have been discouraged about the 3rd line of defense in protecting our families. ScrubIT answers those concerns by providing DNS servers that can be set at the router level. The free service has no customization but they are working on a beta that will allow some level of customization. I will try out their DNS servers this weekend on my home network to see if this is a solution to add to my presentation.

I am excited about these new products. I will have more post soon once I am able to use them both.

As always when I am this subject, I want to remind you of the importance of these discussions. I believe in this SO MUCH that I will bring your church a presentation that will look candidly at these issues. In the full weekend we spend time with the parents talking about the spiritual realities and offering practical solutions to these issues. We spend time with your youth group challenging them to understand God's passion for their purity. Finally Sunday morning we can present a presentation about Godly passion and Carnal passion.

The future strength of our churches is based on our acceptance of God's call to true religion. This is an important part of our pursuit of purity.