Parental control filters are a good way to slowly introduce children to the Internet without having to directly experience the dark side of the Internet. The non-profit association JusProg e.V. develops the software, which has good approaches, but does not replace a watchful eye of the parents.
Why should a youth protection filter be used with children?
The Internet offers, without question, added value for all age groups. From the age of 6 years, it is now assumed that children come into contact with smartphones. The well-guarded parenting devices are less of a problem when used under close supervision. However, as soon as it comes to having their own smartphone, the issue of internet and screen time is brought into focus and often discussed by many families.
But in the end it is all about protecting the children. Everyone agrees on this. But how do you as a parent prevent that the child is not only a few clicks away from pornographic ones? This can be done with different methods. One possibility is the so-called youth protection filter JusProg. The software is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android.
How does surfing with JusProg work?
Each time a website is called up, the parental control filter checks whether this page is allowed. However, since there are millions of websites, and thousands are added every day, you should already say goodbye to 100% accuracy here. However, the majority, and especially known sites, are recognized. And this is already a step in the right direction.
The work or decision of the youth protection filter is based on positive or negative lists. For the latter, the Bundesprüfstelle for media harmful to minors is used. The positive list is maintained by the child search engine fragFINN. But also own lists, maintained by JusProg, complete the filtering. This includes a self-classification, age classifications and for each family individually created positive and negative lists. The remaining 14.6% of pornographic websites, which were not recognized by the youth protection filter JusProg, would have to be entered into these lists. 85.4% of the sites were denied access.
Additional info: Youth protection program on DNS level
For those who operate many appliances in the household, the establishment of JusprogDNS may be a good idea. DNS stands for Domain Name System and comes into play whenever e.g. aware7.de is typed in as the internet address. Then, simply spoken, the DNS looks up the IP address behind aware7.de – and the website is called. At this level, e.g. on the router, JustProgDNS can be entered. Here a step is interposed. Before the correct IP address is delivered to the server, a check is made whether this website is allowed. Especially effective with several devices. This also affects Smart TVs and operating systems for which there is no parental control filter app.
Social networks, real-time check and filters of the providers
YouTube videos, even if they are without age restriction, can have a bad influence on children. For this reason, the provider itself offers a youth protection filter. The dynamics of social networks are great. This poses a particular challenge for filtering. Therefore Youtube, Google and Bing can be switched into the SafeMode within JusProg. From this point on the filters of the platform are trusted.
But also websites which are neither in positive nor negative lists need a check. This check can be activated with the on-the-fly (OTF) function. If the visit takes place – and it is detected that the website is not listed, a quick check is triggered. This quick check can decide whether the site to be visited is reputable or not. If there are doubts, it is blocked. Up to the age of 12 years, the site is blocked by default.
Behind the youth protection filter JusProg are well-known media companies
Behind the JusProg e.V. are established companies. The Media Group RTL Germany, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE is one of them as well as RTL, freenet, Vodafone and Telekom. The fact that the development of the software pursues an economic interest is therefore not something that can be taken lightly. The strategy behind the development is often based on delivering content to the target group in line with age. According to the company, the project is free of advertising.
The youth protection filter JusProg is a good approach – and with the support of the parents also suitable for everyday life.
What’s allowed and what’s not? This question not only divides the opinion of parents in numerous subject areas, but also poses a major challenge for youth protection filters. Transparent filtering – and above all the option of adding further pages to positive or negative lists – is exactly the tool families need to adapt access to their own wishes. If you have children in the age of 5+ years, you can take a look at the youth protection filter JusProg.
