Protect Our Kids from The Internet
ACSI Sacramento
October 19th, 2006
T. Kobelt
The Issue …

Increased access to
the Internet means
increased access to
inappropriate sites
and content.
London School of Economics
Nine out of ten children
(90%) between the ages
of 8 and 16 have accessed
pornography on the
Internet. In most cases,
these sites were stumbled
upon while searching for
information that was
homework related. Using
the Internet with a filter is
using the Internet
responsibly.
1
Viewed Porn
90%
The Internet Frontier & the Issues

Myspace & related Sites

Instant Messaging & related sites

Unfiltered Search Engine Results
What is the point of Giving Students
Internet Access?
We must have the internet so we are “not
behind” in technology.
 The internet is a tool for information and
research.
Searching for a Paradigm of Internet
Use

Looking for something that parallels
developmental stages
Mental
 Social

Looking for something that people can
relate to
 Physical Limits (Playground & Garden)
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Age Appropriate Strategies

K – 2 – White list


Define the boundaries of the playground and
ensure that kids can not go anywhere else.
3 – 12 – Blacklist & Dynamic Content Filter

You can go anywhere in the garden, just don’t
eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the
garden.
Hierarchy of Individual needs is
well known …
Self Actualization
Belonging and Self Esteem Needs
Physiological and Safety Needs
Expansion on Maslow
At the top of the original pyramid is self
actualization.
 Later writings gives us transcendence

A life transformation process
 Romans 12: 1,2

Maslow’s Premise



The essence of the hierarchy is the notion of “pre-potency”
This means that you are not going to be motivated by any
higher-level needs until your lower-level ones have been
satisfied.
Note pre-potency only makes sense over a substantial
time-scale. I ate a good breakfast this morning, but I shall
be hungry again tonight: thus I may become concerned
about Physiological needs again then. But if I know where
the next meal is coming from, concern about meeting
those needs will not be a great motivator.
Student Research Capabilities
Give students the capabilities to explore
their world.
 Secure the Borders



Expand the Borders


What does this mean?
What does this mean for me?
Expand their Horizons

Where do I go from here?
For your School

I can’t expand my network structure for
tomorrow if I am plagued with computer
virus issues and network security issues
today.


Restrict internet access (secure your borders)
I can’t build strategic knowledge based
information systems if I can’t trust and
interrogate the underlying data.
Hierarchy of Organizational IT
Needs
Strategic Systems
Decision Support
Reach out to Stakeholders
Extend the Borders
Secure Data
Secure Network Borders
Transformational

We need to move from systems that run
well.


We need to move from a secure internet
connection.


To systems well run (or used well)
To a safe & secure internet experience.
We need to move from more information.

To more meaningful information
Internet Experiences gone wrong
Chemistry search for Platinum
 Image search on your first name
 6 year old searches for Barbie Doll
 Search for horses
 A history class watches the page get
redirected to a “new” site.

Approaches to a Safe Internet
Parent / Teacher Guidance & Supervision
 PC Based Programs
 Network, Server or Appliance Solutions

Parent / Teacher Supervision
Works well only in low PC to Supervisor
ratios.
 Kids can quickly minimize a browser screen

PC Based Solutions

Browser Settings

IE Content Filter
Can be circumvented at the PC Level
 High Maintenance


Requires constant updates and Maintenance
Can be used in small network environments
with Supervision
 Net Nanny

Server or Network Based Solution
With a single gateway it is difficult to
circumvent.
 Consistent application of content and
network security policy
 One point of update and control
 Allows for comprehensive web activity
reporting
 Not a panacea for education and
supervision

Content Filter Solutions

White list
Block all access except for specific sites.
 Works well in K to 2.
 Can be implemented at least two ways.

 Lock
Browser to a specified web page.
 Put all approved sites on the web page.

Warning ensure those pages don’t have any “bad” links.
 Restrict
all domains in the firewall (ie D. Link)
 Set-up a white list in the Firewall
White list Concerns

It is very restrictive

Works well in younger grades
It is high maintenance
 A white list does not check the content of
the pages coming to the browser
 By definition everything in the list is
approved.

Black List
List of known bad sites.
 Over 5 million known porn sites
 Thousands of new “bad” sites every day
 Block the known bad sites quickly and easily


Ie. Playboy.com, myspace.com
Very high maintenance
 Allows “bad” sites to get through
 Websense, Sonicwall, N2H2, Surfcontrol

Dynamic Content Filtering

Analysis the content of every web page
ICRA Tags
 Internet content rating association
 Voluntary rating (Not many pages are rated)


Keyword blocking
May ban good sites using the word in a
legitimate way.
 Ie: Middlesex University
 Leads to over blocking
 Available in most firewalls

Dynamic Content Filtering

Context sensitive keyword blocking
Parse each word and combination
 Very intensive
 May slow down internet searching


Dan’s Guardian
Combination Filters

Does the URL (blacklist) blocking first


Does Dynamic Content Filter only on pages
that pass the blacklist


Fastest test
Catches new websites and “bad” results in
search engines and proxy servers
NetSentron
An example
October is Breast cancer Awareness month
 Johnny, a 14 year old boy, is given an
assignment on breast cancer.
 He turns to MSN to do his research.
 He enters breast cancer and gets the
following results

Johnny continues with his research
He has the basics
 Now he gets an idea.
 The hypothesis is that there is a correlation
between size and the occurrence of breast
cancer.
 Johnny decides to search on “big breasts”

A white list will let anything from MSN or Google
through
 A blacklist will show the results, but may not let
you go to the site

Dynamic Content Filter Result
What would he have seen …
What does an Administrator See
Allowed Sites
Banned Sites List
Details (trace) on a site
Content Filtering & Beyond
Myspace …
 A quick survey …

What is your name?
 Where do you teach?

Myspace & Related Issues

Virtual Community
Addresses a need.
 Found on related site:

 My
name is x
 I am a Junior at Y High School
 I work at Toys R US at the local Mall
 Here is a picture of me and my friend

Social Conditioning
Instant Messaging (chat)

Meant for Quick, unimportant messages
Time waster
 Resource waster

Block websites (URL’s) & port
 Web based IM (iloveim.com)
 Fulfills a social need

Teaching & Technology

The Medium is the Message
Ie: Powerpoint
 Television
 The Internet


The medium does not replace content

The challenge is to engage the learner with the
content in a cold medium
Resources

Internet Rating Content Association

www.icra.org
www.safekids.com
 www.netsentron.com



Our Product
www.netsentron.com/acsi

Presentation materials
More “stuff” to cover
After we defend our borders how do we
safely extend our borders.
 Wiki’s etc.

Varied sources of information
 Not verified information
 If it is on the internet it has to be true


Once we get past the first stage of the
pyramid, teachers and technicians can move
on up to more interesting “stuff”