Filters for Mobile Devices
TorahTechs is happy to announce an exclusive partnership with WebChaver and now able to provide a filtering solution for virtually all mobile for almost 50% less than the advertised price on the WebChaver website!! This is only available through TorahTechs so please sign up on our home page to become a member of TorahTechs and mention you are interested in this offer and we will contact you with more information.
Filtering Your Home
As stated on our Home page TorahTechs will provide resources for the community that are practical and doable by most any person. If the ideas presented are too technical TorahTechs will be available to help explain, install and monitor if necessary.
It has been recommended by the Gedolei Yisroel to not have interenet access in the home. However, if it is necessarily to have internet access at home it's an absolute must to have the access limited and filtered to the highest degree possible.
One of the best ways to keep your home protected is to have a router. TorahTechs will recommend this to all homes that believe it necessary to have internet access. The router, as explained below, can be the "lockbox" if programmed correctly.
The following article gives 2 options: easy and hard and they are free!
Don't forget: Please email infor@torahtechs.com us if you need technical help.
Open DNS and Free Internet Filtering in Your Home
by Rich Deem
Introduction
I have always been concerned about the Internet in our home. We have three sons who are involved in Internet searches for their school projects. So, since they first began to use the computer, we have used content filtering software to block inappropriate content from entering our home. Some of these programs were free, but these are now unavailable. So for the last three years I have been using Net Nanny. However, if you are on a budget and can't afford $40/year, there is a free way to filter your Internet content, if your Internet connection goes through a router. We are going to use the free DNS management services by OpenDNS.
What is DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is actually the way that your computer knows how to find specific domains on the Internet. The reality is that your computer has no idea how to find the specific server that houses each website domain. When you type or click on a domain name, your ISP's servers translate the domain name to an IP (Internet Protocol) address. For example, Plonialmoni.org is hosted at a server with the IP address 205.234.174.92. It is very difficult to remember IP addresses, which is why domain names were invented and assigned to those IP addresses. Ordinarily, your Internet connection is automatically set to use the DNS servers provided by your ISP. However, there is no rule saying that you must use those servers. OpenDNS provides DNS services for individuals and companies to use in place of those provided by their ISP. One can use OpenDNS servers through individual settings on a computer or more globally, through one's router. When OpenDNS provides your DNS services, they are able to filter your Internet content based upon your specific preferences.
Your router is programmable
Most people don't know that their router is more than just a box that sits somewhere in your house and transmits your Internet connection. Your router is actually programmable to a large degree. For instance, you can program the router to stop accepting Internet calls after a certain hour. For our home, this means that the computers our sons use lose Internet connection at 10:00 p.m. the night before school days. Even if parents go to bed early, our "scholars" are not playing online computer games all hours of the night. If they need to get online for reports, they know not to wait until 10:00 before downloading the information they need.
FamilyShield - Easy
There are two ways to use OpenDNS to filter your web content. We are going to examine the simple way first, then a more customizable method afterward. In June, 2010 OpenDNS initiated FamilyShield, an all-in-one easy way to filter your Internet, blocking content based upon:
· Adult websites that are unsuitable for kids
· Proxy and anonymizer sites commonly used by savvy kids to bypass traditional Web filters
· Phishing sites that aim to trick you into handing over personal or financial information
· Some virus-spreading malware websites
Simply by changing the DNS servers in your router, you can block objectionable material automatically. Generally, you can get to your router through the following link:
http://192.168.1.1/
Going to this IP address will bring up the control panel for your router. Your control panel may or may not have a password to gain access. Check your router's manual for the default password and change it once you login. You can usually find the manual online. Just type the router's model number with the word "manual" in a Google search. When in doubt, try the username as "admin" and the password as "password" or blank. You can get specific instructions for your router at the OpenDNS website:
https://store.opendns.com/setup/router/
Customized filtering - More difficult
One can customize OpenDNS filtering by changing the DNS servers and creating an account in OpenDNS to apply custom settings. Again, you can get to your router through the following link:
http://192.168.1.1/
As above, you are going to change the DNS settings in your router from "dynamic" to "static" and enter the IP addresses for the OpenDNS DNS servers:
https://store.opendns.com/setup/router/
It is recommended that you use the instructions in the link above, since they are different for each router. Just click on the router that corresponds to your particular model. In addition, you will need to setup an account with OpenDNS in order to specify your filter settings. If you don't setup an account in OpenDNS your Internet content will remain unfiltered. My recommendations are to block P2P/File sharing and Proxy/Anonymizer in addition to other content that is inappropriate for children. This will prevent your children from illegally downloading copyrighted music and games. Yes, you the parent are legally responsible if your child steals thousands of dollars of music through illegal file sharing.
DisadvantagesThis method of filtering your Internet content is not as good as filtering software, since it blocks sites based upon a specific domain list. Inappropriate content that can be found on newly created or non-blocked domains will be allowed through. However, the vast majority of offensive sites will be blocked, since OpenDNSupdates their lists on a continuing basis. However, if you currently have no content filtering, OpenDNS is the free, easy way to set it up.
It has been recommended by the Gedolei Yisroel to not have interenet access in the home. However, if it is necessarily to have internet access at home it's an absolute must to have the access limited and filtered to the highest degree possible.
One of the best ways to keep your home protected is to have a router. TorahTechs will recommend this to all homes that believe it necessary to have internet access. The router, as explained below, can be the "lockbox" if programmed correctly.
The following article gives 2 options: easy and hard and they are free!
Don't forget: Please email infor@torahtechs.com us if you need technical help.
Open DNS and Free Internet Filtering in Your Home
by Rich Deem
Introduction
I have always been concerned about the Internet in our home. We have three sons who are involved in Internet searches for their school projects. So, since they first began to use the computer, we have used content filtering software to block inappropriate content from entering our home. Some of these programs were free, but these are now unavailable. So for the last three years I have been using Net Nanny. However, if you are on a budget and can't afford $40/year, there is a free way to filter your Internet content, if your Internet connection goes through a router. We are going to use the free DNS management services by OpenDNS.
What is DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is actually the way that your computer knows how to find specific domains on the Internet. The reality is that your computer has no idea how to find the specific server that houses each website domain. When you type or click on a domain name, your ISP's servers translate the domain name to an IP (Internet Protocol) address. For example, Plonialmoni.org is hosted at a server with the IP address 205.234.174.92. It is very difficult to remember IP addresses, which is why domain names were invented and assigned to those IP addresses. Ordinarily, your Internet connection is automatically set to use the DNS servers provided by your ISP. However, there is no rule saying that you must use those servers. OpenDNS provides DNS services for individuals and companies to use in place of those provided by their ISP. One can use OpenDNS servers through individual settings on a computer or more globally, through one's router. When OpenDNS provides your DNS services, they are able to filter your Internet content based upon your specific preferences.
Your router is programmable
Most people don't know that their router is more than just a box that sits somewhere in your house and transmits your Internet connection. Your router is actually programmable to a large degree. For instance, you can program the router to stop accepting Internet calls after a certain hour. For our home, this means that the computers our sons use lose Internet connection at 10:00 p.m. the night before school days. Even if parents go to bed early, our "scholars" are not playing online computer games all hours of the night. If they need to get online for reports, they know not to wait until 10:00 before downloading the information they need.
FamilyShield - Easy
There are two ways to use OpenDNS to filter your web content. We are going to examine the simple way first, then a more customizable method afterward. In June, 2010 OpenDNS initiated FamilyShield, an all-in-one easy way to filter your Internet, blocking content based upon:
· Adult websites that are unsuitable for kids
· Proxy and anonymizer sites commonly used by savvy kids to bypass traditional Web filters
· Phishing sites that aim to trick you into handing over personal or financial information
· Some virus-spreading malware websites
Simply by changing the DNS servers in your router, you can block objectionable material automatically. Generally, you can get to your router through the following link:
http://192.168.1.1/
Going to this IP address will bring up the control panel for your router. Your control panel may or may not have a password to gain access. Check your router's manual for the default password and change it once you login. You can usually find the manual online. Just type the router's model number with the word "manual" in a Google search. When in doubt, try the username as "admin" and the password as "password" or blank. You can get specific instructions for your router at the OpenDNS website:
https://store.opendns.com/setup/router/
Customized filtering - More difficult
One can customize OpenDNS filtering by changing the DNS servers and creating an account in OpenDNS to apply custom settings. Again, you can get to your router through the following link:
http://192.168.1.1/
As above, you are going to change the DNS settings in your router from "dynamic" to "static" and enter the IP addresses for the OpenDNS DNS servers:
- 208.67.222.222
- 208.67.220.220
https://store.opendns.com/setup/router/
It is recommended that you use the instructions in the link above, since they are different for each router. Just click on the router that corresponds to your particular model. In addition, you will need to setup an account with OpenDNS in order to specify your filter settings. If you don't setup an account in OpenDNS your Internet content will remain unfiltered. My recommendations are to block P2P/File sharing and Proxy/Anonymizer in addition to other content that is inappropriate for children. This will prevent your children from illegally downloading copyrighted music and games. Yes, you the parent are legally responsible if your child steals thousands of dollars of music through illegal file sharing.
DisadvantagesThis method of filtering your Internet content is not as good as filtering software, since it blocks sites based upon a specific domain list. Inappropriate content that can be found on newly created or non-blocked domains will be allowed through. However, the vast majority of offensive sites will be blocked, since OpenDNSupdates their lists on a continuing basis. However, if you currently have no content filtering, OpenDNS is the free, easy way to set it up.
