Moral Metric

Content:

TITLE: 
Review of Bsafe Online 5.0

AUTHOR: 
Movie research by <a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/authors/41-moral-metric-labs">Moral Metric Labs</a>

ARTICLE URL: 
http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp

BANNER URL: 
http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_banner&cmp_src=cp

MORAL METRIC RATING: 
9/10 - Acceptable, few if any, objectionable themes or images. Good for most audiences.

SUMMARY: 
The best just got better.

BOTTOM LINE:
The best just got better. Now comes with powerful controls for Instant Messaging Programs.

BODY:

Key Findings: 
The best just got better. Same powerful web filtering (best we have tested). More categories to block (or allow). Monitors popular Instant Messenger (IM) programs. Option to notify would-be predators that their chats are being monitored.
Bsafe Online released version 5.0 of their Internet filter last month. They received a 9 out of 10 when we reviewed them last (read review here). They have improved their current protection since then by increasing categories as well as the number of applications (programs on your computer) that parents can block.

Bsafe has added a couple new features that make them an even better choice for parents who have teens (and preteens) who are active with instant messaging (AIM, Windows Messenger, Yahoo, etc.) and social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

Both Bsafe Online's Basic Filter and its "All-in-One Security Suite" version 5.0 now come with Identity Protection and Instant Messenger Filtering. Here's a quick overview of how those features work.

Messenger FilteringThe IM filtering settings and logging are off at the start. That means parents need to activate and customize the settings to get the best use of the product. Most noteworthy is the "Notify Incoming IM Message" which stamps a message at the start of conversations that this chat is logged. This is an excellent deterrent to online-predators who prey first on the most vulnerable. Keyword filtering keeps offensive words from appearing in the chat window. Messages from friends/buddies are not passed through to the child, but do get logged. This enables the parent to see anyone who tries to chat with the child. All chats are logged and any user can be blocked from sending messages.

Identity ProtectionThe identity protection feature allows for any phrase you select to be filtered out via IM. It is blocked by the person receiving the message, not by you. This led us to believe it wasn't working when it actually was. You should think this through carefully, because the filter looks for exact matches to a phrase. If you filter "555 King Cir., it would allow "555 King Circle." This gets really difficult when you think of the combinations of phone numbers. 555.111.2222, 555-111-2222, (555) 111-2222, etc. would all have to be entered in manually. We hope they will allow partial matches in a future release.

We see a small decrease in our "easy setup" category because of the level of detail to properly set this up, but all other areas we reviewed were the same or better as version 4.5.  It's not that the setup was actually difficult. It simply required the involvement of a thoughtful parent or spouse.

There are some areas where Bsafe Online could improve. 
Filter reporting is still not live, but available the next day (they are the only ones not offering live reporting) IM filtering should include more common slang terms and acronyms (POS = Parent over shoulder was allowed, for example). Tech work-around: You could put those terms in the Identity protection section and it would only show * rather than POS. Partial matches within Identity Protection Allowing Identity information to be passed through when authorized by admin (with password). There are legitimate times when I may want to give my address to someone on IM.
But those are minor enhancements, in our opinion, that have little impact on our final rating.

Our final rating: 9 out of 10.

Bsafe remains the best at filtering out objectionable Web content. It is still very easy to use in day to day operation, though setup has become slightly more complex. It is customizable enough that it provides excellent protection for teens and adults who want to eliminate temptation or have addictions to gambling, shopping, or pornography.

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<div class="fullReview">
  <a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp">Full Review</a>
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BODY: 
<p style="width:100%;padding:0;margin:0">
  <div style="float:right; width:30%; border: solid #ddd; border-width: 0 0 1px 1px; padding:1em; margin:0 0 0 1em;">
    <a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp"><img alt="Moral Metric" src="http://www.moralmetric.com/images/logo-small.gif" /></a>
    <div style="margin-top:20px;"><b><a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp">Bsafe Online 5.0</a></b></div>
    <div style="margin-top:20px;">
      <img src="http://www.moralmetric.com/images/ratings/light-9-small.gif?cmp_src=cp" alt="9/10" title="Moral Metric Rating: 9/10" /> 
      <b><a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp">Moral Metric Rating</a></b><br />
      <span class="value">9</span>/<span class="best">10</span> - 
      Acceptable, few if any, objectionable themes or images. Good for most audiences.
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top:20px;">
      <b><a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp">Community Rating</a></b> -  
      <a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp">Visit Moral Metric</a> to see the community rating and add your own rating.
    </div>
    <div style="margin-top:20px; font-size:100%">
      <b>MPAA Rating:</b> <br />
      <b>USA Release:</b> <br />
      <i>Movie research by <a href="">Moral Metric Labs</a></i>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div style="font-size:100%;">
    <b><a href="http://www.moralmetric.com/reviews/web-safety-products/751-review-of-bsafe-online-50?cmp_id=751&cmp_medium=cp_article&cmp_src=cp">Moral Metric Bottom Line</a></b>
    The best just got better. Now comes with powerful controls for Instant Messaging Programs. 
  </div>
</p>

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