The Internet is one of the most powerful tools ever created by mankind, but it is also one of the most dangerous. It is well known how much there is out there that poses threats to a person's spirituality.

There are some out there who prescribe that religious Jews shun the Internet completely in order to avoid these dangers. There are some merits to this idea, but it is clearly not for everybody. This article focuses on how to manage your household's Internet usage, specifically through the use of filtering software.

There are many different types of free and commercial software that a person can install on his computer to block unsavory content. They all require that the computer owner or administrator create a password that will give him alone the ability to override or change the settings. It is worth noting that today's kids tend to be much more technology-savvy than their parents, so if you are installing a filter for your children, you may have to be on the lookout for attempts to get around it.

We'll now discuss a few different approaches used by filtering software, and their advantages and disadvantages. The first two are opposites: the blacklist, which allows access to all sites except for certain ones defined by the program, and the whitelist, which allows access only to selected sites, and no others. Most filters rely primarily on the blacklist approach. They may block sites that are recognized by the program as bad sites, or block individual pages based on the appearance of certain keywords, or in most cases, a combination of the two. They may also offer the parent to decide which types of categories should be blocked: pictures, gambling, hate sites, etc. This type of system is good for keeping out the bad sites while allowing unfettered access to other parts of the web. However, because there is so much filth being published online every day, it is impossible for any program to have 100% effectiveness, and a child who really wants to look at bad stuff will always be able to find it given enough time for trial and error.

The whitelist approach, on the other hand, will be virtually impenetrable. It allows a person to choose the sites he wants to be able to view- say, several torah sites, email, and a few news sites- and block everything else. The bad news here, of course, is that this forces users to sacrifice all of the other good stuff out there. Parents should decide which approach is appropriate for their family.

A third tool worth mentioning is monitoring. Many filtering programs have a setting that would monitor all sites accessed, or that users tried to access. Some will even email you a list of those sites every day. If you are concerned that your children may be abusing their access privilages, this can help you keep an eye out.

It is worth noting that different programs may affect your computer's connection settings and firewalls in different ways. Administration of this web site, for example, works fine on K9, but doesn't work right on Cybersitter.

Before we list a few of our favorite programs, an important point: this article was written for a parent in charge of raising kids, but many grownups need as much protection from their own desires. If you are installing an Internet filter on your computer to protect you from yourself, we commend you for your honesty and humility. We suggest that, once you've configured the program as you like, you entrust the password with a friend or loved one, and maintain no records of it. It can be frieghtening to give up the ability to override the filter on your own, but experiences have shown that a person who can easily unlock the Internet is not deterred at all by the fact that the program is there.

Now, for our recommendations.     The good news is that there are more than a hundred different programs you can choose from, many free. Two good places to learn about different programs are at www.download.com, under parental filters, and www.filterreview.com.

Our favorite program for now is K9 Web Protection, a small and powerful program available for FREE from download.com. The program is based on an expensive commercial-grade Web filtering system, and offers many different settings.

Among paid programs, two of the most popular are cybersitter and Netnanny. Both cost about $40 for a lifetime license, with free upgrades and updates.

We hope that choosing the right Internet filter will make your Internet experience a wholesome and fulfilling one for the whole family.