Looking for filter like K9; not Techloq

amother

Sun, Feb 21 2021, 8:42 pm

K9 was great. I had set it at a basic level of filtering, and if we needed to blacklist or whitelist a site, I would supply my password and adjust the settings. Alas, K9 is of no more. The TAG recommended Techloq has a lot less user control. I need to "request access" to a website they presume to be off limits...even if I get a response in minutes, I want the control to reside right with me, not a third party. And the access is not always granted "within minutes." This does not work for me.

Example: I recently had to look up "birth control failure." Under normal filtering standards, those results would not be allowed, but I want the leeway to just enter my password to bypass the filter.

Seems like no TAG recommended filtering co does this. So. What else is there that works this way?

mamma llama

Sun, Feb 21 2021, 11:55 pm

I'm not 100% sure how it works, as I still have K9 on my computer, but I know of a lot of people who say that Qustudio works well.

fiji

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 12:13 am

I was having similar frustrations with techloq and I mainly wanted it for the skin blocking features. I called them up and asked them to unblock everything except adult content. They did and I basically haven't had any issues since.

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 12:58 am

The TAG filters don't let adults do web searches about birth control?

Ugh this is why I keep putting off getting a filter. I know I need one but...

Why did K9 disappear and why didn't it leave a successor? What would it take to get them back?!

mamma llama

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 1:14 am

amother [ Oak ] wrote:

Skin blocking features?

There are filters that can tell when there are images with people and it blocks them to prevent from seeing something that's not tznius.

amother

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 8:48 am

fiji wrote:

So, is reading about bc "adult content?" I'm not a fan of Planned Parenthood in general (to say it mildly), but I do at times read content on their website regarding bc or (gasp) the morning after pill. So I'm thinking I use my computer for "adult content." Unless "adult content" means actual p*orn? Can you specify, fiji?

amother

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 8:49 am

amother [ Fuchsia ] wrote:

Kaspersky Safe Kids.

https://www.kaspersky.com/safe-kids

Thanks. Do you use this personally? How easy is it for you as the adult in the household to access mature content?

amother

Cobalt

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 9:08 am

We use something called OpenDNS. It's extremely customisable-you set the filters, you can choose websites to whitelist or blacklist. We're happy with it.

amother

Floralwhite

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 9:31 am

OP, I've BTDT. We tried OpenDNS and it messed up my computer - probably because I didn't know how to use it properly. We now have Qustodio and it's fine but not the same like K9, harder to open specific sites that are usually filtered. Please come back to update this thread once you found what works for you.

amother

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 9:35 am

amother [ Floralwhite ] wrote:

Thanks. Waiting for response on PP above who recommended Kaspersky Kids.

What do you mean about "harder to open sites?" In my mind, I would try to open a normally blocked site, it says "BLOCKED," I enter my password, and it opens. That's how K9 works. How does Qustodio work differently that makes it "hard" to open?

baltomom

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 9:53 am

I have been happy with Qustodio. If I ever need to access something that it blocks, I just have to right click on the Qustodio icon on the bottom of my screen, select "Disable temporarily," then enter username, password, and select how long I want to disable for (15 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, etc).

I have different users set up for each of my kids on my computer and can customize Qustodio's filter settings for each user (either by allowing/blocking categories or just allowing specific whitelist). It works well for my purposes.

amother

Blush

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 10:00 am

You’re not going to find a tag approved filter that does what you want because tag doesn’t approve of you having control over what you view. They want you to request access for someone else.

I had Gentech and then jnet, they’re both tag approved. Once I looked up how to pronounce a word and the result was blocked. they sent the answer in the email instead of allowing the search result. So there’s another pair of eyes on your browsing habits which is what tag likes.

If you can use Disney circle plus I find that the best. I’m using opendns right now. Qustodio I really didn’t like.

amother

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 10:09 am

amother [ Blush ] wrote:

Ok, good info; thanks. I'm not looking specifically for a TAG approved filter, and now that I see their philosophy, am specifically looking for a non-TAG approved filter :-)

Can you share what about Qustodio you didn't like? What do you like about Disney Circle Plus?

fiji

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 11:41 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

im not sure what exactly is blocked and what is not. I literally spoke to them and said "please unblock everything except adult content". since then I havent had issues with my regular browsing. that being said, I just googled "birth control" and was able to open every link on the first page except for one that was blocked with the tag "abortion".

amother

Copper

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 11:54 am

Another blush, I spoke to tag and that’s not true.
They only approve filters that they know are unbreakable. They won’t say that you qstudio is fine if it’s possible to hack in any way.
Lol they’re not interested in watching your web surfing, but for those that need an unbreakable filter with access when needed, I find that gentech is ok. And I was a huge k9 fan! Loved all the control I had over it. Took me a while to get used to gentech but I love the peace of mind I have knowing that my computer is safe for my family. Plus I have my iPhone to do all my real searching lol (off limits to my family)