K9 Web Protection is discontinued
content-control software
An Internet filter is software that restricts or controls the content an Internet user is capable to access, especially when utilized to restrict material delivered over the Internet via the Web, Email, or other means. Content-control software det ...
developed by
Blue Coat Systems
__FORCETOC__
Blue Coat Systems, Inc., was a company that provided hardware, software, and services designed for cybersecurity and network management. In 2016, it was acquired by and folded into Symantec. In 2019 was, as part of Symantec Enterprise ...
. In 2016, K9 Web Protection was acquired by
Symantec Symantec may refer to:
*An American consumer software company now known as Gen Digital Inc.
*A brand of enterprise security software purchased by Broadcom Inc.
Broadcom Inc. is an American designer, developer, manufacturer and global supplier ...
as part of the company's purchase of Blue Coat Systems.
In April 2019, Symantec announced that K9 Web Protection would be discontinued and would no longer be made available for download or purchase. Technical support for the software ended on June 30, 2019.
Use
The software operates without downloading a database to the computer and instead looks to an
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
-based database. This means that the computer only needs a very small piece of code and the user can take advantage of the database being updated constantly. On the other hand, if the computer can not connect to this database for any reason (such as a
firewall blocking the connection), all web access will be disabled.
K9 Web Protection is
proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software, software that is deemed within the free and open-source software to be non-free because its creator, publisher, or other rightsholder or rightsholder partner exercises a legal monopoly afforded by modern ...
which is free for home use. It is possible to have multiple licenses, and every computer needs a separate license. Its primary purpose is for
parental control
''Parental Control'' is a reality television show about people looking for love produced by MTV. The two directors, Brendon Carter and Bruce Klassen, have also created other MTV shows.
In Asia, this show was aired on Channel V from 2007–2009. ...
, but it is possible to use it for protection of their computer against
computer viruses or
malware
Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, de ...
, or for self-blocking of pornography (with an
accountability partner).
Strengths
The software is very difficult to disable or remove without an administrator password. The uninstaller requires the administrator password to run, and if the service or process is stopped all web access is disabled. Similarly, attempts to modify the program from the
windows registry
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores low-level settings for the Microsoft Windows operating system and for applications that opt to use the registry. The kernel, device drivers, services, Security Accounts Manager, and u ...
or file system will also lead to all web access being disabled.
Reception
Ken Cooper from ''Family WebWatch'' praised its ease of use and clean interface. Cooper also praised K9 for not bogging down system performance because it uses an Internet-based database.
On the other hand, Neil J. Rubenking, lead analyst for security for
PC Magazine criticized the filter's inability to create custom filtering for individual family members, while praising the fact that he could not find a way for children to disable the filter without also disabling access to the internet.
Cnet gave it a 4 (out of 5) star rating, and ranks it #8 in Parental Control. Cnet criticizes "the lack of a chatware filter" which "leaves some holes for predation".
See also
*
List of parental control software
References
External links
* {{Official website
Content-control software