Frequently Asked Questions

What is "family safe" browsing?

WebBalanced Technologies classifies Home & Family as a "family safe" browsing tool because all members of the family can surf the Internet using various levels of safety without running into the danger of encountering objectionable material. Parents can feel confident that when their child is on the Web, they will only have access to suitable material based on the types of content (characteristics) that the parent selects for each browsing level.

What are the key features of the product?

  • WebBalanced Technologies identifies sites by reviewing content and assigning characteristics to the sites. Each site can be assigned to 33 distinct areas of content. Parents are then empowered to manage access to whatever content they choose for their children by selecting or deselecting certain characteristics for their children's browsing level.
  • Human eyes review each Website accessible through Home & Family. Other products on the market use "no" or "bad word" lists that don't block all objectionable material and can prohibit users from viewing everything that's good on the Web.
  • Through Home & Family Protected Search, users may utilize any of the popular search engines like Yahoo, Google or Ask Jeeves. If users type in any of over 10,000 words or phrases related to pornography, no results are rendered.
  • The "Site Override" feature empowers parents, with their user name and password, to Override the characteristics assigned to a site and allow the child to access it.
  • The "Site Preview" feature empowers parents, with their user name and password, to preview the site to determine if their child should be allowed to access it.
  • The Home & Family Browse feature gives Adult users the freedom they desire by allowing them, if they so choose, the ability to look at sites that have not yet been reviewed.
  • The Home & Family Administration area gives parents the freedom to choose how they and their family browse the Web. The parent can allow or disallow the use of chat programs, audio players, video players, instant messengers, peer-to-peer file sharing (KaZaa and Morpheous) and other browsers and browsing related programs. In the case of a user attempting to access a Web site that has not been reviewed by WebBalanced Technologies, a Dialog box automatically appears for them to request a site to be reviewed by the WebBalanced Technologies review team.
  • WebBalanced Technologies Home & Family is a full-fledged, customized, safe way to surf the Web that requires a one-time installation. Initially there is a one-time sign-up. All other activity is done seamlessly on the server-side so it is transparent to users. Users simply install Home & Family for use with their standard Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator or Navigator browsers.
  • Beyond human eyes reviewing sites, WebBalanced Technologies utilizes the best technology available to review and re-review each site.
  • Fast access, via a safe cache can increase speed of access to many sites.
  • Safe, secure browser and password protected uninstall.
  • Server-side domain list for added security.
  • Home & Family can be subscribed to through a local Internet Service Provider (ISP). This makes installation simple and cost-effective for subscribers-users do not have to switch ISP's.

Does Home & Family replace Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers?

No, Home & Family compliments your existing browser, either Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Netscape Communicator or Navigator. Home & Family installs safe browsing functions and is transparent to the end-user.

Can Home & Family prevent children from giving out personal information, like a credit card number over the Web?

Parents can choose not to allow their children to access secured Websites that contain online ordering.

How does WebBalanced Technologies define what is and is not acceptable to the site?

WebBalanced Technologies makes no judgment about the acceptability of a site. WebBalanced Technologies has established a set of over 30 criteria or characteristics which reviewers look for when reviewing sites. If a site's content falls into any of the 30 or more characteristics, that site (or portions of that site) is identified for containing one or any collective combination of characteristics. Depending on the characteristics selected by parents for browsing, this determines what their children access while on the Web.

How does WebBalanced Technologies look at every site?

On the front end WebBalanced Technologies utilizes the best technology available to help our site reviewers with their efforts in selecting characteristics for each site. After the review process, WebBalanced Technologies also uses unique technology to automatically recheck for the sites that are highly unpredictable and change. The tendency of the site is the first step in what helps determine the evaluation process. Every page seen by a WebBalanced Technologies reviewer is completely monitored and judged on total content.

How can WebBalanced Technologies possibly keep up with all the content on the Web?

WebBalanced Technologies has already reviewed the most popular sites on the Web. Aside from monitoring new pages, whenever a subscriber encounters an un-reviewed page, the URL address is automatically submitted to the "WebBalanced Technologies Review Team." This is the best means for ensuring that every site is carefully reviewed and fairly assessed. WebBalanced Technologies could be less meticulous and try to get more sites approved to add volume, but the price of lower conscientiousness would be, ultimately, that objectionable sites slip through the cracks and become accessible, diminishing our purpose.