Do Web filters protect your child? | CNET News.com

Do Web filters protect your child? | CNET News.com: ..."Casting doubt on the usefulness of Web filters should put American families on edge. More than half of U.S. families with online teens use filtering programs, with more than 12 million copies of such software in use, according to a study conducted last year by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The report indicated that use of filters in U.S. homes grew 65 percent from four years earlier, as children logged on to the Web in ever greater numbers and the online porn industry continued to flourish.

So just how well do such tools really work? Experts say the technology is not flawless but that it's become more sophisticated in recent years. For instance, developers of filters have learned to thwart some of the more common devices designed to disable them and have added more customization features that give parents greater control over the type of material that can be blocked.

'They're not perfect, and it's hard to see how they ever really would be,' said Amanda Lenhardt, a researcher at the Pew Internet and American Life Project. 'But they are relatively effective. They do a reasonably good job.' "...