Go Ahead. Google "Boobies". (We dare you.)

(Sorry, kids.  Did this site come up on Google instead of a real boobies web site?  Your parents might want you to wait and see real boobies, later on.  When you're ready.  Instead of online boobies, while they're not home.  There are better things to look at online - try coolmathgames.com.)

The rest of this blog is for the grownups.

Now that we have really good home network security set up, I sometimes like to google things just to see what comes up.  We can google anything, and it's all PG-rated.  I like "boobies" the best. It's a search term that our kids started with, when they were first getting curious about forbidden web sites.  Yes, your kids have done it too.
If you do that in my house, this is what you will see:













Photo from Wikipedia

What do you see when you do it in your house?

Yep, we used to see that too.

If you're not especially fond of online boobies, or if you'd rather not share them with your children - let me share our favorite network security trick.  It's free, or cheap.  It's fast, and it's easy.  It's called OpenDNS.

OpenDNS is not software.  It's a setting change that you make, either on your computer or in your router (the place that sends out your wireless internet signal all over your house).  If this is too confusing already, we've made a video showing how we do it.

1. Start with account setup:  Go to www.opendns.com and choose 'Personal' on the home page. I like to start with the free version, since you don't know how much you'll use it and it's not necessary to commit to a cost.  
   
2. Pick a version.  There are two free versions currently available from OpenDNS:
   

• Family Shield is a relatively new service they offer, for parents who want security controls but don't want to spend time setting them up, or managing them.  It has ready-made settings to block 'adult content'.  If you're not very picky about what you're blocking, and you need a quick fix, this would be a good one to try.
  
• If you'd like more control and don't mind spending a little more time on the setup, choose "OpenDNS Home 'Free'".  This will give you most of the benefits of the full version, including the right to control everything, down to the web site level, that is available in your home for online viewing.

To set up your account, only name, email address and country are required.  OpenDNS will also request a referral source - don't forget to fill in bugfreenet.com!

Once you have established your new account, there are a few more steps to getting your network security up and running.  Read through the tutorials, contact us for assistance, or wait for the next installment of the OpenDNS series on the Bug Free Mom blog!  Happy networking!

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