4 Ways to Block Pornography
There are many ways to block pornography; from narrow, focused methods to broad, restrictive methods.
In this installment of the Blocking Porn series, I’m going to give you an overview of the ways to block porn and discuss how to select a method.
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Categories of Blocking Control
- Safe Search
- DNS
- Operating System Parental Controls
- Software Solutions
What solution is right for you?
Block Pornography with Safe Search
This one is probably the narrowest and some may say the least effective, but it’s still helpful. Turning on safe search on search engines. All major search engines have a safe search feature that will automatically block results that have pornography, drugs, and/or hate speech.
Pros
- Simple
- Focused
Cons
- Only stops results from coming up in search
- Must be set up on each search engine
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Block Pornography with DNS
DNS, or Domain Name System, solutions can cast a wide net for blocking pornography and other harmful materials on your entire network, though the setup can be a little daunting for those who aren’t particularly tech savvy.
Pros
- Network wide solution
- Very configurable, depending on solution
- Can be free, with enough technical know-how
Cons
- Only works when the devices are accessing the internet from your own connection
- Can be very complex to set up
- Costs could balloon as more devices are added to service
Blocking Pornography with Operating System Parental Controls
Most operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Apple iOS, Android, ChromeOS) come with some sort of parental controls built in. These can be very effective and cast a wide net.
Pros
- Can watch what’s happening in browser and what apps are being run
- Once it’s setup it’s usually good to go
- Flexible and configurable
Cons
- Can be time consuming to setup
- Fiddly – May require setting up multiple accounts (parent/child accounts, etc.) or complex permissions
If you’re unfamiliar with sextortion, check out Dr. Jen’s article How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion.
Software Solutions
These will, generally, be paid solutions that will allow very fine control over permissions and access. Many of these options will allow you to restrict not just web content, but what apps can be used or installed on a machine.
Pros
- Reliable and difficult to circumvent
- Very fine-grain control
Cons
- Usually, a subscription model
- Often times specific to a single device
An intermediate software solution would be a browser, either modified to block pornography or dedicated strictly for the task. There’s more information in this post.
Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.
What solution is right for you?
There are a lot of factors that go into choosing the right access control solution:
- Who are you trying to protect from pornography or other offensive materials?
- Is it for you or someone else?
- What’s your budget?
- What’s your level of technical expertise?
- What discussions or thoughts brought you to the decision to block pornography?
Typically, the best answer, is a mixture of a couple of the four categories above. In future installments of the series, we’ll dive into each category a bit deeper and provide some links for helpful resources and how to have discussions about restricting access.
This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.
Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.
Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.
