This is an article that I wrote for another publication.
The internet has brought with it unprecedented changes in our methods of communication. We no longer make long-distance phone calls, instead we “Skype”, we no longer write letters, we “e-mail”, “blog”, “text”, “Twitter”, or “Facebook”. We no longer purchase software for our computers, instead we now subscribe to services or buy an “app” for your phone, tablet, or computer. Depending on your experience with these changes you may view them as helpful or not-so-helpful. However, there is one thing that is certain about these changes, it is only the beginning.
Excessive Internet use has actually become classified as an “addiction” according to psychologists, this should make us ask questions about how to use the internet in a responsible and godly manner. With any sort of knowledge or technology there is a certain amount of responsibility that goes along with it. As we increase our knowledge and technology I believe we are going to be held responsible for how we use the technology. Technology in and of itself is not evil but its use can be good or evil, and so I would like to discuss some ways and ideas on how to use the internet in a responsible fashion.
First of all one must understand that the “internet” is no longer the internet we experienced 5-10 years ago, where you opened a browser such as Internet Explorer(r) and “browsed” to a web page. It now comes to us in ways hardly imagined back in the 60’s and 70’s when it was simply a government project to link government organizations. If you are not familiar with some of the current uses of the internet, here are some examples you may not readily think of: we use it for many long distance phone calls, business phone systems, credit card purchases, traffic information, GPS guidance systems, tracking delivery trucks, truck driver’s log books, business accounting, etc.
The internet is now available on a variety of devices such as phones, tablets, laptops, cars, and you can even stay connected on airlines that now offer in-flight internet. This provides us with a whole host of issues when it comes to using the internet in a godly and responsible manner.
Ten years ago, the typical recommendation to govern the use of the internet was to place your internet connected computer in a public place such as a living room or another high traffic area of your house. Unfortunately that hardly applies to the modern family, we now have so many mobile devices available that can be used anywhere and everywhere, in fact 75% of Americans admit to using their smartphone in the bathroom*.
So how should a Christian use the internet in a godly manner? You will not find me advocating becoming completely “unplugged” because I see many “good” uses of technology. Temptations do however, abound, from simply wasting time to viewing pornography. There is no perfect way to protect yourself from wrong uses of the internet, and completely removing it from your life is nigh impossible. I came up with four lines of defense we should have in order to use the internet in a responsible manner.
The first line of defense against falling into any temptation, is our relationship with God. I don’t think enough can be said regarding this fact. Romans 12:2 sums this up quite well, we are transformed by “renewing” our minds so that we can know the will of God. In Colossians 3:10 we are called to “put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” If our hearts and minds are not being daily and constantly renewed in the holy image of God then we are much more apt to give into the readily available temptations on the internet. Thankfully there is I Corinthians 10:13 which says “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Our way of escape always begins in our relationship with God and can only be conquered by His power.
Our second line of defense should be in staying accountable to brothers and sisters in the Lord. I believe there is no substitute for simple, “old-fashion”, brotherhood accountability. Simply having a brother asking me “how it is going?” is a tremendous deterrent to temptation. See Hebrews 10:24-25.
The third line of defense is the installation of software tools or appliances. These tools fall into 3 basic categories, first you have filtering softwares such as NetNanny or K9 Web Protection that block websites based on content and “black-lists”. The second group are programs designed to report internet usage to an “accountability partner”, no websites will be blocked instead the visits will be logged and reported. I would recommend using an accountability software in conjunction with the previous paragraph, I believe this makes an excellent combination. The last category are appliances designed to protect a whole network. These are connected setup as routers or firewalls and they monitor all the traffic on the network. Generally these devices are more expensive and require a yearly fee to maintain the blacklists. I would recommend installing such a device for a business or school even though the cost may be higher “up front” they are well worth the money. There was one notable exception call Pandora’s Hope which is design for home use. Again it is important to note that these tools are only tools, not complete, fool-proof protection. Every one of them can be circumvented in some manner although some are more difficult than others. At the end of the article I have listed several tools that are available and a little information about them.
Lastly, we need to put some common sense into practice. If we find ourselves tempted, perhaps we don’t “need” the internet at home, consider using it only at the library or somewhere “semi-inconvenient”. Possibly you need to get a phone that is not a smart phone, or put an administration software that locks down the phone and have someone else, such as your spouse, set the password.
In the past, I personally have looked at some of these safeguards as inconvenient and was rather lazy at implementing them. After studying what porn can do to your brain, not to mention your soul, I really needed to ask myself, “What is a little inconvenience?” I realize that we may encounter inappropriate pictures in many places other than the internet, however the internet allows for easy private viewing. This brings James 1:14-15 to mind, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Keeping myself pure and my hands clean before the Lord is more important than unhindered access to the internet.
Here is are several tools that I have found to be useful, you will need to consider your particular situation and apply them as necessary.
Filters, these are programs that block access to selected categories of sites or services and usually require an administrator password to bypass. Everyone of the filters listed below can be bypassed by a tech savvy person and should never be thought of as complete protection.
Microsoft Family Safety (free and included with Windows 7 (requires a separate install), 8, and 8.1) This is a feature built into Windows and requires some setup and configuration. It requires that you setup multiple accounts (or logins) on your computer, there needs to be at least 1 administrator account and then you can have multiple “child” accounts that are monitored or filtered. I would recommend learning how this works especially if you have Windows 8 or 8.1 because it allows you to configure what “apps” are available in the Windows App Store. For information on setting up this feature, do a Google search for “How to setup Windows Family Safety” and you should find several “how-tos” on the subject.
K9 Web Protection (free for personal use, business and organizational use requires license) K9 is fairly easy to use and setup. They feature versions for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. If you are looking for a simple, straight forward filtering software this may be your best option. It does not allow for multiple users, everyone is filtered the same. It does keep a log of website visits and sites block but does not send out an email to a partner or an administrator. The Windows version does quite well, however their Android, iOS versions are modified browsers and don’t perform as well. (http://www1.k9webprotection.com/)
Net Nanny (http://www.netnanny.com/) and Safe Eyes (http://www.internetsafety.com/) Pricing on these 2 products ranges between $40 to $60 per year and may be installed on 1-3 computers depending on the package you purchase. In my experience both of these products offer superior filtering and protection. It should be noted that Safe Eyes is no longer an independant company and has seemingly been dropping services and products. With this in mind, Net Nanny/Content Watch may be the better choice.
Covenant Eyes (http://www.covenanteyes.com/services/internet-filtering/) This service is listed twice because they have 2 services that can be purchased separately or combined. Pricing starts at $4.99/month or $1.50/month if you combine it with their accountability service.
Accountability services are softwares that monitor your internet usage and then send the report to an email address. Again these can be bypassed, however, the “accountability” partner should notice a change in the internet usage. Many of these services provide an instant text alert if highly provocative websites are visited.
Covenant Eyes (http://www.covenanteyes.com/) This service does a very good job at monitoring and reporting. This service is designed to send 1 or more “accountability partners” a report of your internet activity every week or more frequently if “questionable activity” is present. CE runs on Windows, Mac, iOS (Apple phones and tablets), and Android devices. In my tests on Android devices, I found that it drained my battery very quickly, however this was not everyone’s experience. Costs $8.99/month.
Ever Accountable (Android phones and tablets only) (http://www.everaccountable.com/) This is a nice little app and in my testing, performed very well. The main drawback was that I needed to pay for a second app for my desktop and laptop computers.
Accountable 2 U (http://www.accountable2you.com/) Performs monitoring on PC’s, Macs, Android, and iOS devices. This is the software I chose to use because it allows me to monitor all of my devices and it was fairly inexpensive at $4.99/month. The one drawback is that it sends a report for every device and so for a person with 4 or 5 “devices” that means 4 or 5 emails. The reports are quite clear and include what programs were being used on the computer as well as what sites were visited. The one nice thing is that it does not overwhelm the accountability person with information but keeps the “questionable” activity in the forefront and the “clean” activity out of the way.
X3watch (http://x3watch.com/) This software features filtering and accountability on most devices (Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android) and it does so for a fairly reasonable price. They have a free version and a premium version for $6.99/month. I was not able to test this software, however I understand that it works fairly well.
Business/Network -- I will say little about the first 4 items listed here. They mostly require an IT technician to configure. The settings and capabilities are very complex and powerful. If you do want to install a filter for your business, school, or other organizational network, I would suggest that you discuss one of these network appliances with whomever takes care of your computers and network. There is one exception and that is the fifth one (see more below).
SonicWall by Dell
Barracuda Networks Web Filter
Untangle with Web Filter
Cisco Networks
Pandora’s Hope (Home/Small business) (http://pandorashope.com/) This was a very interesting find in my research. Pandora’s Hope is a wireless router primarily for home or SOHO type network (up to 15 devices). It is setup to filter ALL internet traffic regardless of software installed. According to the info from the company, it is easy to setup. You can even purchase a lock box to make sure no one can physically access the router. The cost is $99 - $159 and requires a $20/year fee *after* the first 6 months.
A note about phones and tablets. There are a number of filtering and accountability tools available for the Android system however there are very few available for the Apple iOS and virtually none available for the Windows Phone system.
One more item I recommend is to use an alternative browser such as Firefox or Chrome and install the Adblock plugin (or one like it). This plugin will remove ads from the webpage you are viewing.
If you would like to know more about installing some of these tools, or if you have found something that worked great for you please let a comment below.
* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/toilet-texting-study_n_1245290.html
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