Awesome Library Browser for Children

Download Free Version     Courtesy of Code-it.

Awesome Library Browser for Children provides libraries and schools with a minimalist but effective method of keeping K-6 children from being exposed to hard core adult sites--without the use of censorship lists.

Activation
To activate after it has been installed: Put the cursor on the toolbar and press Ctrl/F9 to bring up the "Admin" button on the toolbar (right center). Select the "Admin" button. The password is "password."

Safer Internet Experience
Awesome Library Browser does the following:

1.) Provides green space in the form of the Awesome Library and, if the school or library chooses, their own Web site.

2.) Checks for a designation that only hard core adult sites use. Does not allow hard core adult Web pages to load.

3.) Does not allow popup ads (unless you select to allow them).

Three Tools for Safety
Awesome Library is arguably the best green space for K-12 children. It is rated as the top Web site for "k-12 education" by Google and most of the popular search engines. Awesome Library is also the top Web site for "K-12 library." Children should never encounter predatory adult sites while using the Awesome Library.

The second layer of protection is for when children go outside of the Awesome Library to popular search engines. Awesome Library Browser for Children does not use lists of "good" or "bad" Web sites to protect children. Such lists are constantly changing and so the lists are always behind--leaving children vulnerable. In addition, such lists require someone to make value judgements on what is suitable for children. This allows political and other agendas to enter into the selection process. With over a billion Web sites, the task of filtering through lists is also literally impractical.

Instead of using lists, Awesome Library Browser looks for a designation that virtually all hard core adult Web sites put on their Web pages so they can be found by search engines. It happens to be a designation that other sites do not use. Awesome Library Browser looks for the designation on a Web page before loading it. If it sees the designation, it redirects the visitor to the Awesome Library Home page.

Unfortunately, three popular search engines include programming on their Web pages to ensure that hard core adult sites remain accessible, even in children's browsers. Awesome Library Browser for Children includes programming to defend against such deactivation by aggressive search engines.

Some "popular" Web sites advertise through popups or "popunders" that are not suitable for children. Popups are not allowed by default, but the librarian can either allow them or allow a warning message to be selected before such pages are shown. (By preventing popups and popunders, new browser windows outside of Awesome Library Browser for Children are also prevented. Once children are using another browser, they are not protected by Awesome Library Browser for Children. We left it for the librarian to decide whether to override the default setting.)

Awesome Library Browser for Children is not a substitute for adult supervision. Further, it is not designed to be a foolproof barrier against adult sites, especially for teens determined to find such sites. Rather, Awesome Library Browser for Children is designed to ensure that children, during their research on the Web, will not encounter adult sites. This, we think, is a substantial achievement.

If you wish to remove Awesome Library Browser for Children, it is easy to do so, unlike most filtering programs. In addition, Awesome Library Browser works very fast, unlike most filtering programs. Further, Awesome Library browser can help schools and libraries comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), without using lists of "good" and "bad" Web sites or other forms of censorship.

How to Get the Awesome Library Browser for Children
The Awesome Library Browser for Children can be downloaded for free. Click Here to Download .