Covenant Eyes Online Protection

Covenant Eyes recently offered our family a trial period to use and review their product. If you have children using the internet without your supervision (this also applies to their smart phones) I strongly suggest you look at this product. 

We are electronically overloaded. That is hard to me to say but when I was trying to get this program set up it hit me that we have (3) desktops, (3) laptops, a tablet, a Kindle Fire, a Kindle eReader and (4) smart phones! Each of these devices can easily move around on the internet and as parents we would not know what our children were being exposed to during this time.

Now if you have been online at all you would probably be able to relate a time when you thought you were entering in one site only to find yourself landing at another location. Often this new location is one that ends in gasps from everyone standing around your desktop!

With Covenant Eyes you can set content ratings for each device. For example, the teen setting allows them to visit sites that would be blocked for the Youth. When setting up the program, you set filters for each device or log in. These filters can be for content rating or for length of time of use.

Here is a little information from the company:

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CONVERSATION

Internet Accountability tracks websites you visit on your computers, smart phones, and tablets, and sends them in an easy-to-read report to someone you trust. This makes it easy to talk about the temptations you face online.

BLOCK THE BAD STUFF

Sometimes you or your kids need an extra layer of protection. Get Internet Filtering to block inappropriate web content based on age. You can also set time limits and create custom block and allow lists.

This program is available for: Windows®, Mac OS®, iPhone®, iPod touch®, and iPad® – it is not yet available for Android units.

One feature that at first glance I didn't think I would be interested in setting up was the accountability partner. I can see how this could be a super helpful tool for those that either struggle with the type of sites they are drawn to view or just for those (like me) that can get lost in the internet and lose complete track of time. Can we talk about Pinterest?

The accountability partner is someone you set up (doesn't have to be a spouse) who will receive the summary reports of your usage. I will be honest and say that I did not turn this feature on for myself for several months. Then I got to thinking if it would make me change my habits if I knew someone else would be seeing the list of sites and how long I spent on each during the day. Yeah – it did.  Yeah – I turned it off! <smile>

I will go on record that installing this on Windows 8 Pro is not a simple installation. But, that isn't their fault. EVERYTHING is difficult when using Windows 8 Pro on a desktop!

If you would like to learn more about this product or company, please connect with them online at Covenant Eyes. You can also visit their social pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.