Guardware iShield Plus review

Like FilterPak, iShield had some difficulties with its filters.

It blocked a Time magazine article on Latin American Pentecostalism because it contained references to dating, but it allowed a couple of casino websites to slip through its gambling filter and let us view websites about the AK-47 and Smith and Wesson, even with filtering level set to strictest and the weaponry filter active. It also allowed us to view a Google image search for the word 'torture'.

It's a shame iShield had trouble with its filters (although it blocked all pornographic, obscene and extremist content we tried to access) because in many other ways it's one of the best-designed programs on test. The interface is easy to use and all the important settings can be accessed from one screen. The main controls are simple, so novice users will quickly get the hang of them.

As well as the normal web-filtering function, the program can block unsuitable content in almost any application. It monitors content onscreen and, if it sees something that looks inappropriate, it prevents the user looking at it and locks the PC, although you also have the option of simply warning the user that they're being naughty. The feature takes a few seconds to kick in, so the user will catch a glimpse of some flesh, but that's it. The reporting feature was also well done, consisting of a list of websites viewed and files opened. A screenshot shows each file that the program has blocked, and files and websites can be viewed from within the interface.

This is a good program, but its filters need to be more consistent.

Author: Karl Wright