Review: Bsecure Internet Filtering Software
My experience with Bsecure’s Internet filtering software was, in one word, bittersweet. Like Parental Options, Bsecure’s cloud-based software offers a rich array of features that are bundled up in a nice, neat, user-friendly package, allowing parents to see what their kids are up to online—and more importantly, flag any suspicious or inappropriate content. That said, as much as the software helped, it also got in the way…a lot.
Bsecure offers their software in two different packages: their Internet Filter package for $49.95, and their Internet Filter and Anti-Virus package for $69.95. Both packages allow you to protect up to three computers in your home. In my opinion, this price is a bit high; especially when you consider that most families probably don’t have three “family” computers in the house. I have five kids of my own and four of them use one main computer (each with their own user account), and occasionally their dad’s “work” laptop, —not only does this set up make it easier to balance “online time” with outside time and family time, but it makes things simpler when using filtering or parental controls software.
Getting back to my review, I found set up to be fairly simple. You install the software on your computer, sync each child user account to the software, and manage everything from the dashboard on the Bsecure website. The dashboard is simple and clean, and everything is managed via three main tabs: activity monitoring, parental controls, and security (only active if you purchased the package with anti-virus protection).
When it comes to blocking certain types of websites, parents can pick and choose categories that they want blocked, or choose from one of the “Default Age Templates” that Bsecure has already put together. In addition, parents can block and allow specific websites, automatically enable safe search, set time limits, and turn on mobile/email alerts that are triggered if and when a blocked site is accessed.
All of these features, including the monitoring interface, were very helpful. I especially liked that the software showed the context of certain flagged items. I was able to use this information to have a conversation with one of my kids that I normally wouldn’t have had. Seeing the context in which words were used presented an “aha!” moment for me. It allowed me to have a quality conversation with my teen and learn from them–it was a welcoming and thoughtful conversation, all because of the software. Again, it was very helpful in that sense (flagging different words, etc), but a few annoyances left me scratching my head.
My husband, my kids and I all began getting frustrated with the software as it started blocking content that it wasn’t supposed to. For example, my husband couldn’t watch recruitment videos on non-YouTube websites, my older daughter couldn’t download college applications, emails that had attachments in them couldn’t be opened, and any site that had an ad on it was blocked. Once in a while the software would even change the entire format of a webpage, leaving it as plain as an HTML page with hyperlinks.
I’m a parent with vested interest in making sure these tools work, which is why I installed this software on my home computer and am now laying out my thoughts for you here in this post. But I’m concerned that since I’m not the “average” parent when it comes to Internet safety, most parents would bail from the challenges that I experienced with this product…even if it was free.
That said, if you’re in the market for a comprehensive filtering software and don’t mind spending the $50 without a trial, then Bsecure is definitely worth checking out. But keep in mind, like most filtering/monitoring software products out there, Bsecure doesn’t come without jagged edges, but it does offer peace of mind.
I do not review products for money. I only review products that I use in my own home, and ones that I believe help empower families to be educated so that they can have a safe online experience.
Category: Recommended Products, Safety, Tutorials
Mary Kay is a nationally-recognized Internet safety expert, and the founder of 
Wonderful software..as we can see that it allows only some amount of websites to access and it can also block particular websites eg. porn, action games, movies, etc.