Circle With Disney Reviewed

[thiggins]

Circle with Disney provides suprisingly effective internet parental controls with no subscription fee.

Read on SmallNetBuilder

 

[L&LD]

Need a smartphone (or other 'app' enabled device) to use. No reporting. No fee (what's in it for them)?

Makes me question what they are directing our children to see? (I see that their definition of websites is not the definition of at least mine and the author of the article).

Oh, $97 for the device too. And they tell you they will break into your network with your consent (arp spoofing for 'good', not 'evil').

Good way for a parent to stop being one, I suppose? But I would watch out for the 'babysitter' you're using for 'free'.

 

[hedly]

That seems like a pretty nifty product. Recently I implemented OpenDNS on my home network. I did this because a friend of ours found out that their second grader (yes, their 8 year old) was looking at hardcore pron on the old iPhone his parents had given him as a gaming device.

So I got a new router that would interface with OpenDNS. It works well, but the problem is Google Images. I can still do a search and see image results because of the way Google hosts the images. Bing, on the other hand, has all the thumbnails in a central repository which is blocked by default. I have half a mind to block google images all together but it's so useful for 'good' searches.

I have been using Bing more trying to see how it compares and to get used to it, but google search results just seem to be a bit better.

This device seems to have the same results. So if you have an up-to-date router behind your Gateway device, you can use OpenDNS for free. But it seems this interface is a bit better, especially for adding the kiddos.

 

[sfx2000]

As long as they can keep the policy files up to date - sites move/new sites show up, this is probably a very useful tool for parents that need/want to have some control over their young ones internet access.

Thanks for reviewing this.

 

[System Error Message]

When it comes to parental control filtering websites is basically something you shouldnt do. Doing something like controlling how long someone can use the internet is acceptable to prevent too much time spent but you shouldnt filter content, rather teach them how to learn and understand instead of believing everything they see. When it comes to parental controls blocking facebook apps/games is a lot more beneficial than blocking the entire site or even youtube as youtube has education related videos like math.

What a filter should do is block malware and phishing sites.

 

[dgtlman]

When it comes to parental control filtering websites is basically something you shouldnt do. Doing something like controlling how long someone can use the internet is acceptable to prevent too much time spent but you shouldnt filter content, rather teach them how to learn and understand instead of believing everything they see. When it comes to parental controls blocking facebook apps/games is a lot more beneficial than blocking the entire site or even youtube as youtube has education related videos like math.

What a filter should do is block malware and phishing sites.

This is not meant to be a flame war, but a friendly counter-point to your statement.

I understand the sentiment of what you are saying, and agree. On the other hand, every parent has their own right to raise their kids how they think is best. And we don't all need to agree on parenting styles. So long as they aren't causing harm, often times, many roads can all lead to the same destination.

On the other hand, sometimes, blocking sites is the only solution that will work. Is that better then teaching a child how to make the best choice? No. But it is hard to tell someone else how to parent, not knowing their situation and not having to deal with the ramifications.

For me, I have this connected to my home network. I have been using it since November. Some devices have been locked down to strictly limit what sites they can go to. I don't think my three and five year old should have unfettered access to the internet. And despite teaching them limits, they are not old enough to be accountable in the same way my two older children are expected to be.

So what does this mean about me as a parent? One could say that I am limiting their ability to, at an early age, learn to make good choices. On the other hand, it could also mean that I treasure their child-like innocence and am trying to protect that.

And while my my 12 year old son has some filtering on his account, he is welcome to look at my account, as I have filtered out things that I don't want to see on the internet either. I don't restrict them because I am incapable of not going to those sites, but because it doesn't interest me to accidentally go to them. There are a lot of things you can block with circle, and just not have to think about it again. And for some people, this may be a liberating ability with a low level of technical skill to accomplish.

While one could make the argument that this is a method of control to prevent children from learning to make good choices, it can also be viewed as a safeguard to prevent things from accidentally occurring.

Now, I am a realist. I know that despite what restrictions exist in the home, a child can by pass all that by doing some very simple things.... like going to a friends house and getting on their computer. So you get back to your point, kids need to understand how to make good choices independent of filters. But I don't see how (or why) one can't do both?

So for what it is worth, I applaud the makers of this device. They took, what most would consider a flaw (arp-spoofing) and turned it into a valuable tool that, on a per-parent basis, can implement a variety of layers of monitoring and management. It is very simple to implement, and very affordable. More companies should make product that check those last two boxes.

 

[thiggins]

Please focus on how well (or not) the product does its job, not whether or not it should be used at all.

I'll edit and/or delete posts if I have to.

 

[L&LD]

Please focus on how well (or not) the product does its job, not whether or not it should be used at all.

I'll edit and/or delete posts if I have to.

Tim, with all due respect, I don't see how they are not related?

 

[thiggins]

These discussions always go down the same rathole. People end up debating child rearing philosophy vs. commenting on how well a product serves its intended purpose. The discussions get personal and emotional very quickly.

There are plenty of other places on the net where child rearing can be debated. Do it there, not here.

 

[System Error Message]

Well i think the product would be good if it included filtering from sites of mal-intent such as malware and phishing. Parental controls is one thing but the same thing could also be used for better protection.

If it can block facebook apps or such that would greatly help with parental controls. I do hope that it doesnt block youtube but i believe youtube does have an 18+ filter. Ive seen the tablet of a kid who regularly uses the internet, its just full of useless and time wasting apps so its not just websites but other things to worry about too. Games with microtransactions shouldnt be allowed for below 18.

How does it fare against techie kids who find a way around things? I know you can block VPN passthrough on the router.

 

[Craig Ellison]

Circle is just one tool that you can put in your toolbox to help you set and enforce Internet policies.

YouTube is one of the content filter apps that you can enable or disable for any of the four built-in age filters, as well as the default home filter.

As noted in the review, you can add specific websites to block in addition to those blocked by the filters. You can, for example, make an entry for images.google.com for any of the defined filter levels, and that subdomain will be blocked.

Working at layer 2, the circle would be a relatively difficult device for most kids to circumvent. However, as one forum number commented, it's not a complete solution. Circle's upcoming Circle Go product, to be released later this spring, will help address that problem for Circle- managed devices that access the Internet via networks (cellular, public Wi-Fi, etc.) other than the local network that is being managed by the Circle.

For malware and phishing protection, the desktop apps for those functions are more thorough than a device like this will be.

 

[System Error Message]

If a desktop gets infected than those apps tend to get compromised. A networked antivirus can analyse traffic much better and it is meant to prevent infected devices from compromising your network. What if a guest brings an infected phone or laptop?

The product basically is a url/domain filter with lists so why not add malware and phishing sites as well as the system to filter them is already in place. Things like spyware and adware are easily installed by kids enticed by offers on ads.

 

[dgtlman]

in addition to url and domain filtering, circle can also:

1. limit total time on internet
2. limit per app/site time on internet (i.e. 30 minutes on youtube)
3. pause internet for a user or house.
4. block all app stores for a user
5. see history of sites accessed or blocked
6. group devices to a specific user so all devices count toward total use.
7. bedtime and wake up times that internet is disabled for user.
8. ad blocking
9. block vpn and proxies
10. send notifications of info (new user, time limits, circle offline, etc)
11. have a restricted default profile

It isn't without flaws. for example, you can't have a device (like a computer) with multiple user accounts that are associated with a specific circle profile. The device can only be associated with one account.

Also, currently it is only able to be controlled from an IOS device.

Last, the filtered page is disney sponsored. It would be really cool to have a paid subscription that could be un-brand disney and all you to use something else on the filter page. Would make it an interesting solution for other non-child needs.

 

[dgtlman]

These discussions always go down the same rathole. People end up debating child rearing philosophy vs. commenting on how well a product serves its intended purpose. The discussions get personal and emotional very quickly.

There are plenty of other places on the net where child rearing can be debated. Do it there, not here.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get off on a tangent. Just hard to separate that purpose of the device with the theory of using it. Regardless, I'll stay on topic.

 

[thiggins]

5. see history of sites accessed or blocked

I think Craig said Circle doesn't do this. Did he miss it?

 

[dgtlman]

5. see history of sites accessed or blocked

I think Craig said Circle doesn't do this. Did he miss it?

He must have. Here are some screen shots to show some examples:





it groups history into categories and then sites. You can view activity today, this week, this month. When you click on any of those three you can look at the previous one (so yesterday, last week and last month). You can also view as a timeline (pic 3) or as what was filtered out (pic 4).

 

[sfx2000]

Please focus on how well (or not) the product does its job, not whether or not it should be used at all.

From what I've read on the main site (and a couple of others) - it's reasonably effective at what it's designed to do.

I've advocated in the past that technology is not a babysitter, but there are situations where a device like this can be a useful tool...

While I've never had a direct problem - I know people that do try hard, but every kid is different, and some with special needs, the Circle is a tool that can help. It might not be a complete solution, and there are folks that don't think things should be censored at all, but every network is a snowflake, and what works for some, might not work for others.

It seems to be better than some of the other solutions out there, but rolling it into a comprehensive package will help out some parents - between the policy management that the Circle offers at layer 2, as well as router blocks, and OpenDNS... it's belt and suspenders - as long as the policy files are kept up to date (and coming from a carrier background, policy files are updating all the time, some platforms as often as once a minute).

 

[Craig Ellison]

He must have. Here are some screen shots to show some examples:



View attachment 6287 View attachment 6288 View attachment 6289 View attachment 6290

it groups history into categories and then sites. You can view activity today, this week, this month. When you click on any of those three you can look at the previous one (so yesterday, last week and last month). You can also view as a timeline (pic 3) or as what was filtered out (pic 4).

Thanks for the screen shots. Sorry that I missed it.

 

[thiggins]

I've updated the article using your screenshots and comments, dgtlman. Thanks for catching the omission.

 

[System Error Message]

What would be nice is knowing how fast can this device do all its functions and what hardware does it have inside. Its nice to know that this isnt just another parental control thing.