Product Description

Net Nanny is a powerful filtering tool that allows you to determine what Internet content enters your home. It comes with maximum protection and pre-set monitoring functions, which you can easily customize to meet your family's unique needs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1044 in Software
• Brand: Contentwatch
• Model: NN55-RET-BOXM2
• Released on: 2007-07-03
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds

Features

• Remote Management - Net Nanny 5.5 will allow you to manage your family's Internet policy and from anywhere you have access to an Internet connection-even from work or on vacation!
• Enhanced Reporting - Review detailed interactive charts and graphs that provide information about where, how long and how often your family members are spending on certain web site
• Manage access to Instant Messaging applications and see the full text of all Instant Message conversations
• Windows User Integration - You can utilize your Windows user accounts for ease of use and management
• Advanced filtering technology - The new Net Nanny 5.5 integrates seamlessly with Safe Search options found in popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, AltaVista, and Lycos.

Customer Reviews

Works Well, But....
Net Nanny 5.5 effectively blocks users from internet content that parents deem inappropriate (not only porn, but news or hate/violence, etc.). Parents can select what types of websites and online activities to block their children from viewing or using. Should individual sites mistakingly be blocked, they can be individually set as an exception. Also, the program may be de-activated with a user-set password. In fact, all changes to Net Nanny require this password. Overall, Net Nanny 5.5 works as advertised, and works very well.

Perhaps a little too well. Net Nanny protects itself so deeply in the system that attempts to tamper with it in the registry or with third-party programs can cause serious damage to the operating system of the computer.

I had installed and run Spyware Doctor to block spyware from my system; Spyware Doctor mistakingly identified Net Nanny as a malicious program and blocked key aspects of it from operating as well as deleting several Net Nanny files. After a re-start, Windows would boot up but no longer connect to the internet; I could no longer move files, and certain programs failed to run at all. System Restore would no longer work, even in safe mode, and I couldn't re-install Net Nanny because it requires an internet connection to do so.

Thanks to this Catch-22, I had to install Windows on a fresh hard disk in order to utilize my old files. While this may seem to be more of a complaint for Spyware Doctor, it demonstrates that Net Nanny is protected so deeply in the system that if anything goes wrong with it, it can wreak serious havoc in the operating system.

Another complaint about this program is that it runs without regard to Windows profiles. While profile settings can be established, an additional password is required once you log in. It's easier just to use the same settings for everyone and use the master password to shut Nanny Nanny down if it becomes a nuisance.

Overall all, Net Nanny delivers on its promise to keep minors away from unwanted internet content, but the program protection is deeply rooted and therefore poses a potential risk to the operating system should anything go wrong.

Good To Have While It Lasts
I purchased Net Nanny about a year ago. It did not have as many options and features as I had expected but it did offer some degree of protection for my kids while online. The ability to limit the time my kids spent online was my favorite feature. The reason I'm giving it a low rating is because after a year, it just stopped working and gave me a message about my license having expired. This came as a complete surprise to me. When I paid for Net Nanny software, I expected to have Net Nanny protecting my computer until I decided to upgrade it or to use someone else. Please be aware before you buy this product that after a year, you will have to pay again for Net Nanny or some other security software.

I guess I didn't read the features close enough
I really liked the idea that I could download this product for free for a 14-day trial. After hours and hours of reading reviews, I felt like a ping pong ball. It turns out that sometimes the best way to evaluate is to test drive it yourself! So that's what I did.
What I found was that the software was extremely easy to download and set up. I liked that I could block out time zones for my kids and limit their time online. I also liked that it did a GREAT job of blocking objectionable content. It also sent me lots of emails to let me know that certain things were being blocked. It even told me when it was handing out warnings (I'm not really sure what the point of these warnings are, now that I think about it. It seemed kind of cool when I first set them up, but in reality it didn't really mean anything -- to me or my son.)
My main problem with this software is that it doesn't cover email or IM, and those are two things I'm very concerned about.
So, in the end, I guess it was my own fault that I didn't read the product features description closely enough. All that research made me go blind I guess. I wish I could say that I had found the product that did exactly what I was hoping, but for now I'm back into the review pool, wading through all of the information.