About the KeepSafe project

What is it?

The main objective of the KeepSafe project is to develop a system that protects young people when they go online.

The KeepSafe system will:

• create a safe surfing environment
• work straight out of the box
• be easy enough to understand and use by parents and others with only a basic understanding of computers and the Internet
• be able to be configured to suit individual users depending on their age, maturity and cultural background
• lockdown access to the Internet other than via the system
• prevent young people, who may have a lot of experience using computers and the Internet, from finding a way around the system
• provide a reporting system so that any content that has been mislabelled can be assessed and regraded where necessary.

Why a 'prototype' and what does that mean?

A prototype is a "less formal experimental and experiential development process of a proposed application for the purpose of demonstrating some or all of its functional capabilities" ^[ref].

As part of the development of the KeepSafe system, a prototype was developed to allow people to test the system and answer a questionnaire that will help with the future development.

A throwaway prototype was been developed, which means it does not work in exactly the same way as the final KeepSafe system and, once the testing was over, it was thrown away!

Some of the functionality that the final KeepSafe system will have was not present in the prototype, which means some things did not work fully or at all.

How does (should) it work?

The final KeepSafe system will work through a downloadable toolbar that locks down all Internet access and filters Web content based on various user settings. When a user tries to access a Web page or document:

• the toolbar contacts the KeepSafe server
• the server checks the rating for the Web content based on its address (URL)
• the server compares the Web rating against the user's settings to see if it is suitable
• if the content is safe, the Web page/document is displayed
• if the content is unsafe, a warning page is displayed and the user can get their parent or other responsible adult to allow them to access the page

The prototype does not require a download and works best using Internet Explorer. However, because it is a prototype, some content may not be displayed properly and results from Web search engines, e.g. Google, and on-site searches are not be controlled.

What next ?

If you want to be a part of this exciting development, then please contact me.