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What is ISurfSafe?
ISurfSafe.Net is PSC's free web filtering system that blocks and prevents access to offensive web sites. When your account is connected to the Internet, all web pages accessed will be checked against a database of known offensive sites and keywords that are updated daily.What are the ISurfSafe Categories?When you try to access an inappropriate site or search for inappropriate keywords, a "block page" is instantly displayed, denying access to the site. Your Master Account can allow access to blocked sites, and you can configure up to four profiles as YOU feel are appropriate for different levels of users in your household.
There is no software to buy or install on your computer, and there is no charge for this service. Simply call PSC and request the service and we take care of the rest.
Please note that ISurfSafe is not compatible with PSC's Enhanced Dial-up accounts, but is available for Basic Dial-up, DSL and Wireless accounts.
The ISurfSafe system works from a database. When you connect to the Internet, each request for a page is first sent to the database, which checks to see if the site is listed in one of the block categories. The web sites in the database are listed in various categories. The categories that ISurfSafe blocks automatically are:What are ISurfSafe Default Rules?
Alcohol
Alternative Lifestyles
Anarchy
Chat (Web-based chat rooms,
like Yahoo! Chat)
Criminal Skills
Cults
Drugs
Gambling
Hate Groups
Humor
Obscene & TastelessOpinion
Public Proxies
Personals
Pornography
Web-Based E-Mail
(HotMail, Yahoo! Mail, etc.)
Web Based Newsgroups (Deja News)
Free Host
BANNER
Other (other web sites not listed
on the ISurfSafe database)
ISurfSafe can be set by PSC to default to one of the Rules below when you log on to your PSC account, or your can set the Rules in individual Profiles. Rules allow specific categories to be unblocked while all other ISS categories remained blocked.What is a Master Account
Block All Categories (This is the default setting for ISS, unless PSC has reset your ISS default or you have enabled one of the Rules in a Profile) Rule 1: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail (HotMail, Yahoo! Mail, etc.) Rule 2: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail and Chat websites (Yahoo! Chat). Rule 3: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail, Chat, Alcohol, Gambling and Humor. Rule 4: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail, Chat, Alcohol, Gambling, Humor, Opinion and Personals.
A Master Account allows you to bypass the ISS Content Filter, and allows you to set up Profiles for other users on your account.What is a Profile?
Profiles allow you to customize ISS for individuals in your household. You can create up to four profiles for each PSC ISS account. For example, you can have one profile for younger children, another for older children, a third for teens, and a fourth for adults. Each profile can be set to block different ISS Categories, or to completely unblock ISS, as you determine.How do I set up Profiles?Each user is given a password for their profile. When the user encounters the Access Denied window, they can enter the password for their profile and ISS will determine if that user has access to the requested site based on your choices for that profile.
To Create a profile using the Master AccountWhat programs are NOT blocked by ISS?1. Open the Master Account Login Window. You can do this several ways:
a. In Internet Explorer, go to the address http://216.49.101.71:81/cgi/gateway
b. Try to go to a known blocked site, such as http://www.hotmail.com. This will open the Access Denied screen.2. Click on the link "Create or Edit your master account profiles."
3. Enter your Master Account username and password in the window. Click OK to login into your Master Account.
4. Your Master Account will list the current profiles set up on your account by their profile password. Click ADD to set up a new profile, or click on the profile and click EDIT to change profile settings.
5. In the Add a Profile window, you have two options for adding profiles. You can use Predefined profiles by selecting one of the four Rules, or you can create a Customized profile by selecting which categories are blocked or open in the profile.
If you choose Predefined profile:In the profile window, select the rule that applies to the profile you want to use:
Rule 1: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail (HotMail, Yahoo! Mail, etc.) Rule 2: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail and Chat websites (Yahoo! Chat). Rule 3: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail, Chat, Alcohol, Gambling and Humor. Rule 4: Allows access to Categories Web-based e-mail, Chat, Alcohol, Gambling, Humor, Opinion and Personals. If you choose Customized profile:
You will need to select "block" or "open" for each category in the list. The last category, "other" is for sites not found on the database. You can choose "open" to allow these sites to be seen, or "block" to block these sites.
In the section "Select Port", you should select "Filter" for all except "Other", which should be set to "Open".
6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and enter a password to be used for this profile in the Password window. This is the password you will give to the child to allow access using these settings. Enter the password again in the Confirm Password window and click the ADD button (or Change, if you are editing).
Repeat steps 1 - 5 above to create or edit the rules of a profile. You can create up to four profiles for your Internet account.
Using the Profiles
Each time you connect to PSC, your connection is filtered through the ISurfSafe database, checking each page accessed. If a page is requested that is listed in the database, you will be re-directed to the Access Denied window.
If you wish, you can continue on the Internet without using profiles. Whenever you receive an "Access Denied" screen, you can enter another address or click your BACK button to return to the previous page and follow another link.
To use one of your profiles to gain access to a blocked site:1. Click on the link "To override this block, click here".
2. Enter your Master Account username in the Master Account Name window.
3. Enter the password for the profile you want to use.
(Note: Entering your Master Account password will turn off all filtering)4. Click the SET PROFILE button.
5. When the red 8e6 Technologies Profile Control window opens, you can minimize it by clicking the minimize button in the upper right corner of the window, but DO NOT close this window until you have finished with your connection to the Internet. If you do not see the red 8e6 Technologies window, click here for troubleshooting.
6. Your web browser should prompt you to go on to the site you were trying to access, if it is not blocked by your current profile settings. You may need to click your back button and click on the link for the page again.
If you want to change to another profile, click the CHANGE ACTIVE PROFILE button on the red 8e6 Technologies window and follow steps 2 - 4. To end a current profile, close the 8e6 Technologies window. It will take approximately 5 minutes for the current profile to expire.
ISurfSafe only blocks programs that access websites, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or other web browser. Programs such as IM/Chat programs like Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, etc., will NOT be blocked, as well as file sharing programs, such as LimeWire.Are there any programs that will not work with ISS?
Programs that connect using a proxy server, such as PSC's Propel Accelerator are incompatible with ISurfSafe.
You can report the address of the website to 8e6 Technologies, the company that administers PSC web filtering and maintains the category database.