One-Click UNIVERSAL Safe Search ACTIVATION AND LOCK for the web!  
  A Universal Safe Search Lock for the web!  
   
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Question:
"How can I automatically ACTIVATE & LOCK
the 'safe search' feature in Google, Bing,
YouTube & many other leading sites?"


Answer:
Simply download and run our smart
little utility named SafeSearchLock
SafeSearchLock, making 'safe search' the new web standard

SafeSearchLock is a conveniently simple web safety tool
designed to AUTOMATICALLY enforce and LOCK ON the child safety 'strict safe search' content screening features offered by ALL major search engines and other key content providers, providing a considerably safer online environment for young children to explore and enjoy!



01.03.2016: The SafeSearchLock project has been discontinued & is no longer actively supported or maintained. This site is for archive purposes only.

NewsImportant: Re New SafeSearchLock Registrations
31/08/2014

After years of constructing new rule sets and workarounds to ensure continued compatibility with all leading search engines / content providers (who have quietly and habitually changed their 'Safe Search' methods), sadly it's finally time for us to admit defeat.

In brief, due to the Internet's increasing shift towards and reliance upon blanket HTTPS (encrypted communications for everything) we are no longer taking on new registrations*, as this has began to create insurmountable service provider compatibility issues. (And without any external funding we have to be realistic).

*We will however continue to support existing users for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile we'd like to give huge and sincere thanks to all of the wonderful folks who have offered their kind support and encouragement (family, friends, beta-testers, end users) from the moment we first conceived this project.

(For those of you interested, there's a little more detail in our blog)



 




Safe Search Lock Questions and Answers

Q: "So exactly what is SafeSearchLock & what does it do?"

A: It's exactly what it says; a 'universal safe search lock' for the web! Safe Search Lock Web Safety  Software


SafeSearchLock is a smart little web safety application that will COLLECTIVELY ACTIVATE and LOCK ON the maximum 'strict safe search' or 'family safe' content screening features provided by various leading search engines and other key web content providers.

As a result, unsavory, adult or explicit search results, images and videos from these sites will be generally blocked out at the source, so young children don't get any nasty surprises whilst using these popular services.

When you run SafeSearchLock (automatically or only when required), ALL of these services will be INSTANTLY LOCKED into their respective "child safe modes" without any need to register with or 'sign-in' to any of them.


No fuss, no hassle and no more worrying about individual safe search settings.

SafeSearchLock will finally enable you as a parent, teacher, carer, guardian, or system administrator, to automatically and universally enforce the child safety settings provided by a multitude of web services from just ONE PLACE, until YOU decide otherwise by simply entering a single convenient password.

No need to force your kids to use a special web browser or a special search engineNo need to force kids to use a special search engine or special browser

Simply install SafeSearchLock on any computer that your children may use and make 'safe search' their new web standard

"SafeSearchLock, giving you a little peace of mind
and your kids a little freedom to explore"




Q: "How do I use SafeSearchLock?"

A: Just download, install and start it up!

Once installed, SafeSearchLock will run quietly in the background displaying a small icon Safe Search Lock Taskbar  Icon in your taskbar. If you click on this icon at any time you will be able to adjust your preferences (if you wish) and add a personal password, so that then only YOU are able to deactivate it.

No configuration or technical knowledge required!

Whilst running, SafeSearchLock will ACTIVATE and LOCK ON the strictest safe search functionality provided by a wide range of leading online service providers. (See next topic for current compatibility list).

NB. SafeSearchLock may only be installed and managed from a Windows account with administrator status.


Extra features & options:

Password protection: When you first install and run SafeSearchLock it will have the default password "akumenta". You can (and should) change this to a personal password of your own choice. Keep it VERY safe and don't forget it as this will then be your 'key' to SafeSearchLock, allowing you (and only you) to access its settings and also deactivate it when required. (You can change your password at any time).

Start with Windows: Just tick the "Start with Windows" option and SafeSearchLock will automatically start every time your computer boots up, providing constant protection.

Multiple Windows user protection: If you are running several Windows user accounts on your computer,
then simply tick SafeSearchLock's "Start with Windows" option and it will automatically protect ALL users!

Log visited websites: If you have concerns and want to keep a record of your children's browsing habits, SafeSearchLock also offers a logging feature so you can see what sites they've been viewing. (This is OFF by default when you initially install SafeSearchLock).

Anti-Tamper: Whilst primarily intended to safeguard younger children, SafeSearchLock also employs various sophisticated anti-tamper features to help prevent unauthorised disabling by older more tenacious tech-savvy children. (Though for obvious reasons we can't go into specific detail about this here)!

IMPORTANT: As a parent, guardian or IT support admin, once you have chosen and entered your personal SafeSearchLock password NEVER MISPLACE OR FORGET IT!



Q: "Which popular online services can I use SafeSearchLock with?"

A: SafeSearchLock is a web safety application designed to universally activate and enforce the 'safe search' / 'family filter' features offered by...

All major search engines!

SafeSearchLock works with Google Google (inc. Google Images, Google Video)
SafeSearchLock works with Bing Bing (inc. Bing Images, Bing Video)
SafeSearchLock works with Yahoo Yahoo (inc. Yahoo Images, Yahoo Video)
SafeSearchLock works with AOL Search AOL Search (inc. AOL Images and AOL Video)
SafeSearchLock works with Live Search Live Search (inc. Images, Video search)
SafeSearchLock works with Ask Jeeves Ask Jeeves - Ask.com (inc. Ask Images and Ask Video)
SafeSearchLock works with Sky.com Sky.com
(Sky's web search feature)
SafeSearchLock works with Go.com Go.com
(inc. Image and Video searches)
SafeSearchLock works with AltaVista AltaVista (inc. Image and Video searches)
SafeSearchLock works with DuckDuckGo Dogpile (combines mutliple search engines)
SafeSearchLock works with DuckDuckGo Metacrawler.com (combines mutliple search engines)

And other key content providers!

SafeSearchLock works with YouTube YouTube
SafeSearchLock works with Flickr Flickr
SafeSearchLock works with Dailymotion Dailymotion.com
SafeSearchLock works with Dailymotion Blinkx.com


Automatic updates: SafeSearchLock intelligently checks for the latest compatibility rules each time it starts


SafeSearchLock also works with many other search sites that draw upon these services

SafeSearchLock also works with the installed 'browser bar' versions of any of the above

SafeSearchLock is also designed to work across multiple Windows user accounts

SafeSearchLock is also designed to work with the above online services in any country

No need to force your children to use a special web browser or a special search engine

SafeSearchLock also now prevents the new Google Encrypted Search feature from
being used to circumvent strict SafeSearch settings



* Compatible service providers AMENDED 31/08/2014 *


What changed? AOL was removed from our compatibility list.

> Some notes on compatibility and automatic updates <

 

* Compatible service providers AMENDED 20/06/2014 *


What changed? Yahoo was removed from our compatibility list:

Yahoo is now forcing HTTPS encryption by default. As a result, SafeSearchLock can no longer enforce safe filtering with Yahoo.

Additionally YouTube has began to force HTTPS encryption once a user has signed in to a registered account. Because of this SafeSearchLock can no-longer enforce safe content filtering if a user has signed in.

On a positive note, Google also adopted HTTPS features some time ago, but this wasn’t an issue as they also provided a non-encrypted work-around, which SafeSearchLock successfully utilises.

As yet, neither Yahoo nor YouTube offer a similar work-around, however we have high hopes that they soon will. If / when they do, we will let you know and automatically update SafeSearchLock’s rules to suit.


> Some notes on compatibility and automatic updates <



Q: "Tell me about the 'safe search' features offered by these service providers"

A: Many leading online service providers offer the ability to activate a 'safe search' or 'family filter' content screening feature...

SafeSearchLock is a smart little internet safety utility that automatically and collectively activates and locks on this behavior. (See current compatibility list in the item above).

Generally speaking, once 'safe search' has been activated with any of these leading online search and content providers, then results containing pornography, explicit sexual content, profanity, and other types of 'hate content' will, on the whole, be filtered out and removed at the source so that children don't get any nasty surprises (this also applies to video or image searches). Additionally, searches being performed using 'inappropriate words or phrases' will be blocked outright.

It's also worth mentioning that with YouTube's own particular 'child safety' feature activated, then in addition to the search screening characteristics mentioned above, many inappropriate videos will also be blocked from viewing even if your child uses a direct link or web address (with the message "This video is unavailable with Safety Mode enabled"). The user comments below videos shown in YouTube (usually shown by default) will also be hidden unless you choose to view them, where upon many expletives will be replaced by asterisks. (So you don't have to worry so much about the appalling bad language which, unfortunately, can often be displayed within discussions shown directly beneath a perfectly harmless video). Furthermore any subsequent 'recommended' videos being presented will also be content moderated.

For specific details on the content screening features being provided by each particular service provider please review their respective websites. Please also consider that no service provider claims to guarantee 100% totally infallible safety screening features, however activating them is considered by most as a crucial first step for any parent or carer before allowing young children Internet access.


(See our Useful Links page for more good advice regarding online safety for kids)



Q: "But don't I need to 'sign in' (and have a registered account) with all of these service providers in order to lock on their safe search features?"

A: No, not with SafeSearchLock installed!

Typically though, you would indeed have to be signed-in (and registered) with each and every respective service provider in order to manually configure / activate and then lock on their own particular 'strict safe search' or 'family filter' features (where any kind of locking ability is actually offered).

This can be time consuming, even impractical, and due to its nature, still relatively easy to turn off even if 'locked'. Additionally, if you want to enable and lock 'safe search' functionality on multiple user profiles on the same computer, then you will need to do this using each individual Windows user account. Equally, if the computer is running more than one web browser, then you will need to activate and lock any respective 'safe search' functionality individually via each browser package.

Finally, how can you really be sure that you will have 'safe search' permanently configured and locked on with any particular service provider, let alone across multiple service providers (e.g. Google + Bing + YouTube), especially just on the off-chance that your children may only occasionally or suddenly want to use one of them? It's all a bit of a nightmare for parents, which is why we have created this effortless and smart solution...

SafeSearchLock will instantly activate and lock on the strictest 'safe search'
functionality available from a multitude of leading online service providers,
even when you're not signed in to them.



Q: "Will SafeSearchLock work on my computer?"

A: SafeSearchLock is designed to work with all modern Windows PC's

One size fits all! SafeSearchLock has been designed to work with all modern operating systems (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, including 64 bit versions) and all leading up-to-date web browsers including (but not limited to) Internet Explorer (version 7 & upwards), Firefox (version 3.6.4 & upwards), Google Chrome, Opera and Safari.

SafeSearchLock is not a limited "browser specific add-on", instead it installs on your computer and works with ANY modern web browser and ANY Windows operating system. Better still, it even works if you have several different web browser packages installed and / or multiple Windows user accounts in use. It's not complicated, over bloated or resource hungry.

To see for yourself we encourage all users to download and try out a free trial of SafeSearchLock. Once installed you'll have 20 minutes to play with it and make sure it works perfectly on your system. If you're happy, you can then easily register / fully activate your already installed trial version.





Q: "How can I get hold of SafeSearchLock?"

A: Click here to download a free trial of SafeSearchLock and try it out!

Once you've downloaded SafeSearchLock you'll have a 20 minute trial period to try it out.

Then if you're happy, you can fully activate and register your installed trial copy for JUST £2 UK pounds! (or your local currency equivalent). Wherever you may be in the world, it's a very simple and secure process via PayPal. (You don't need an account with PayPal and you can pay by most credit or debit cards).

This will license you to use the SafeSearchLock utility on one PC for as long as you wish, and also receive free automatic updates for as long as this project remains active and viable.

(Did we mention it's just £2! And if you wish to install SafeSearchLock on multiple PC's for a school or business, just get in touch for discounted site licensing and also the opportunity of a free custom MSI build)


(A simple installation and activation overview is available in our support area)



Q: "Why is SafeSearchLock so cheap?" *or alternatively "Hey why isn't this free?!"

A: SafeSearchLock costs just £2 (that's about $3 US Dollars / €2.4 Euros or your local currency equivalent). This is a straightforward one-off charge with automatic compatibility updates thrown in for FREE.

But don't let our small token fee fool you, SafeSearchLock was neither an easy or quick project to put together! Extensive time and effort (and money) has gone (and is still going) into this project. On the other hand, due to it's very positive nature, we did actually consider giving the utility away for free...

Ultimately though, it was decided that we can't live off the positive karma alone (we all have bills to pay and ongoing costs to cover!), so without any external funding, at least for now we have opted to charge a very small nominal fee. Additionally we're not a fan of bombarding users with advertising or other nonsense, so we didn't want to go down that root in order to support this project. Instead we'd rather supply you with an honest, clean and friendly product for a small token contribution.

Hopefully our smart little internet safety utility will be embraced by many and prove popular enough to cover all development, hosting, support costs...



Q: "Who's behind SafeSearchLock & what are its origins?"

A: SafeSearchLock is an internet safety innovation from the good folks at Akumenta, a humble but popular and well regarded digital media enterprise based in Staffordshire, England, UK.

With young families of their own, the Akumenta team originally devised the SafeSearchLock project out of concern for their own children's online safety, and the often overly involved and varying ways in which popular service providers offer the ability to properly enforce their respective 'child safe' screening functions.

Instead of having to worry about this kind of manual 'safe search' activation for each and every leading service provider, they simply wanted an effortless and uncomplicated solution; something that would collectively activate and lock on this safety functionality across multiple leading online service providers.

Additionally they wanted to create something that would focus on this primary task and do it well, without being over bloated, overly involved or resource hungry.

It was soon realised that this primarily 'in-house' initiative could clearly offer a little instant peace of mind to concerned and conscientious parents everywhere, hence the somewhat 'evolved' product that you may now download here and try out for yourself!

"We feel that this is a long overdue natural development for the web
and we are extremely proud to be behind such a progressive and
clear-cut child safety initiative"
- Akumenta



Q: "So why do I need SafeSearchLock?!"

A: For convenience and to help protect kids from potentially upsetting search results, images and videos whilst they use the web's leading services.

The chances are, if you're a conscientious parent or guardian with young children then you've likely stumbled upon our little application because you already know what you're looking for and why you need it. You've likely been searching for an effortless, uncomplicated and inexpensive solution like SafeSearchLock for some time!

To give the dilemma some clear perspective, just consider for a moment that here in the UK, (and in many other countries), TV stations are not allowed to broadcast anything that might be considered harmful to children until later in the evening, when most children will not be watching. Clearly this is sensible and necessary, yet conversely, the internet has potentially MUCH WORSE than evening TV on offer to children 24 hours a day!

Here are a few potential example scenarios:

e.g. 1) Your young child performs a quick search in Google or Google Images (or another popular search engine, or a service such as YouTube) for the most innocent of search terms, but one or more of the results may inexplicably turn out to be alarmingly inappropriate or adult in nature and clearly not something that your child should be exposed to.

e.g. 2) Your young child has unfortunately picked up a fairly 'adult' word or phrase, and curiously types it into Google (or another popular search provider). They are then inundated with highly explicit and totally inappropriate search results. (Even if you have content filtering software installed to help block adult websites, remember that just search results alone can still be extremely explicit).

e.g. 3) Whilst on YouTube your young child views a particularly 'dramatic chipmunk', but just below the video there may be a string of profanities or hateful and abusive comments added by a 'global village idiot'; clearly not something you want your child exposed to. Not only that, but some of the "recommended" or "related" videos being offered may not be suitable for a young audience. Additionally of course, just like in any search engine, a search in YouTube can bring up scores of results unsuitable for a young audience.

There are plenty of other examples, but you get the idea; whilst you want to give your young children some freedom to explore the web and its leading services, just the thought of what they may inadvertently be exposed to is a HUGE concern.

So how can you help protect young children?

Well, attentively many leading service providers offer the ability to resolve all of the above potential scenarios and filter out or block most inappropriate search results or content by providing 'strict safe search' or 'family filter' functions. Activating such filters is a fairly CRUCIAL first step for any caring parent concerned about what their children may be inadvertently exposed to whilst using leading services such as Google or YouTube etc...

However, the problem is that each and every one of these online service providers has to be manually configured individually in order to activate and lock their respective child safety screening features, and the way to achieve this varies.

It's time consuming and most critically you need to have a registered account and to "sign-in" with each and every service provider before you can even consider being able to lock on any respective 'safe search' or 'family filter' mode (where locking is even offered). After all, if you can't lock on safe search setting then what's the point! And of course, since any 'locking' relies upon signing in, it's open to fairly obvious abuse.

Plus of course, if you want to enable and lock 'safe search' functionality on multiple user profiles on the same computer, then you will need to do this using each individual Windows user account. Equally, if the computer is running more than one web browser, then you will need to activate and lock any respective 'safe search' functionality individually via each browser package.

Finally, how can you really be sure that you will have 'safe search' always configured and locked on with any particular service provider, let alone across multiple service providers (e.g. Google + Bing + YouTube), especially just on the off-chance that your children may only occasionally or suddenly want to use one of them?

Until now it's all been a bit of a nightmare for parents, which is why we created SafeSearchLock; An effortless, smart and simple "one size fits all" solution, providing a little instant peace of mind for anyone looking to offer young children safer web access (all for just £2!).

Finally a quick note on protection vs censorship:

The underlying principle behind SafeSearchLock is one of caring, open and positive protection. SafeSearchLock exists to help protect children from accidentally or unwittingly accessing potentially upsetting web content and other dangers whilst using leading search engines and content providers.

In other words, rather than 'censorship', SafeSearchLock's chief purpose is to protect younger children from being exposed to unsavoury search results, images, videos and sites that they actually don't want or expect to see!

In keeping with this rationale we recommend that where SafeSearchLock is installed, children are informed about its use and its very positive function. Often referred to as "e-safety", this kind of educational and open approach should be the cornerstone of any parent or carer's web safety strategy.

SafeSearchLock will also help prevent older children from intentionally searching for unsuitable content. Accordingly it incorporates various anti-tamper features to help prevent unauthorised disabling.


 
   
    * Compatible online service providers may be subject to change in the future (learn more)    
 
© Akumenta 2011+

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