KidzSearch
About Us
Many users prefer not to have adult sites included in search results. KidzSearch returns the same search results as Google, but without adult content mixed in them. If you find sites that contain offensive content in your results, please send an email with the site's URL to Google Safe Search for review. The KidzSearch homepage is your signal that safe internet results will be returned. This allows parents and educators to more easily monitor things. We suggest using this tool under adult supervision. Our philosophy is that any filtering system can be deactivated or uninstalled if used unsupervised. Using KidzSearch for a search and seeing the KidzSearch logo will help ensure that search results do not contain offensive material on any computer system. KidzSearch also provides a mobile solution to safe internet usage. You may have internet filtering software on you home or school computer, but what happens when access is needed on an unknown computer? We provide a solution that can be used from any computer in the world without requiring software to be installed.
A better way to search safely
KidzSearch uses an approach that we believe is better than any other filtering solution available. Current software based site blockers, such as Net Nanny, SurfSafe and others, have their place, but many will agree that they are just too restrictive. Current studies show that only 20 percent of school libraries use them, since they restrict too many sites and make research difficult. Many of the sites blocked are resources that happen to contain a flagged keyword, even though the site is relevant to a search.
Some family-safe search engines take the approach of "hand picking" each site. AOL uses this method. A problem here is that one cannot keep up with current sites. With over 8 billion websites, it is just not practical and greatly limits available internet resources.
Google
Safe Search has one of the most advanced context based
filtering systems available. Relevant sites are presented
even if they contain a blocked keyword. For example, a site
that is anti-porn will contain references to the word
"porn," but Google Safe Search will still allow it. However,
the system is not perfect and will allow searches to
still return adult content that it misses. We felt it was
the best technology out there, but it needed some support.
Enter KidzSearch. KidzSearch is like a watchdog that sits on
top of Google Safe Search. The first thing the guard does is
to guarantee a search is safe, even if Google advanced safe
search preferences are not set, either purposely or by
accident (we recommend always having it set). Next, the
KidzSearch guard screens the search words against our
blocked list. It does not allow a search for an adult
content subject. This greatly reduces the risk of Google
Safe Search making a mistake and returning adult content
sites. Our blocked keyword list is constantly updated and
uses the latest information on the most common adult terms.
We also rely on user feedback and update our list on a
daily basis. The KidzSearch guard also uses advanced
software technology to also restrict search terms that match
certain adult keywords, but are spelled wrong
We truly
believe our approach is the best of both worlds. It uses
Google's context filtering to restrict viewing of adult
material and adds a layer on top of this to restrict blatant
searches for adult content. This improves Google's
filter, since we limit the search space it has to work in,
making it return much safer results. We
also block all image searches, since it is almost impossible to
screen pictures for content.
Google Monitoring
You can quickly monitor website search results by looking for the KidzSearch banner that appears at the top of every
KidzSearch search result. If you do not see the banner, it
means the search results may not be filtered for adult
content. This helps teachers and parents to monitor things
from a distance without having to look at the specific
search results.
Added Content Filtering
Safety
For added safety, you can also set filtered results to always be
on for all Google.com searches in addition to KidzSearch. Use
this link
to set Google Global SafeSearch filtering. Even with Google
preferences set to filter all searches on Google, using
KidzSearch provides an additional guarantee. The KidzSearch logo
provides assurance that only filtered results will be returned.
If Google global filtering is unset, you will not know unless
you check the Google advanced settings page before every search.
KidzSearch searches will always be
safe, even if regular Google
settings are not set to filter adult content.
Search Flexibility
KidzSearch gives you
added flexibility, since adult users may choose to not use
filtering when accessing Google.com in order to return all
possible search matches (in some cases, filtering can screen out
sites that have safe material, but contain keywords that meet
adult screening criteria). Lastly, if for privacy
reasons (see below) you choose to disable browser cookies, you
will not be able to configure Google to filter content.
KidzSearch will still allow you to filter content and does not
rely on browser cookies.
KidzSearch allows for
Additional Privacy
Some internet users prefer to use the internet with cookies
disabled, or use a browser that does not support cookies.
Google relies on cookies to set safe searching as a
preference.
Anytime you land on a Google page, you get a Google cookie
if you don't already have one. Your Internet IP address, the
time and date, your search terms, and your browser
configurations are recorded by Google. We truly believe that
Google just uses the data for internal marketing and does
not disclose it to other parties. However, some people still
prefer to keep things private by disabling cookies in their
browser. KidzSearch
provides a gateway to safe search results without relying on
cookies.
The Best Featured Websites
Unlike most search engines, our featured sites are not
sponsored links and truly represent what we feel are the
best sites for kids. Most of the selections come from peer
reviewed journals and books. Featured listings are carefully
reviewed for the highest quality content. Every featured
listing must have educational content. We get many suggested
sites, but only feature a select few. If you have a
suggestion please
email it to us for review. The featured sites are
represented by graphic icons which encourage use and appeal
to kids of all ages.
Who is using us?
The list of schools and companies using us grows each
day.
If you use our site we would like to
hear from you!
Some of our customers include:
Northern York County School District, PA
St. Johns School, Quebec, Canada
Perth School District, Perth, Australia
Roomberg Institute, Cherry Hill, NJ
Fern Hill Primary School, United Kingdom
Askew Elementary School, Houston, Texas
West Springfield High School, Springfield, VA
Princess Anne Psychological Associates, Virginia Beach, VA