Only few sign up for TalkTalk’s HomeSafe security system

Online security has always been a huge deal. The Internet makes it easier to access all sorts of information and content, including those that aren’t meant for the eyes of those who are below eighteen years of age.

To give parents peace of mind and to control what type of content can be displayed or should be blocked on browsers, service providers have released site filtering and blocking systems. One of these is HomeSafe, which was launched by TalkTalk early this year. The firm’s website filter works on the network level to provide online security and to block illicit content.

The service is being offered by TalkTalk for free. HomeSafe comes with anti-virus alerts to identify malicious websites and a KidSafe option so parents can block sites that kids should not view. An official from TalkTalk explains: “Of course, it’s not a silver bullet and it doesn’t absolve parents from the responsibility of knowing what their children are up to online. But our research shows parents understand this. They don’t want their ISP to control what content they can or can’t access online – they just want their ISP to give them the power to implement settings that are right for their family.”

However, there have been recent reports that HomeSafe was unable to block access to certain adult sites. Cherith Hateley, who is both an IT expert and a mother, made the discovery that TalkTalk’s service didn’t work on Pornhub. She explained: “The ‘you have been blocked’ page has been diverted to an advertising slot within the Pornhub homepage thus opening access to it. The HomeSafe barrier has been knocked down, technically and literally. TalkTalk should inform all their HomeSafe customers that their children are still able to see pornography so that parents can supervise more.”

It’s probably for this reason that HomeSafe has attracted only a few takers. In the first two months after its release, TalkTalk had reported that “more than 100,000″ had signed up for it. But now, after a good seven months, only “around 200,000″ users had signed up for the service.

Many analysts and IT experts have raised concerns that HomeSafe could be bypassed easily by dubious sites. Dr. Richard Clayton, a computer scientist at the University of Cambridge, wrote: “I doubt that malware distributors will see this [HomeSafe] as much of a challenge. The system is described as ‘opt in’, [but] that only applies to whether or not websites you visit might be blocked. What is not “opt in” is whether or not TalkTalk learns the details of the URLs [websites] that all of their customers visit, whether they have opted in or not.”

Source – The Guardian