ICE Web Filter Announces Collaborative Tool for Educators

MARKHAM, ON, March 30, 2011 (Press-News.org) ICE Web Filter (www.ICEWebFilter.com) announces the launch of its collaborative Internet management tool. ICE Web Filter (ICE) software is the first platform to introduce "social whitelisting," a community-based filtering tool for educators and parents to easily manage and compile kid-safe web spaces.

Licensed from open{subnet} (www.opensubnet.com), the social whitelisting technology allows ICE software to secure and manage these compiled web spaces, which can be expanded and refined based on personal preferences and a child's growing needs. Rather than requiring parents and teachers to blacklist websites they would like blocked, ICE's whitelisting technology allows them to create their own lists of approved websites, in addition to utilizing ICE's pre-approved whitelists. Users are given more control with the ability to create and specify "rules," ICE's customized settings feature. With this feature, websites can be set to allow access on certain days, hours or length of time.

"The Internet is an incredibly vast resource, but it's not necessarily the best place for children to roam freely," said Bill Madden, Founder of ICE Web Filter. "By educating our kids and using ICE software to filter out inappropriate content, we can help them become more safety-conscious web citizens."

When children want access to a website that hasn't been approved, email notifications alert a parent or teacher to the request in the child's own words. Approval or rejection of the request takes place in real time, which fosters open communication and positive collaboration in their web safety education.

With this software, anyone - teachers, kids, parents, and Internet safety experts - can contribute to approved lists, and vote on the input of other community members. The dynamic whitelisting technology aggregates these votes to provide an overall consensus of individual websites, contributing to the bigger picture of a safer web for kids.

ICE also looked to the experts at Kiwi Commons (www.KiwiCommons.com) to consult them on how to build an effective solution for both educators and parents. Kiwi Commons is an online hub providing relevant and up-to-date resources on youth Internet safety, and together, they are committed to promoting an open dialogue about online safety issues between youth, parents and teachers.

For more information about ICE Web Filter, please visit http://www.ICEWebFilter.com. ICE is currently offering a 30-day free trial to all new users. Subscriptions start at $5/month.

About ICE Web Filter:
ICE Web Filter was founded in July 2009 by Bill Madden, the director of Thor College, and by Synergies, a Toronto-based media development firm. Committed to teaching safe web practices, they developed ICE for increased content control and to promote open dialogue regarding online safety issues. More information can be found at http://www.ICEWebFilter.com.

About open{subnet}:
open{subnet} is a social whitelisting platform that allows users to create collections of websites for targeted searching and online content control. The platform provides free, searchable subnets, allowing users to share and customize them with intelligent filters with the ability to aggregate the combined input of users to create consensus-based content. For more information, visit http://www.opensubnet.com.

About Kiwi Commons:
Based in Toronto, Ontario, Kiwi Commons is an Internet safety web resource that was founded in July 2008. Providing late-breaking news, guides and information, Kiwi Commons is dedicated to giving readers the most relevant and up-to-date resources available on youth Internet safety. With topics such as cyberbullying, privacy, social media, exploitation, gaming and addiction, Kiwi Commons breaks down each issue to provide parents, youth and teachers with the necessary educational materials and resources to take a proactive approach to Internet safety. For more information or to learn more about Kiwi Common's expert panel and Internet safety initiatives, please visit http://www.KiwiCommons.com.