What is a web or Internet filter? Like any filter, an Internet filter is a tool we put in place to remove unwanted or objectionable material. The Internet is certainly a wonderful tool. However, just as it is a wonderful tool, it is also a great danger. Would you allow your six year old child to run a chain saw? Would you give your ‘tween the keys to a car? Would you climb off the side of a rock ledge without the necessary gear? Of course you would not. In each of those examples, there are clear dangers and those dangers must be managed. Filters help us manage those dangers by selectively preventing certain content from reaching our eyes. This is for our own protection and for the protection of our families. Some claim they have no problem. Some claim they cannot be tempted or control the temptation. These are all foolish positions. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9 We cannot even claim to know our own heart, yet some claim they can resist temptations they do not even know exist. We are commanded in Romans 13:14, “…make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” We are instructed in 2 Timothy 2:22 to, “Flee also youthful lusts.” Based on these verses, we can conclude that we must protect our computers.

Knowing that we must protect our computers, the logical question is how. How does one protect their computer? That is the topic of this series of articles. Every computer user who is interested in pleasing God must install some form of Internet content filter on their computer. There are basically three different ways the Internet access on a home computer can be filtered: DNS, software and hardware filtering. Each method of filtering has its advantages and disadvantages. This series of articles will briefly describe each filtering method as well as the general advantages and disadvantages.