| "In theory, each site is reviewed
before being added to their "good" list.
In actual practice, it doesn't block all of the
pornographic sites because when they approve a site,
they do not examine all of the (in some cases many)
web pages that are a part of that site. Because
of this, a huge amount of porn slips through. The
net result is that it's not much better than other
filters; in some cases maybe even worse. - reviewed
2/23/07 by W. |
| " I have found CharacterLink to be one of
the strongest internet filters avaible. I have found
their staff to be rather helpful, though it does
seem to take them a while to respond at times. It
is almost as if there is only 3 techs working for
them. But other then that I have been rather happy
with CharacterLink." - reviewed 5/13/2004
by John |
|
|
| "FANTASTIC. Just what we were looking for
to protect our 9 & 12-year-old kids when they
surf. The CL support folks were very helpful in
installation, especially since we have Mac OSX and
a DSL line. We were able to set up a "protection
only" plan and surf safely in 10 minutes. There's
not a better service out there. Thank God for Character
Link!" - reviewed 11/10/2003 by William
G |
|
|
| "I've reviewed several filtering programs
and CharacterLink is the only one that really works.
It is worth the price. I have found them very prompt
in reviewing sites for me within 24 hours. I have
found their customer service to be less than professional
(poor communication via phone, program documentation,
and email), which made the process of purchasing,
installing, and adjusting confusing. It also slows
down my internet connection considerably. But their
filter is the best because it is done by humans,
it doesn't allow unknown pages through, and it has
a Christian worldview." - reviewed 8/19/2003
by Rev. Nate W |
|
|
| "I like their philosophy but am very disapointed
with the customer service and quality of service.
Recently they had a change in dial up phone numbers
and I could not conect. They sent no notice that
this was going to happen just suddenly I am unable
to connect and don't know why. On another occasion
I left a message on their customer support line
and they called me back after 3 or 4 days. What
kind of service is that? I like their idea and technology
of protection but I have had it with their customer
service and am actively looking for another ISP
that gives equal protection and better reliability
and customer service." - reviewed 8/1/2003
by Steven Y |
|
|
| "A terrible program, takes protection to
the extreem. EVERY SINGLE site you go to must be
submitted so it can be reviewed by them. Although
they "promise" to review the submitted
site withing ONE BUSINESS DAY, at times it will
take them ONE MONTH before they get around to reviewing
the site. Very frustrating to work with since a
lot of the sites you need immediately ( especially
for school) are not reviewed. There are times when
I have not been able to finish a school project
because all the sites I need were not reviewed,
I didn't have time to sit around and wait for them
to be reviewed. There are many other excellent internet
protection sources to look into, Characterlink is
HIGHLY not recommended." - reviewed 3/17/2003
by Emily |
|
|
| "Characterlink is the solution of last resort.
It is highly restrictive which makes free ranging
research or surfing not practical. However if one
is faced with either getting off the internet completely
because conventional filtering is not providing
the help one needs then this is the answer. One
can do any normal business on the internet with
Characterlink such as banking, news or other so
if one needs the web to conduct business but you
need to stay off of it otherwise then this is the
service for you. It does slow access somewhat but
it absolutely does what no filter can do which is
to totally stop access to internet pornography completely."
- reviewed 11/25/2002 by Ned D |
|
|
| "Characterlink has provided our family with
excellent protection from internet sites that would
be harmful to our family. Their approach is exceptional.
They review each and every site before allowing
it to be viewed. If the website contains anything
questionable, it is not accesible. Thank you Charactelink!!!
And God bless you!!!" - reviewed 11/16/2002
by ST |
|
|
| "A great system. Uses a "Yes" list
for websites, allowing in good sites for viewing
as opposed to blocking out "Bad" sites.
The attribute system that is used for reviewed sites
can be a little unwieldy, though it is fairly straightforward.
Also, the requirement that every site must be reviewed
does put quite a strain on the evaluation team,
causing evaluation times to go up. Other than that,
you should be fine with Characterlink's processes.
The bottom line is, that this is a very good service
for protection. But if all you want is a filter,
you'll probably want to look for something less
powerful." - reviewed 12/3/2001 |
|
|
| "CharacterLink is one of two
products I have found that are completely useful.
CharacterLink (CL) takes the reverse approach of
most filters. CL has an "reviewed" list
of sites that you can visit. Yes, this creates significant
restrictions. However, if you visit a site that
is not on the list of reviewed sites, you are presented
with a dialog box asking if you would like CL to
review the site and, if appropriate, add it to the
reviewed sites list. This is maximum protection.
And, you won't be allowed to go to a bad or questionable
site. You can also create different levels of restrictions
within your account by editing attributes for the
account that restrict certain types of music, pictures,
etc. Although restrictive, it is truly a good solution
for people who will have a tendency to try and get
around the restrictions or who are serious about
protection for their family or have one or two teens
with computer saavy trying to break the rules! The
service is more expensive than most, but if you
are truly serious about that kind of protection,
you pay the price. You can also get a protection-only
plan if you have your own internet service provider,
such as a DSL line. Protection-only will install
a CL version of IE or Netscape and provide the same
protection as their dial-up service. This is very
economical." - reviewed 9/10/2001 by David
W |
