An Internet filter (also known as an Internet nanny) is a piece of software, controlled by some authority (such as government or parents), that filters by keyword or blocks by URL what a web browser will display, usually for the benefit of children. There may be a many criteria for which the filter works, pornography, alternative lifestyles (homosexuality, adultery) and others. Filtering software is usually used in conservative and enclosed countries by conservative people.

Filters can be implemented in many different ways (by a software program on a personal computer, by servers providing internet access, etc.). Choosing an internet service provider (ISP) that blocks objectionable material before it enters the home over software run on their own computer can help parents who worry about their children bypassing the software.

If a legitimate site is blocked you may wish to bypass a filtering system, here are a few ideas. Some software may be bypassed sucessfully by using alternative protocols, such as ftp, searching for things in a different language, using proxy and others. You can usually gain a shell account, telnet into it, use the text-mode browser to read pages on how to bypass your particular system and implement this. You can also install/use a more professional operating system, such as unix variants which sometimes come with live distributions and use them. More information can be found here for windows users [[1]].

See also censorship, Image retrieval, internet pornography, censorware, Net Nanny, DeriveIt