AOL Parental Controls and Internet File-Sharing Programs

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AOL Parental Controls and P2P File-Sharing Programs Jules Polonetsky Vice President, Integrity Assurance America Online, Inc . File-Sharing and Spyware AOL/NCSA Online Safety Study Conducted by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance October 2004 AOL Anti-Spyware Products SpyZapper Light-weight scan: Scan takes less than 10 secondsBy default, SpyZapper is turned on to
scan the members computer. Once per session, a small scanning window will appear notifying the member that SpyZapper is running. This window appears for 5 seconds and then disappears. If no spyware is detected, a similar window appears notifying the member their computer is clean. This window will appear for 2 seconds and then disappear. Future scans during the same session will not require a visual notification unless spyware is detected or blocked. SpyZapper will scan the members computer for the first time after the first minute and thereafter every 15 minutes until the member disconnects from the AOL service. Targets top adware/spyware programs. Currently scans for 3 programs Runs for all AOL members, eventually available to all versions (back to 6.0) AOL Spyware Protection (ASP) Automatic for AOL members on versions 9.0, runs weekly Separate download for members 8.0 and below Currently scans for over 400 programs 2 Types of Spyware protection Built In, On by Default, Auto-Updates File-Sharing and Viruses Most computer users do not have updated anti-virus protection on their computers,
and either have been or are currently infected by viruses:* -Two-thirds of users (67%) do not have current anti-virus software. -One in seven users (15%) have no anti-virus software at all on their computer. -Almost two-thirds of respondents (63%) said they have been the victim of a virus infection. -One in five users (19%) have at least one virus infection currently on their home computer. AOL automatically checks all e-mail attachments sent and received for known viruses, worms and trojan horses. As of November 18, 2004 AOL offers members with Free Comprehensive Anti-Virus Service provided by McAfee . All files scanned upon download and upon opening. * Survey conducted for the National Cyber Security Alliance by America Online, Inc. October 2004 AOL Parental Controls Parental Controls allow parents to designate different levels of protection for
each child: Kids Only (ages 12 and under), Young Teen (ages13-15), and Mature
Teen (ages 16-17). Customization features include: Controls for chat, Instant Messaging, Web sites,
e-mail, newsgroups, file downloads, and more: Internet Access Controls help parents who have a non-AOL Internet
connection. This feature prevents children from surfing the Web using an
external browser and accessing file-sharing programs . Online Timer allows parents to limit the amount of time their child spends
online. AOL Guardian allows parents to receive regular updates on their childs
online activities, including which web sites their child visited. Parental Controls Block Access to File- Sharing Networks When Using AOL 1 st Level of Protection: AOLs Parental Controls block known file-sharing Web sites. 2 nd Level of Protection: Even if a Parentally Controlled child is able to reach a file-sharing Web site, she will be blocked from using the file-sharing
programs it downloads from the site. 3 rd Level of protection: A Parentally Controlled child with an AOL connection will be protected from using a file-sharing program that has previously been
downloaded to their computer. Parents can allow access to P2P file-sharing generally by disabling Web filtering,
keeping other Parental Controls in place.

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