Covenant Eyes
I’m not here to preach to anyone, but porn is a huge problem in some households where some family members have major addicitive personalities and problems with porn. If porn is a controlling problem for you or family members, or even friends, there is a service that has been around for awhile but gets very good reviews.
It is Covenant Eyes and while there are less than perfect services which attempt to filter internet activity, CE does nothing of the sort. In fact, it’s a mostly invisible service that monitors internet usage and logs activity. Questionable sites are not blocked, but activity is recorded. The way the service works is that the computer owner can designate “accountability partners” who have the option of viewing records on demand or getting an email report once a week. Websites are assigned numerical scores based on CEs algorithm with higher numbers indicating potentially higher problems.
Savvy computer users might think they can get around the service by disabling it or uninstalling the program altogether (and indeed it is possible to do so), but disabling it spawns an alert to accountability partners and removing it requires a code which the accountability partners are also alerted to.
Up until recently, Covenant Eyes has only been available for Windows-based computers but they have recently released a version for Mac. The main weakness I see is a real inability to track questionable email and Instant Message conversations.
Covenant Eyes is an excellent program. Anyone with a big porn problem knows that even monitoring will not stop them after they’ve reached a certain point of irrationality, but I find that CE helps to prevent one from tinkering with the more mundane forms of lust (bikinis, etc.) which often lead quickly to that irrationality and the associated watching of hardcore videos.
Internet porn is a huge temptation for people of all ages using the Internet. It is more dangerous than most people think. Most are not aware that viewing this material can lead a person down an addictive path. If viewed regularly, it can become an addiction. I’ve heard people say, “Oh that’s a guy thing” it’s normal. These types of comments can come from the media or uninformed individuals. Porn is very damaging to relationships. Life is already difficult enough, why risk ruining what you’ve worked so hard for. The biggest thing is that it can produce a secret life, a hidden life of sin. Also, porn temptation and addiction is not limited to men. Women are struggling with this as well. I’ve used Covenant Eyes, http://www.covenanteyes.com for quite some time. By design it involves an Accountability partner(s), someone with whom you have a trusted relationship with and who cares about you. Could be your parents, wife, best buddy, pastor, brother or mentor. It’s about being transparent and authentic with your communication and in life-real. Let’s face it, we all struggle with temptation and sin. It’s everywhere- alcohol, food, sex, drugs, materialism, -the culture is full of temptation. But, it’s what we do with the temptation that matters. Do we give in, or do we say no. Since I know I’ll be tempted, put up a guard. Your accountability partner will know where you have been surfing, and that knowledge stops most people in their tracks. It also helps them to think. Think before going to a website that you know is just wrong. Covenant Eyes has worked great for me and my 2 sons when they were at college. My daughter uses it too.
Porn > CE.
Porn > Marriage.
, Have a good day.
The Jesse above does not speak for all Jesse’s