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Mon
Oct 5, '09
1
National Cyber Security Month -- Save 25%
Net Nanny has joined forces with cyber security leaders as we observe National Cyber Security Month. It’s important to understand how important it is to keep your family safe online, but it’s also important that I stress the necessity of PC security. Here are Microsoft’s recommendations to keep your computer clean and malware free: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/promotions/us/cybersecurity.aspx
In celebration of this month Net Nanny is offering a 25% discount for new Net Nanny purchases. Simply enter the promotion code "Security" in the Net Nanny shopping cart. Join us as we work together in our community and country to be Cyber safe all year long. -
Thu
Sep 24, '09
2
Porn Addiction is All Over the World; And so is the Ability to Break Free.
by Dr. Bernell Christensen, Candeo Co-founder
As I look back on my 30+ years as an “in the trenches therapist, I can tell you that my clients suffering under the burden of pornography use and other sexual addictions, have come from all walks of life. There has never been one, single set of identifying characteristics under which I could place all those who struggle with this addiction. While I have known about this diversity for many years, our Candeo online recovery training program has brought this to light in ways I never imagined.
People are often surprised to learn that we have individuals (we call them Candeo Students) engaged in our addiction recovery training program from all 50 states in the U.S. and in 35 countries! But the diversity is not just geographical. Candeo Students come from a wide variety of cultures, backgrounds, religious affiliations, education and economic levels. We have both men and women on our program, and they range in age from 13 to 80. Our recovery students hail from many different professions including teachers, doctors, business owners, military, clergy, therapists, CEOs, politicians and a lot more. Many of our Students are also students in colleges and schools across the globe. Does this diversity surprise you? What is it about pornography addiction that allows it to cross all boundaries and entrap men, women and children world-wide?
Many have assumed that the common denominator is religion—people are disturbed and obsessed about their porn use because of their religious beliefs. While this is certainly a contributing factor, it is far from being the rule—we have a significant number of Students who are non-religious. Some claim that this is strictly a “male addiction—a growing number of our Students are female. It would seem to make sense that internet porn addiction is more prevalent among the younger generation who are more “tech savvy. While many of our Students are in their 20s and 30s, we regularly help those much older. So if predicting porn addiction can’t be confined to age, gender, culture, religion or profession, then what is the common denominator among those who become entrapped? Taking the risk of sounding over-simplistic, or even ridiculous, I’ll tell you what it is: the common denominator among pornography addicts is that they all have a brain.
Now, before you dismiss this as “silly, or assume I’m making an inept attempt at humor, stay with me for a moment. The reason pornography can titillate, entrap and enslave people of all types all over the world, is because of the effect porn has on the human brain. We all have a brain. We all are “sexual beings. Built into the very fabric of our DNA coding is programming that causes us to respond in some way to the sexual stimuli and queues that are all around us. This incredibly powerful force motivates us to seek relationships, pair off and propagate our species. In so many ways, sexuality is an amazing gift to be embraced and enjoyed. While sexual processes are carried out in many parts of the body, nowhere are they more numerous, complex and powerful than in the human brain. During sexual intimacy, the brain releases remarkable and very potent neuro-chemicals, which allow us to narrowly focus our attention, feel pleasure, release stress, connect and bond, and receive many other benefits. Many neuropsychologists have referred to sex as a “drug because it triggers the release of chemicals that are in many ways identical to those released during drug use. Any way you look at it, sex has a big impact on the human brain and the entire nervous system.
So what does all of this have to do with pornography? According to research in neuro-science, psychology and the latest brain scanning technology, the viewing of pornography creates the same type of brain response that having sex does. In fact, from a neuro-chemical standpoint, when porn viewing and masturbation are engaged in, the brain believes the body is actually having sex. So, at the push of a mouse button, any time of the day or night, any individual across the globe with an internet connection can instantly engage in sexual process. He or she can flood their brain and nervous system with powerful neuro-chemicals that in many ways have the same effect as street drugs. They can instantly produce pleasure and self-medicate their stress, loneliness, boredom, anger, fear and any other negative emotion. Now do you see why the one universal, common denominator among porn addicts world-wide is “they have a brain?
The good news is, the Candeo Online Recovery Training Program was designed to help anyone across the world with pornography addiction. All you need is an internet connection and basic skills with the English language. Just as pornographers tap into and take advantage of the brain and its built-in sexual processes, Candeo teaches individuals how to harness and direct the brain’s incredible power for change. Everything you need to break free is already built in to that magnificent brain of yours! And that remarkable ability for positive change is something universal to every person on the planet.
For More Information:
If you want to learn more about the Brain Science of Porn Addiction, and how to protect your marriage and family from this addiction, get Mark Kastleman’s acclaimed book, “The Drug of the New Millennium. You can purchase it online at Amazon.com.
If you or someone you love is trapped in pornography use, please visitwww.candeocan.com to learn how to break free.
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Wed
Sep 9, '09
1
Watch Out, Some Parental Control Products Sell Your Private Info
Associated Press recently released an article discussing how some internet filtering products actually gather and sell your private information. In most cases this includes, but is not limited to, private IM or Chat conversations and Internet browsing history.
“Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other services, and send back data on what kids are saying about such things as movies, music or video games. The information is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids. Read the entire article here
Although Net Nanny will capture and log conversations through Yahoo, MSN, AOL and other services, parents have the option to enable/disable remote reporting. If enabled, this data is encrypted and securely sent to our servers where only you can authorize access to that data. Net Nanny will never share your personal browsing history or children's IM (Instant Message) conversations with any third parties. Net Nanny believes in keeping your family’s privacy secure.
In addition to avoiding companies that engage in the unauthorized selling of your personal Internet activities, you may want to watch out for parental control products that “data mine. Data mining is the process of analyzing or gathering specific data, usually for the use of identifying customer interests and patterns. Many software companies, including some parental control vendors, may be using your information for data mining. It’s well known that many URL-based internet filtering companies will actually use your browsing history to help expand its constantly growing list of websites; unlike Net Nanny which uses dynamic contextual analysis. Rest assured, Net Nanny will never share, sell, or disclose your personal information. We are in the business of keeping your family safe. -
Fri
Sep 4, '09
8
How Do You Know if You Have a Pornography Addiction?
By Dr. Bernell Christensen
Having practiced as a therapist for over 30 years, I have helped individuals from all walks of life deal with the heavy burden of pornography addiction. In nearly every case, one of the greatest obstacles to getting people into recovery is “denial. With rare exception, individuals come to me for assistance after one or both of the following events take place:
1. The pornography addict hits “rock bottom where their life and/or most important relationships have become so miserable, dysfunctional or unmanageable, they will do “anything to get help.
2. A spouse, partner, parent or boss discovers the individual’s porn addiction and demands they get help “or else.
One of the scenarios that is conspicuously missing from this list is a third option: The struggling individual seeks help voluntarily, early in his porn addiction—before his life and relationships get hammered. Unfortunately, these individuals are very few and far between. Why? In my experience, porn addicts hesitate or refuse to get help for a number of reasons:
A. Shame and Fear: The porn user feels tremendous shame, and fears that if those he cares for find out about his addiction, they will reject him—he will lose his reputation, their respect and their love.
B. I Can Handle it Myself: Because he fears anyone discovering his addiction, he convinces himself that he can break out of his porn use by himself. He may also go it alone because he is convinced that “it’s really not that serious—it’s no big deal. Of course, he chooses to discount or ignore the fact that he has tried to overcome it by himself countless times and failed.
C. I’m Not Sure I Want to Stop: Pornography use triggers the release of powerful neurochemicals in the brain producing an instant pleasure rush, a high and an escape from the stress and pressures of life. Porn can create a “chemical dependency like that found with other drugs of choice. The addict doesn’t know if he can, or even wants to give up his self-medication through porn.
Regardless of which of these scenarios apply, I find that most individuals caught up in porn use tend to diminish, discount or outright deny that they have a problem. So how do you know if you are addicted to pornography? There are many different signs and attributes of addiction. Here are just a few questions that can help you in the addiction identification process:
How Do I Know if I’m Addicted?
Answer the following questions:
1. Does your porn use feel out of your control?
2. Do you have trouble controlling when you will look at porn and limiting the time you spend? Have you made unsuccessful attempts to quit?
3. Do you feel anger or irritability if you are confronted about your porn use or asked to stop?
4. Do you feel like there is another person or force inside of you driving you to pornography?
5. Do you keep using porn despite negative consequences?
6. Do you “get lost in porn use—lose track of time; spend more time than intended; neglect work, school, relationships and other responsibilities?
7. Does pornography consume your thinking? When you’re not viewing it, do you think about it and anticipate when you will indulge again?
8. Is your porn use in conflict with your values and beliefs? Do you feel guilt, shame, remorse, empty and/or depressed after viewing porn?
9. Do you keep your porn use a secret and fear that others might find out?
10. Have you ever promised yourself that you would never use pornography again?
If you answered “yes to more than a few of these questions, there is a very strong probability that you are addicted to pornography. In my 30 years of clinical experience, I can tell you that if you don’t take steps to get on the path to recovery, your addiction will only escalate and your life will become increasingly unmanageable over time. In addition, if you believe you can conquer this on your own, history is against you. I have yet to find an individual who was able to break free all alone.
However, I also know of the guilt, shame and fear that accompany this addiction. If you are like many struggling under the weight of this heavy burden, “going public with your porn use and telling a spouse, parent, family, friends or others may be “unthinkable. This is why my colleagues and I created the Candeo online recovery training program—so that you could have a safe, anonymous place to come and get started on your recovery journey. In the Candeo program, we also provide you with a “program Coach—a real human being who communicates with you anonymously through your own private message board.
So, what are you waiting for? We’re here, ready to help you begin the process of breaking free from your pornography and masturbation addiction. And as you begin experiencing recovery success, your confidence, self-esteem and courage will greatly increase. You will get to the place where you no longer desire to “go it alone—you will begin to reach out and connect with people who care about you; people who will help you continually move forward in recovery and your overall success in life.
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Tue
Sep 1, '09
0
Webuser.co.uk - Net Nanny Receives the Gold
Entitled Safe From Harm, www.webuser.co.uk tested several parental control tools for protecting children from the worst of the web, including: Net Nanny, Webroot, McAfee, Webwatcher and several other less familiar products. Here are the highlights:
Net Nanny
Performance: 5/5 Stars
Ease of Use: 5/5 Stars
Value: 5/5 Stars
Features: 4/5 Stars
“Net Nanny is synonymous with parental control software and rightly so — it’s as good as these things get. You’re presented with a clear and structured interface that lets you manage all manner of filtering, from the blocking of websites with inappropriate content to time controls that let you control when the PC can and cannot be used online. Net Nanny dealt well with all our tests, blocking pornographic sites and pages containing race-hate materials and preventing us from using an instant messaging application we’d requested to be stopped. As well as blocking sites, Net Nanny keeps tabs on what the user is up to, so that the administrator (the parent) can view a report later. Kids can request an override on a particular site if they think Net Nanny has wrongly blocked it.
Webroot
Performance: 3/5 Stars
Ease of Use: 3/5 Stars
Value: 5/5 Stars
Features: 4/5 Stars
"Webroot kicks off by creating a password-protected Windows user account for the parent or guardian. The administrator can then set access times and filtering levels for all other Windows user accounts. There are default settings that can be used to keep things quick and simple — set an account to Child and the user will be able to surf for just two hours a day between 9am and 8pm — but there’s flexibility to change every aspect. Webroot is similar to Net Nanny but it’s not quite as simple to use. Indeed, it actually failed one of our tests — the filtering of web search terms associated with adult websites. Moreover, it failed to prevent a search on one of its own suggested ‘banned’ terms."
McAfee
Performance: 2/5 Stars
Ease of Use: 3/5 Stars
Value: 5/5 Stars
Features: 5/5 Stars
"This is more of a security suite than pure parental controls, so you seem to get a lot for your money. However, the parental controls are both limited and, at least so far as our testing went, not very effective. After installation, two of the functions — image filtering and age appropriate searching — remained off by default. Not that activating them made much difference — we were able to visit a variety of well-known pornography websites and execute image searches that resulted in plenty of bare skin. Other aspects of McAfee Family Protection are much better but for parental controls, it’s a letdown."
WebWatcher
Performance: 1/5 Stars
Ease of Use: 1/5 Stars
Value: 1/5 Stars
Features: 4/5 Stars
"Don’t buy this if you’re a novice — the installation is appallingly confusing. We had to call on the company’s online live-chat facility (which, to be fair, helped). Eventually, it installs invisible logging software on the PC that you can view remotely using just a web browser. But it doesn’t work very well. Our tester could still view soft-porn websites and run applications we explicitly blocked."
The author concluded with this note: "There’s a clear divide here between innovation and the old school. The innovators are the likes of PG Key, using a USB dongle to provide access to the PC as a whole but, although we liked the idea, it was confusing and difficult to use. Back to the old school, both McAfee and Webroot do a decent job, with the latter being good value considering the price includes a license for three PCs. However, Net Nanny is simply the best here. It’s easy to set up, good value (the price includes one year’s worth of free updates) and works very well indeed. A worthy winner." -
Fri
Aug 7, '09
1
Sexualized Media--a Destroyer of Women's Rights
It’s obvious that pornography degrades and destroys women’s rights by portraying them as a simple collection of body parts whose sole purpose is to “service men. Porn triggers a narrow focus on women that ignores her inner beauty, gifts, talents, worth, remarkable contributions—the “whole person; everything she is that has nothing to do with the shape of her body. But porn doesn’t have an exclusive on ignoring a woman’s true value and trashing women’s rights.
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Thu
Jul 9, '09
0
Feature of the Day: Dynamic Analysis and Age-Based Settings
I'd like to take a moment to describe two of Net Nanny's major features: Dynamic Contextual Analysis and Age-Based Profile Settings. I know it's a mouthful, but bear with me. With Net Nanny 6.0 we introduced age-based settings, but Net Nanny's dynamic contextual analysis engine has been one of Net Nanny's biggest competitive advantages from the beginning. In the video below I describe how easy it is to set up users with the Net Nanny's age-based settings followed by a demonstration on how our dynamic analysis engine works. Enjoy!
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Sat
Jun 20, '09
0
"Hurry Up—I Haven’t Got All Second!" How Porn Turns Strong Men into Weaklings
Several years ago I saw a comic strip showing a man standing next to a microwave oven. He puts some left-overs in the microwave and sets the timer for 60 seconds. With his arms folded and a frustrated expression on his face, he taps his foot impatiently on the floor. Suddenly when the timer is down to 30 seconds, he screams out, “Will you hurry up? I haven’t got all second!
We live in a society of “instant gratification. We dine on fast food, we drive fast cars, we pursue careers on the “fast track, we constantly upgrade to faster computers, and we expect everything at the push of a button. Now don’t get me wrong, modern technology is a wonderful thing and has brought many marvelous benefits. But, it also has made us a society that has come to want things “right now! Our current economic disaster was fueled by this “Get it now and pay later attitude—on the part of many consumers, businesses, Wall Street, and politicians. In essence, instant financial gratification has made America weak.
But however disturbing this trend has been, it pales in comparison to the “instant sexual gratification message that Internet porn promotes. It says, “You can have it all now! Why put forth all of the time, effort and self-sacrifice to nurture a committed relationship? Why hold back and exercise control when you can experience all the pleasure and passion of “simulated sex right now? If it feels good, then just do it—and do it now! Internet Porn is the ultimate purveyor of instant gratification.
Pornographers blanket our society with their fatal message, trumpeting an attitude of “me-me-mine-mine-now-now. When an individual develops a habit of accessing Internet porn the instant he feels the sexual or emotional urge, he begins to lose his inner strength—the ability to exercise patience, self-control and self-discipline. These would-be strengths—the “real marks of a true man, become weakness. And the loss of these strengths is not limited to time spent in front of the computer screen. When an individual develops the habit of self-centered instant gratification, he comes to expect the same instantaneous but unrealistic responses in other areas of his life, relationships and career. Immersed in Internet Porn, the strong man becomes a weakling.
The good news is that the individual caught in the porn trap is not a loser or a lost cause. His weakness can be turned back into the strength that it truly is. Through the Candeo online recovery training program, self control, self-discipline and inner strength can be restored.
For More Information:
If you want to learn more about the Brain Science of Porn Addiction, and how to protect your marriage and family from this addiction, get Mark Kastleman’s acclaimed book, “The Drug of the New Millennium. You can purchase it online at Amazon.com.
If you or someone you love is trapped in pornography use, please visitwww.candeocan.com to learn how to break free
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Thu
Jun 18, '09
0
Using the Internet Appropriately
Cindy Snow, an industry professional and consultant for ContentWatch recently presented at an educational conference. Her thorough and very informative presentation has provided parents with some very helpful and necessary tools to help children use the Internet appropriately. I'd like to share that with you today. Just click on the presentation below to advance the slides (if you don't see anything, be patient it's probably still loading):
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Thu
Jun 11, '09
8
Is Pornography a "Drug Addiction"?
The mountains of clinical data and visual evidence as millions continue their out-of-control porn use despite consequences of divorce, loss of employment, destroyed reputations, prison time, etc., shouts the obvious: “YES,
PORNOGRPAHY IS ADDICTIVE! And just in case there are still out there a few stubborn hold-outs, research is currently being conducted by some of the world’s leading experts in the neuroscience and neuropsychology fields that will provide the clinical evidence required to officially enter sex and pornography as “addictions in the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).
Some cringe with labeling pornography as “addictive because they believe doing so affords the porn user an excuse: “I can’t help myself, I’m addicted. This is a preposterous position. When someone is addicted to alcohol, do we excuse his behavior because “he can’t help it? Just because someone suffers with an addiction doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a choice.
For many years, my colleagues and I (Dr. Hyde) have worked in our clinics helping individuals break free from pornography and many other addictions. There is always a choice when it comes to breaking free from addictive behaviors.
The more important question is not “Is pornography addictive? but rather, “Is pornography a drug addiction? Does pornography use lead to a chemical dependency commonly experienced with illicit street drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs? Is pornography use “substance abuse?
Immediately, there are some in the scientific, medical and psychology fields who fire back, “How can you classify pornography as a drug or a substance? It doesn’t come in a liquid, powder or pill form. You don’t ingest it or inject it.
My response is two-fold:
- 1. When an individual ingests or injects a “drug, that chemical travels to the receptors in the brain and other parts of the body, seeking to “mimic the body’s own natural neurotransmitters. In effect, the drug tries to “fake the body into releasing its own natural or endogenous chemicals. For example, Prozac triggers the body to release its own natural serotonin. Likewise, pornography “mimics sexual intimacy and “fakes the body into releasing a tidal wave of endogenous chemicals, which is exactly what pharmaceutical and illicit street drugs do. Can pornography not then be referred to as a “drug?
- 2. For those who insist on precision in the use of scientific terms such as “drug, allow me to put your minds at rest. Can we agree that pornography viewing triggers the release of the body’s own endogenous chemicals, just as sexual intimacy does? And that the porn viewer can become addicted to these internal chemicals just as he would if the release were triggered by a pharmaceutical drug? Is this not chemically-induced addiction?
And Howard Shaffer, head of Harvard’s Division on Addiction declares:
I had a great difficulty with my own colleagues when I suggested that a lot of addiction is the result of experience—repetitive, high-emotion, high-frequency experience. . . . But it’s become clear that neuroadaptation—that is, changes in neural circuitry that helps perpetuate the behavior—occurs even in the absence of drug-taking. 2
One of the world’s leading researchers in the field of pornography as a chemical addiction is Dr. Judith Reisman. For decades she has worked closely with some of the best minds in neuroscience and neuropsychology to prove that pornography should indeed be considered a drug, a chemical dependency, a form of substance abuse. Consider some powerful statements from her and her colleagues in a widely published research paper:
A pornographic psychopharmacological flood yields epinephrine, testosterone, endorphins (endogenous morphine), oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, phenylethylamine,3 and other pharmacological stimuli. In her book published by the Institute of Medicine, Sandra Ackerman notes that epinephrine alone gets the “vertebrate brain “high on its own self produced morphine or heroin.4 Pornography, designed to alert the procreation instinct to the need to immediately respond, would be especially likely to cause users to self-medicate, kick-starting these endogenous LSD, adrenaline/norepinephrine, morphine-like neurochemicals for a hormonal flood, a “rush allegedly analogous to the rush attained using various street drugs. 5
Arousal dependence [through pornography] may be compared to biochemical alterations related to excessive amphetamine use. Satiation effects [hours looking at Internet porn] may be compared to those related to opiate use. Fantasy behavior can be related to such neurotransmitters as dopamine, norepinephrine, or serotonin, all of which are chemically similar to the main psychedelic drugs such as LSD. 6
Vanderbilt University psychiatrist Peter Martin’s research on “normal subjects finds the brain activity experienced in sexual arousal of his normal subjects “looks like that accompanying drug consumption. 7
Addiction [can] exist within the body’s own chemistry. Any activity that produces salient alterations in mood can lead to compulsion, loss of control and progressively disturbed functioning. 8
Pornography is not like a drug, it is an endogenously processed poly drug providing intense, although misleading, sensory rewards. 9
However you choose to say it,Pornography addiction is a chemical addiction, or, if you prefer, Pornography causes the body to release endogenous chemicals which the viewer becomes addicted to. The bottom line is: “pornography is a drug.
For More Information:
If you want to learn more about the Brain Science of Porn Addiction, and how to protect your marriage and family from this addiction, get Mark Kastleman’s acclaimed book, “The Drug of the New Millennium. You can purchase it online at Amazon.com.
If you or someone you love is trapped in pornography use, please visitwww.candeocan.com to learn how to break free.
1. Paper presented to the National Family Foundation Convention, The Role of Pornography in Compulsive or Addictive Sexual Behaviors, November 10, 1990 in Pittsburgh, PA, Psychologist M. Douglas Reed, p. 15, 1, 3
2. Dr. Judith Reisman, The Psychopharmacology of Pictorial Pornography, Restructuring Brain, Mind&Memory&Subverting Freedom of Speech, The Institute for Media Education, 2003, p. 23
3. Candace Pert, cited in Bill Moyer’s Healing and the Mind, Doubleday, New York, 1991, p. 177
4. Sandra Ackerman, Discovering the Brain, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1992, p. 76-77
5. Dr. Judith Reisman, The Psychopharmacology of Pictorial Pornography, Ibid., p. 21
6. M. Douglas Reed, The Role of Pornography in Compulsive or Addictive Sexual Behaviors, Ibid.
7. Dr. Judith Reisman, The Psychopharmacology of Pictorial Pornography, Ibid., p. 23
8. M. Douglas Reed, The Role of Pornography in Compulsive or Addictive Sexual Behaviors, Ibid.
9. Dr. Judith Reisman, The Psychopharmacology of Pictorial Pornography, Ibid., p. 23
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