The name of the game in this day and age is monitoring and filtering. Unfortunately, CyberSitter does little more than straight filtration. While it has some nifty timer capabilities that allow you to lock down computer/Internet access based on times (very useful for parents who want to restrict their children’s internet time), CyberSitter needs to upgrade it’s offering if it wants to continue to compete in a market that is demanding more and more monitoring, rather than just blocking inappropriate content. The problem with simple filtration is that it doesn’t account for the people who are pursuing your children. It simply guards against your children stumbling across offensive materials.

While the program on the whole is a little too simplistic, the latest version shows that CyberSitter isn’t afraid of progress. The program can now be set to not only monitor the websites that your child visits, but it can also send email reports of the computer’s activity as well. Sadly, however, for a full view of what is going on CyberSitter forces you to go back directly to the computer that you are monitoring, which for some parents makes this software out of the question.

CyberSitter’s list of features includes:

• Block access to undesirable web sites
• Record and view all web sites visited
• Record both sides of chat conversations from AOL Instant Messenger (AIM, and AIM Triton), Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger
• Set time restrictions for internet usage
• Sends reports to parents by email
• Stealthy - cannot be detected or disabled by unauthorized users

While CyberSitter is definitely not a good investment for anyone trying to monitor tweens or teens, it’s price definitely makes it a viable option for anyone who is simply looking to clean up the internet for very young children. And hopefully in the future, CyberSitter will upgrade itself into the ranks of a serious monitoring/filtering application. Check back here for any updates.