Currently, to find any type of information, we perform a quick search on search engines and find thousands of results immediately. However, these results do not always correspond to safe and appropriate information for the user. For this reason, activating SafeSearch can help us receive safer data from the searches carried out.
SafeSearch is an essential resource for anyone who wants to prevent inappropriate images, videos and information from reaching their search results . This type of content means that among the responses received, content containing violence, pornography, death, online threats, and many other results also appear.
This Google tool helps us control more efficiently what types of information can reach us, helping to maintain not only our productivity at work , but also the security of our devices.
The internet is full of scams and traps, which can cause a variety of problems for users and companies. Take a look at this video and discover the main scams that are being applied today:
How does SafeSearch work?
Once you activate SafeSearch on your device, it will prevent searches from displaying results considered explicit, violent or pornographic . Even if the search is carried out using an explicit term, such as “pornography”, for example, this tool will still filter the results, delivering only those that are considered safe and appropriate.
Although it is widely used to control the type of content that reaches children's devices as a parental control tool, this feature is also useful in the business environment.
The main function of SafeSearch is to block content and results that are sexually explicit, violent content, sensational images, death, among other types of content. For this reason, it can be a valuable ally for a business's productivity, preventing employees from having access to inappropriate and dangerous content.
Below are some of the main features of this filter:
1. Prevents the display of explicit and inappropriate images
Depending on the type of research carried out, it is not our objective to obtain an explicit result . Due to some malicious strategies, these inappropriate results end up being displayed, generating discomfort and embarrassment and loss of concentration on tasks.
An example of this occurs when we carry out some research on a health problem, for example. Search engines often end up delivering, among legitimate results, pornographic or sensitive images to many people.
For this reason, SafeSearch seeks to prevent this type of inappropriate content from reaching users, especially when there is no relation to the search being carried out, bringing more efficiency and security to users.
2. Media Filtering
It is important to remember that SafeSearch is not a tool used only for searches within Google, but can be applied to Google Images, news and YouTube.
It tries to filter as much information as possible that could be considered inappropriate, especially in images and videos.
3. Increases device security
Cybercriminals use different resources to make their scams reach their users. They often plant these traps on entertainment websites and, especially, pages with pornographic content. The SafeSearch filter helps prevent users from accessing this type of content, in order to reduce the chances of contamination and damage to company devices.
The importance of conscious use of the internet
Technology has surrounded us in such a way that it is practically impossible to carry out most of our daily activities without the help of an internet connection, it has transformed our reality, given us efficient resources and made our routine more practical.
Although it makes our lives a lot easier, it has also started to harm workers' productivity in the workplace. This is because it is very common for employees to waste time on content that is not related to the work itself, such as social networks, personal emails, entertainment websites, online stores, pornography and many others.
This makes the internet, although essential, a dangerous factor of distraction and loss of productivity. Combined with the immense amount of content and traps in the online environment, there are a series of other problems that can be caused by the indiscriminate use of the internet :
- Loss of productivity ;
- Delivery delays
- Loss of quality at work;
- Risks to the company data
- And many others.
For this reason, it is important for the company to find resources and tools that help keep employees focused and attentive to what is being done and what is really important for business continuity .
With so many obligations to be fulfilled within the deadline, it is almost impossible to work with a series of open tabs, videos being played, social media notifications, distractions with entertainment pages. With so many things getting in the way, it's very easy to lose control of your time and end up leaving aside what's really important in that period that should be dedicated to work.
Advantages of creating a policy for correct internet use in the company
To control this type of improper access, the company can implement an Internet Usage Policy that will help employees understand the importance of using this resource more intelligently.
This policy should serve as a guide so that employees can understand why using the company's internet to resolve personal matters can be harmful to the business and their careers. Since everything is just a click away, it's very easy for us to lose focus and productivity.
Another major problem caused by misuse of the internet is security breaches resulting from employee behavior. This is because the internet is an environment full of threats and traps, and it is often not possible to realize that a link, banner or email has been compromised.
Taking advantage of users' vulnerability, cybercriminals create very efficient traps to make users provide confidential information or download corrupted files. These files can harm the security of stored information and, consequently, the company's image in the market.
It is important that everyone knows that the internet within the company must be used wisely, so as not to harm the profitability of the business or the company's reputation.
Step by step to activate SafeSearch
As we have seen, SafeSearch is a very interesting tool for those looking to add more efficiency and security to the internet used within the company, filtering and controlling the types of content that are delivered when searching for videos, images, and other media.
This tool manages to prevent content considered explicit from being delivered in search results. Activating SafeSearch on a device is quite simple necessary steps below :
- Within your browser, access the “search settings” page;
- On this page you will find a section called SafeSearch Filters . You can select or uncheck the option located next to it, called “Activate SafeSearch”;
- Once this is done, at the bottom of the page just click Save for the changes to be implemented in your browser.
Although this feature is quite efficient for parental control, for a more specific need it may not be the best solution. Within a company, activating SafeSearch can be a bit of a hassle, as there are countless computers and devices that use the same network.
Furthermore, just as it is quite simple to activate, it can also be deactivated by the user without the company being aware.
Is SafeSearch alone enough?
SafeSearch is a very interesting tool for controlling explicit content on devices, but it is not a 100% efficient solution for managers who want to improve productivity and more assertively control internet use within the company.
With increasingly intelligent technologies and methods, cybercriminals provide ways and resources that help to circumvent the SafeSearch system and algorithm, managing to deliver their corrupted and explicit results to more and more users.
For this reason, even though it helps to avoid as much explicit or inappropriate content as possible, activating SafeSearch may not be the best alternative for companies to control internet use within the workplace.
In this case, the best alternative for companies is to find a smarter solution, such as Internet Blocking Tools. With this type of tool, managers can carry out blocking in a comprehensive and personalized way, according to the company's needs.
Lumiun DNS as a solution
To facilitate the process and guarantee greater control, there is Lumiun DNS . With Lumiun DNS , you can configure protected search policies directly from the control panel.
By applying restrictions to all devices connected to the network centrally, this avoids the need to individually configure each device, saving time and reducing the chance of accidental or intentional disabling of protections.
To configure protected search in Lumiun DNS : Access the control panel , click on Policies, select the policy to which the filters should be applied and activate the 3 protected search rules.
Now, with the 3 rules activated, the results of searches for content not recommended for children under 18 years of age will not be displayed in search results.
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