Birkdale Baptist Church

Life, Heart and Hope in Jesus

One of the most important things in fighting the battle for your sexual purity is getting control of your Internet usage. Here are some tips that might help you:

1. Install a web filter:
   • Safe Eyes is a content filter provided for free to all Australian citizens by the Australian government.
   • XXXChurch promote a product called X3 watch, which is interesting because it automatically emails your accountability partner with suspicious sites in your web history. This is a neat idea to help you to stay accountable. There's a free version and a paid version.
   • Every Man's Battle have a filter called Every Home Protected. (It seems to require payment.)
   • Dan's Guardian is an Internet filter for Linux that runs on home gateway systems such as Smoothwall and IPCop. This is what i use on my home network - i set it to primary school level. If it's not appropriate for my 9-year-old son to view, i figure it's not appropriate for me.

   Implementing these products is a way to prevent accidental access to inappropriate sites. None of these products are perfect. Whilst they will block a number of inappropriate sites, there are always ways around technology-based filters, and you are still the one who controls what you look at. Please note that the only product above i have tested is Dan's Guardian. There are various other commercial Internet filters that may be appropriate, but i don't know enough of them to recommend any. If you have any experiences, good or bad, on any filters, please comment about them below!

2. Use safe web browsing practices:
   • Don't click on links you are sent in emails unless they are from someone you know and you are expecting them.
   • Use Mozilla Firefox with the NoScript plugin. This will block most popups and many other web attacks.
   • Use an anti-spyware tool like Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad Aware, or AVG Internet Security.
   • Sign up for emails of the SANS Institute's Ouch! newsletter, a monthly update on Internet safety.

   These steps will help reduce the risk of inappropriate pop up windows, which are a common technique used by porn sites to attract visitors.

3. Set limits for yourself:
   • Decide how long you will use the Internet for and stick to it. If you are vulnerable to browsing where you shouldn't when you are bored, work out how long it will take you to do your work, and set an alarm on your watch or phone. Put it in a place where you have to get up from the computer in order to turn it off.
   • Put the computer in a place where others can easily watch you, like the living room. Don't use the Internet where there is privacy. If it's not practical to use it in public, leave your bedroom or office door wide open.
   • Use a computer break timer like Workrave to prevent you from using the computer for too long at a time.

   Setting limits for yourself is just a basic way of helping with self control. Writing down your specific self-limits and sharing them with your accountability partner (or a person who lives with you) is a good way to help cement them.

4. Be zealous for your purity:
   • Commit to full disclosure with your accountability partner. Tell them what you struggle with, then pray and work out together what you can do to follow God's plan for your sexual purity.
   • Ask your accountability partner or parent to set the password on your filtering software. This will mean that you won't be able to turn off the filter when you get tempted.

That's just a start - please share any other ideas you might have by commenting on the blog or emailing us!

Paul