OREM, UT — A $99 USB stick that’s touted to detect and eliminate porn content on computers is getting mainstream buzz.
The low-cost Paraben Porn Detection Stick has caught the eye of Forbes, MSNBC and other media outlets primarily because its forensic use is reportedly as good as much more expensive software and its application is targeted at businesses, schools, churches and parents worried about exposure to adult websites.
The company claims the Windows-only porn snooping device can search a 500 GB hard drive with over 70,000 images in about an hour.
It will also detect adult activity on nearly all storage media including DVDs, CDs, MicroSD cards and archived files like ZIP and RAR.
And content can’t be obscured because the software identifies images by file headers and not extensions.
“The Porn Detection Stick uses advanced image analyzing algorithms that categorize images as potentially harmful by identifying facial features, flesh tone colors, image back grounds, body part shapes, and more. With less than 1 percent false positive indications, your search for contamination on your computer won't waste your time,” the company product description reads.
What’s more, the company claims the stick can recover and scan deleted images and Internet activity from Internet Explorer and Firefox cache files. There’s even a “blur” option that can block users from seeing “unwanted” images.
Although the USB stick can’t yet detect porn videos on computers, the company said its R&D team will have something available this spring.