The event will coincide with Internet security trade show RSA Conference, to be held at the Moscone Center from April 7-11.
Six security software programs will be pitted against each other to see which one is most successful at blocking explicit images. The programs to be tested include Barracuda, Fortinet, ScanSafe, Sonicwall, WatchGuard and Websense.
“Much like blocking spam, porn filtering is a difficult moving target,” Untangle said in a press release. “New porn sites spring up every day. We’ve come to accept that some spam will get through email filters, but is that acceptable for porn in schools? Is blocking 80 percent, 90 percent or 95 percent acceptable for businesses or public libraries?”
No details have been given as to what type of content will be used to test the programs. According to Untangle, the test will “mimic real-world scenarios in a live and fully transparent test.”
And though the company does offer its own filtering program, it does not offer a filter aimed specifically at explicit content or images.
“No filter is going to catch everything,” Untangle CTO and cofounder Dirk Morris told TechWorld.com. “So we’re benchmarking the industry to give everyone a better idea of what to expect.”
