Violent material and pornography live on the Internet, which is why many parents rely on filtering software to block those sites. But how well do they really work?

The Hunts, like half of all Internet-connected families with teenagers, have special filtering software to block offensive sites. "I felt as an adult I don't really care to see those sites so I certainly don't want my children to see them," said Roseann Hunt.

Consumer Reports' Dean Gallea tested 11 software programs to see how well they block offensive sites. Some come free with a subscription to AOL or MSN. Others, like Net Nanny and Norton Internet Security cost between $35-70. The programs offer different levels of protection for various age groups. Consumer Reports checked the settings for "young teen."

"Most did a very good job at blocking pornographic Web sites, but not as good at blocking Web sites advocating things like hate, drug use, and violence," said Gallea. In fact, nine of the 11 programs didn't block a site that tells you "how to kill someone with your bare hands." Some also blocked a lot of legitimate sites like the National Institute on Drug Abuse as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center. "We did find some products that were better at striking a balance between blocking the objectionable Web sites and letting through the informational ones."

Top ratings went to a program called Safe Eyes, which you can download for $50. But no matter which filtering software you use, Consumer Reports says do what the Hunts do and keep the computer in a family area, so you can keep tabs on on-line activity.

Safe Eyes is available from safebrowse.com. However, this program does not work with Macs. So for Mac users, Consumer Reports recommends the filtering software that comes free from AOL. While it does block a lot of legitimate Web sites, Consumer Reports found it does an excellent job of blocking offensive sites.