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Watch Out for BING From Microsoft.

20th June, 2009 - Posted by cie - No Comments

Microsoft has a new search engine which seems to pop up now and then when not expected. Apparently it also does little tricks that some people don’t care for!

The following is from Kim Komando. It is the best explanation, and offers the only solution, of the problem I have found.

“Bing is a new search engine from Microsoft. It’s trying to move beyond simply providing a list of related links. And it uses some innovative tools to do that. Unfortunately, one has backfired big time.

All search engines let you search specifically for videos. But Bing provides in-result video previews. Roll your mouse over a result and the video starts playing. You get about a minute preview, complete with audio.

It’s actually a neat idea. You can preview videos without leaving Bing. But the site doesn’t distinguish between a funny YouTube clip and pornography. The right search turns Bing into a porn theater.

This can circumvent parental controls. And it leaves no trace. The porn site won’t be logged in the browser history. You may have no idea what your fifth grader is watching.

Bing has built-in obstacles for porn. Unfortunately, any knowledgeable fifth grader—like yours!—can evade them.

Bing does have built-in search filtering. It’s called SafeSearch. It’s intended to block sexually explicit content. It has three settings – Strict, Moderate and Off. By default, it’s set to Moderate.

Technically, the default setting should block porn. But it isn’t perfect. A child could accidentally find porn. Setting SafeSearch to Strict works better. I could tell you how to do that. But there really isn’t a point.There is no way to lock in SafeSearch settings. Anyone can change them. There is even a Change button at the top of search results.

This problem has raised a storm of concern. Microsoft, which has big hopes for Bing, reacted quickly. It set up a separate domain— explicit.bing.net—to filter porn. You can block that domain in your browser.

Someone could still look up porn. All the results will still be listed. But explicit videos show up as black boxes.

I could show you how to set this up in a browser. But again, there isn’t a point. The black boxes still work. Hover the mouse over a black box, and you still get porn.

Additionally, the explicit filtering isn’t perfect. Bing fails to recognize some porn videos. Any way you block it, some crud slips through.

Your best recourse is to simply block Bing. I hate to say that. I want to like Bing. It does some innovative and useful things. You should see what it can do for travel planning. It’s sad that this single oversight ruins the experience.

I’ve blocked Bing at home and at the office using OpenDNS. It’s a free service that lets you control Web access.

You don’t have to download anything to use OpenDNS. It’s available through a simple change of Internet connection settings. The OpenDNS site includes instructions for changing these settings in Windows. There are also instructions for those who connect through routers.

Once you’re set up, log into OpenDNS. Click your user name at the top of the screen. Click the Settings tab. Find the Manage Individual Domains heading. Set the dropdown box to Always Block. In the blank field, enter bing.com. Click Add Domain. Select “Block bing.com – just the individual domain.” Click Confirm.

For now, blocking Bing is your best option. It looks like Microsoft is working to clean the site up. It just hasn’t gotten it right yet.”

Copyright 2009 WestStar TalkRadio Network.  Reprinted with permission.  No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the written consent ofWestStar TalkRadio Network.  Visit Kim Komando and sign up for her free email newsletters at:  www.komando.com