SoftAtHome partners with Avanquest Software
Avanquest Software and SoftAtHome announce the Home Gateway Parental Control solution at the Broadband World Forum 2010
At the Broadband World Forum 2010 to be held on October 26-28 at the CNIT La Défense (stand G2), teams from Avanquest and SoftAtHome will introduce their global parental-control solution that will be integrated into user’s home gateways to extend security to all the devices that access the Internet from their home
Paris, October 21, 2010 – Avanquest Software, developer and publisher of software for individuals and professionals, and SoftAtHome , enabler of the digital home for service providers, have designed their first joint solution, the Home Gateway Parental Control, to offer telecom operators and manufacturers of Internet home gateways a parental-control tool that secures Internet access for all the devices in the home.
The SoftAtHome software platform provides a complete range of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that have enabled Avanquest Software to develop this innovative application, in partnership with Commtouch, provider of messaging and Web security technologies.
Although there are many parental-control solutions installed on computers, too often they are ineffective, as children are connecting more and more with their game consoles, their iPod Touch, through a television set, a cell phone using WiFi, and even a touch tablet. The Home Gateway Parental Control solution, developed jointly by Avanquest Software and SoftAtHome, features far more extensive security, since it is placed upstream from all devices, directly controlling all Internet connections at the level of the home gateways.
This comprehensive approach will enable service providers – who in many countries are legally required to offer their customers a parental-control solution – to perfectly meet their obligations simply and effectively by offering consumers all the flexibility they are looking for.
Being integrated in the home gateways, the parental-control solution allows different Internet connection settings for each device (computer, Smartphone, tablet, television, console, etc.). There are default profiles (e.g., child, adolescent, adult…) with associated rules, and of course they can all be custom-set.
Integrated in the box, Commtouch’s real-time, cloud-based Web security technology offers dynamic, powerful and accurate web categorization. Continuous tracking and classification of websites in the database, in up 32 different categories, ensures accurate categorization of URLs at any moment and the ability to block or authorize access to specific categories according to the profile selected within each device.
Home Gateway Parental Control also ensures expanded protection against dangerous sites that carry malicious code with an advanced Safe Browsing function.
In addition, for each device the user can define the time slots for access to the Web, in order to ensure that a child cannot connect at all when his parents are not home, for example.
The various protocols used can also be configured to limit certain actions on specific devices. The user can easily prevent the sending or receiving of e-mails, block the use of newsgroups or the download of large files that may potentially be counterfeit.
Access to television channels, programs on demand and streaming can also be restricted.
Home Gateway Parental Control can finally completely block access to the Internet for any external not identified device connected to the home gateway, which ensures an additional level of reassurance for the user who may have found his WEP or WPA key to be broken.
By bringing together parental control, securement of devices, prevention of connection to danger sites and allowing expanded customization, Home Gateway Parental Control, developed by Avanquest Software and SoftAtHome, is intended primarily for telecom operators and Internet home gateways manufacturers.
To find out more about all the features of this new parental-control solution and all its possible applications, please visit us at the Broadband World Forum 2010, October 26 – 28, 2010, at the CNIT La Défense, at the SoftAtHome stand (G2) (www.broadbandworldforum.com).
About Avanquest Software
Avanquest Software (EPA: AVQ), is a world leader in developing and publishing software for businesses and consumers, in categories ranging from mobility to utilities by way of multimedia. Avanquest Software strives to ensure that all its software can interact, so that the convergence between the PC, Internet services and the smart phone is as complete and secure as possible. The passion that drives our teams, the high technological added value of the software and the solid presence of the Group in North America, Europe and Asia make Avanquest Software one of the top 10 consumer software publishers in the world. Since it was established in 1984, the company has put innovation at the core of its business and invested heavily every year in research and development, supporting its teams of engineers scattered throughout France, the United States, Canada and China, working every day to create the best software today and tomorrow. Avanquest Software has been listed on Euronext since 1996. For any additional information, please visit these sites http://www.avanquest.com orhttp://group.avanquest.com.
About SoftAtHome
SoftAtHome is a software company backed by Orange and Sagemcom to deliver total convergence through an operating platform for the digital home environment. It fosters a new ecosystem made up of service providers, 3rd party application developers, integrators and hardware vendors to accelerate the advent of the digital home. The company is headquartered in France with development and sales teams in France and Belgium. For more information, visit us at www.softathome.com