Web Site Zapper
is a Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP/Vista software program (does not work on NT)
that closes or redirects Web browsers that are displaying undesirable Web
sites. It can be used for several purposes:
1) Blocking your browser from being redirected to dangerous or undesirable
sites, such as those infected with viruses.
2) Blocking popups
3) Access control, to allow parents, schools, and employers to prevent children,
students, or employees from going to undesirable sites, such as pornography
or gambling sites.
4) Controlling when people can access the Internet. Web Site Zapper has a
password protected switch to turn off blocking, so you simply have Web Site
Zapper block all Web sites until you are present and can turn off the blocking.
Parents can use this to control how much time children spend on the
Internet.
With Web Site
Zapper, you compile a list of good and bad Web site titles and/or URLs (Web
addresses). You can add Web site titles and URLs to these lists manually,
or have Web Site Zapper build these lists automatically in learning mode
(explained later).
Once you have
built a list of Web sites, Web Site Zapper can operate in either of two modes.
It can either close down any site on the bad site list (Block mode), or close
down any site NOT on the good site list (Allow
mode). You would use Block Mode
if you want to allow general browsing, but block access to some objectionable
sites. You would use Allow Mode if you want to restrict access to a few specific
sites or subjects. The Allow mode is most common for businesses, where the
work requires the employees to access certain sites, but the employers do
not want the employees doing general Web surfing on company time.
When Web Site
Zapper is running, a lightening bolt icon is displayed on the system tray.
When Web Site Zapper automatically runs at Windows startup (an option your
can choose during installation), only this system tray icon indicates that
Web Site Zapper is running. You can view the Web Site Zapper main screen
by clicking on this icon. There is also an icon on the main desktop. You
can run Web Site Zapper by double clicking on this desktop icon if you did
not set Web Site Zapper to run automatically at Windows startup. If you do
this, the main screen of Web Site Zapper is immediately displayed.
Installing Web Site Zapper
When you install
Web Site Zapper, one of the first questions the installation program will
ask you is whether you want Web Site Zapper to run automatically when you
start Windows. For most purposes, the answer will be yes. This is definitely
true if you want to use Web Site Zapper for access control, because you want
the program to run any time that anyone uses the computer. When Web Site
Zapper runs automatically at startup, it will not display except as a lightening
bolt icon on the system tray. You can click on this to display the full Web
Site Zapper main screen. If you select to not have Web Site Zapper run
automatically, you can run it from the desktop by double clicking on the
lightening icon. When you run Web Site Zapper by double clicking on the desktop
icon, it will start up in normal Windows mode. You would normally choose
not to have Web Site Zapper run automatically if you are using it for popup
control, you are not using the Internet all the time, and you do not want
Web Site Zapper to expend system resources (memory and CPU time) when you
are not on the Internet.
If your computer
is set up with multiple users, the Web Site Zapper install program may display
a screen that allows you to select which users you want to install Web Site
Zapper for. Check the boxes for the users you want to restrict. This assumes
that user access is password protected, so that each user can only sign in
under their own name. If people can access the computer under each other's
names, you really need to check all the boxes, or users will simply log on
under the name of someone that Web Site Zapper is not blocking. Note: If
you do not install Web Site Zapper for the user name you are signed on as
when you install Web Site Zapper, the install program will still allow you
to run Web Site Zapper so that you can set up passwords and allowed sites.
Web blocking will be in force also. However, once you reboot the computer,
Web blocking will only be in effect for the user names you installed Web
Site Zapper on, and the Web Site Zapper icon will only appear on those user's
desktops.
Once Web Site
Zapper is installed and you run it for the first time, it will take you
immediately to the main configuration window. There you will be able to set
certain vital configuration settings, such as whether you want to block sites
on the bad site list or block all sites not listed on the good site list.
If you have any questions about these settings, click on the Help button
on the Configuration screen.
After you
install Web Site Zapper and run it, we strongly recommend that you click
on Help and then on Instructions. This will allow you to read the entire
instruction manual.
Registering Web Site Zapper
From the first
time you run Web Site Zapper, you will have 30 days to try it out to see
if you like it. During that time, it will be fully functional. After the
30-day free trial, it will stop working until you input the unlock code,
which you must purchase from Leithauser Research for $25.00. You can pay
online by going to LeithauserResearch.com/paylr.html. Input the serial number
of your copy of Web Site Zapper (found on the registration screen) and click
on the Pay button. Then just follow the instructions for putting in your
credit card information. You can also print the registration form by clicking
on the Print button on the registration screen. Once you have this printed
form, you can either mail it with check or money order to the address given
on the form, or you can fill out the credit card information and fax it to
the fax number given on the form. You can also pay by phone using a credit
card by calling
Tips on using Web Site Zapper effectively
These instructions
will explain in detail how to use Web Site Zapper. Before getting into the
details of how to actually operate Web Site Zapper (what the individual buttons
do, etc.), this section gives you a general explanation of Web Site Zapper
and gives some general guidelines for using it effectively. After this section,
you will see step-by-step instructions for using Web Site Zapper.
The purpose
of Web Site Zapper is to allow you to control what Web pages can be viewed
on your computer. It can be used on one computer, or on a series of computers
networked together (See "Using Web Site Zapper on a network" near the end
of this document). It works by closing down or redirecting (explained later)
any browser that is showing a Web page that you would not approve of. It
can be configured in two modes: Block mode and Allow mode. In Block mode,
you create a list of Web page titles and a list of Web page URLs that you
want to block. If the browser attempts to display any Web page that has a
title or URL on these lists, Web Site Zapper will shut down that browser.
In the Allow mode, you create a list of Web page titles and a list of Web
site URLs that you want to allow. If a browser attempts to display any Web
site whose title is not on the title list and whose URL is not on the URL
list, Web Site Zapper will close it down. Note that in Block mode, the browser
is shut down or redirected if either the title or the URL is on the corresponding
list. In the Allow mode, Web Site Zapper will shut down or redirect the browser
only if the title is not on the title list
If any title
in the bad title list is found within the title of a Web page, that page
is considered bad and is blocked if you are in Block mode. For example, if
you have the word "nude" in your bad title list, the site title "Hot Nude
Women" would be blocked. The comparison is case insensitive, so "nude", "Nude",
and "NUDE" would all block "
Likewise,
if a word on the good title list is contained in the Web page title, it will
be marked as a good site. If a word on the good URL list is contained in
the Web page URL, it will be considered a good Web page. This enables you
to mark entire groups of pages as good. For example, suppose your company,
XYZ Widgets, maintains a series of Web pages at www.xyzwidgets.com and you
only want your employees to be able to access your company Web site. Putting
xyzwidgets on the good URL list will enable your employees to access all
your pages, like www.xyzwidgets.com/index.html and
www.xyzwidgets.com/companynews.html. If you want your employees to be able
to shop for supplies at Office Depot online, just add "Office Depot" to the
good title list and/or officedepot.com in your good URL list to allow employees
to access the entire Office Depot site. Note that if you merely put officedepot
on the good URL list, people would be able to go to www.officedepotcenter.com,
which is NOT an office supply site. The idea is to put a long enough word
or phrase in the list for it to only apply to the sites you want it to, but
not be too restrictive to include all the pages on that site.
You can also
use Web Site Zapper to restrict WHEN people view the Internet, instead of
what they view. You could do this by configuring it in Allow mode, and then
not putting any sites on the allowed list. Web Site Zapper has an option
at the top of the main page that allows you to turn blocking on and off.
You can password protect turning off the blocking. This means that if you
configure Web Site Zapper in the Allow mode and then put no titles or URLs
on the lists, nobody will be able to view any Web page until you come along
and turn off blocking. This can be a simple way for you to make sure your
children do not use the Internet when you are not home.
Below are
instructions on how to actually operate Web Site Zapper.
Main screen
The main screen
is the screen that appears when Web Site Zapper runs. It contains various
menus on the top menu bar to allow you to configure and operate Web Site
Zapper. It also contains two check boxes labeled "Learn Bad Sites" and "Learn
Good Sites" respectively. These check boxes allow you to easily build your
lists of good and bad Web site addresses. The Administrative password is
required to activate the "Learn Good Sites" function, and the Administrative
or Supervisor password is required to activate the "Learn Bad Sites" function
if you have configured Web Site Zapper for access control.
When you check
the "Learn Good Sites" box (by clicking on it with the mouse), any Web page
you visit will automatically be added to the good site list. Note: If you
visit the sites using Internet Explorer or America Online, the site URL will
be added to the good URL list and the site title will be added to the good
title list. If you use other browsers, such as Netscape, only the site title
will be recorded, so it is much better to use Internet Explorer or America
Online.
This can be
a very effective and convenient way to build a list of allowed sites. Just
check this box, and go to all the sites that you would normally visit. When
you finish, click on the box to uncheck it. If you are operating in the Allow
Mode, once you uncheck the "Learn Good Sites" box, any site you go to that
you had not gone to while in the "Learn Good Sites" mode will be blocked.
If you accidentally go to any page you do not want on the good site list,
or if an undesirable popup occurs while you are surfing your desirable sites,
you can manually remove these pages later. You can also edit the list of
good Web site URLs or titles to make them more general. This will be explained
later in this document in the "Edit Site List" discussion.
When you check
the "Learn Bad Sites" box, any Web page you will be added to the bad site
list, with one exception. No Web page previously added to good site list
will be added to the bad site list. As soon as Web Site Zapper has added
the Web page to the bad site list, it will close the Web browser displaying
that page. This can be a very useful way to program Web Site Zapper to identify
popups. As you surf the Web, you can visit sites that you have added to the
good sites list, and any pages that pop up will be learned by Web Site Zapper
as bad sites. If you do not want Web Site Zapper to shut down the bad Web
pages as soon as it adds them to the bad site list, you can use the "Pause
blocking" function (explained later in this document) to shut down the blocking
temporarily. You would most likely do this if you wanted to visit a large
number of bad sites to add them automatically to the bad site list and you
did not want the Web browser to keep shutting down.
You cannot
have both "Learn Bad Web Sites" and "Learn Good Web Sites" checked at the
same time. If you click on one box while the other is checked, the one you
did not click on will automatically uncheck itself. It would obviously be
a contradiction to add a site to both the good and bad site lists.
At the top
of the main screen are several options. These are Files, Configure, Pause/Resume
blocking, and Help. If you have not yet registered Web Site Zapper, there
will also be a Register option. These options are explained below:
Configure
If you click
on this menu at the top of the main screen, it brings down a menu of other
options. The first of these is "Basic Configuration". If you click on this
menu option, it displays the same configuration screen you saw when you first
installed Web Site Zapper. This allows you to set the following options for
Web Site Zapper:
Blocking method - Do you want to create a list of titles and URLs that are
blocked, or a list of URLs and titles of sites that are allowed and block
all other sites? In general, if you want to allow Internet Web users to be
able to surf the Web, but you want to prevent certain sites or types of sites
from being displayed, you would select the "Block Web sites on bad site list"
mode. If you intend to only go on a few sites that you know in advance, you
can select the "Block Web sites not on good site list" mode and then input
a list of the Web sites you want to allow. (See more information on these
in the "Editing Web Site List" instructions and the section on using the
"Learn Good Sites" option.)
Use mode - What is your intended use for Web Site Zapper? If you only want
to use it to prevent those annoying popup windows or to stop your browser
from being redirected to dangerous sites (like sites that contain viruses),
you can select "Popup control". If you want to use it to prevent other computer
users (e.g., children, students, and employees) from accessing some sites
when you are not present, select "Access control". There are two differences
between these modes. First, in "Access control" mode, many functions such
as editing the list of allowed or blocked sites are password protected. Second,
in "Access control" mode, you need to input a password to stop Web Site Zapper
from running. These features are obviously necessary to prevent the people
whose access you are trying to control from simply adding any site they wish
to visit to the list or shutting down Web Site Zapper.
Handling other browsers - Web Site Zapper can determine both the URL and
the title of sites viewed with Internet Explorer and America Online. It can
only determine the title of sites viewed by browsers such as Netscape. You
therefore have three options for dealing with these other browsers. If you
are using Web Site Zapper for popup control and you do not have other browsers
on your computer, you can select "Ignore other browsers". Web Site Zapper
will then ignore the presence of other browsers. Web Site Zapper will run
slightly faster and consume less system resources in this mode. If are using
Web Site Zapper for access control and you want to be absolutely sure that
users do not get on undesirable sites using other browsers, you can select
"Block other browsers". In this mode, Web Site Zapper will not let other
browsers run at all. If you want to let users use Netscape or other browsers
and are willing to settle for partial protection (blocking sites only by
title, not URL), you can select "Control other browsers".
Site list file - This is the name and location of the file containing the
list of allowed and blocked site titles and URLs. If Web Site Zapper is being
used on an individual computer, it is best to select "Default". This will
store the file somewhere that users are not likely to find it. If, however,
you install Web Site Zapper on multiple computers that on a network and you
want to be able to control the list of sites for all these computers from
one computer, you can select the location and name of the file. This allows
you to use the same file for all the copies of Web Site Zapper. To do this,
for each computer, click on "Custom" and input the path to the file and the
name of the file in the text box. For example, if you want to put the file
on the server in folder "Security", input something like "H:\Security\FileList"
in the text box, where H is the server as seen from that computer. Do not
include an extension. Web Site Zapper will provide that. See the section
"Using Web Site Zapper on a network" at the end of the instructions for more
information on using Web Site Zapper on a network.
Blocked Sites Report file - If you like, you can have Web Site Zapper create
a file and store a list of all the sites that it blocked. This list will
include the title and URL of the site, and the time that Web Site Zapper
blocked access to it. To do this, check the box labeled "Save report of blocked
sites". You must then decide the location and file name of the file. If you
have installed Web Site Zapper on an individual computer, you should select
"Default" for the location and file name. However, if you install Web Site
Zapper on multiple computers on a network, you can have all the files stored
on one computer so that you can access all the reports from one computer
easily. To do this, select "Custom name and location". Then input the location
of the folder (such as "H:\Security\") as seen from that computer, followed
by the file name. For example, you might input "H:\Security\JohnDoeComputer"
for the file. This is similar to setting up the site list file explained
above. However, there is one important difference. When setting up the site
list file, you would use the same file name for all the computers. When setting
up the report file, you want to select up the same folder for all the computes
so that all the files will go into the same place, but you must give a different
file name for each computer. That way, you can look into each file and see
which sites were blocked from each computer. Viewing sites will be explained
in the "Viewing Report Files" section, and selecting which file to view will
be explained in the "Select Report File" section.
Conceal icon
on system tray - Normally, you want the Web Site Zapper icon on the system
tray so you can easily activate or deactivate blocking. However, a few people
prefer not to have the program be so conspicuous. Therefore, this option
is provided to allow you to have the Web Site Zapper not show up on the system
tray. (You can still display the Web Site Zapper control panel by double
clicking on the Web Site Zapper icon on the desktop.) Simply check this box
if you do not want the Web Site Zapper to show on the system tray. You can
turn this feature on and off from this configuration screen.
Show on Task Bar - In addition to showing the icon that displays the Web Site Zapper control screen on the system tray, you can have an icon appear on the task bar, just like other programs. This option is available mostly because some computers are a little quirky about the system tray and do not always show the icons properly. If this is the case on your computer and it is not showing the icon properly on the system tray, you will have trouble accessing the control panel. In that case, check this box so that an icon labeled WSZ will appear on your task bar and you can access the Web Site Zapper control panel by clicking on this icon on the task bar instead of the one on the system tray.
When you have
made all your selections for the configuration, click on the OK button. If
you have just changed the "Use mode" setting from "Popup control" to "Access
control," Web Site Zapper will immediately ask you to input a Supervisor
password and an Administrator password. The Supervisor password will allow
you to make temporary changes to the program, like turning off blocking or
exiting the program. The Administrator password is needed to make long term
changes, like editing the list of blocked or allowed Web sites. (Note: Passwords
are case sensitive. This means, for example, that "Good" is not the same
as "good" or "GOOD". Be sure to input the EXACT password, including
capitalization.)
Edit Site List
The second
option under the "Configure" menu is "Edit Site List". This allows you to
add new site titles and/or URLs to your list, modify existing titles or URLs
on your list, or delete titles or URLs from the list completely.
At the top
of the "Edit Web Site List" form there are three groups of option buttons
that control how the form operates. The first group is "Show Site Type" and
the options are Bad and Good. This allows you to control whether you are
looking at information on your good site list (the sites you want to allow)
or your bad site list (the ones you want to block). The next option group
is "Show" and it lets you control whether you are looking at a list of site
titles or site URLs. The next group is "Operation". The three operations
you can perform are "Add New", "Edit Old", and "Delete Old". As the names
suggest, these let you manually add a new item to the list, edit an existing
item, or delete an existing item.
Below the
groups of option buttons there is a list box. If the "Show" option is Titles,
the list box shows a list of titles. If the "Show" option is "URLs", the
list box shows URLs. (For some Web pages, the title is a URL, so don't be
surprised if the title list contains URLs.) If the "Show Site Type" option
is "Bad", the list is of bad (blocked) titles or URLs. If the "Show Site
Type" option is "Good", it is showing a list of good (allowed) site titles
or URLs.
If the operation
is "Add", the list box is disabled. This means that you can read it, but
not select an item on the list. It is for reference only, so that you can
see what items are already on the list. To add a new item to the list, type
it into the text box below the list box, then click on the "Add" button.
The item will then appear on the list.
If the operation
is "Edit Old", you can select an item from the list box. The title or URL
you selected from the list box will appear automatically in the text box
below the list. You can then edit this text. When you have made the changes
you want, you can then click on the "Save Change" button. The changed item
will appear in the list.
If the operation
is "Delete Old", you can select an item from the list. If you then click
on the "Delete" button, that item will be deleted from the list.
When you add
an item to the titles or URL list, any title or URL containing that title
or URL will be allowed or blocked, depending on whether you have added it
to the good or bad list. For example, if you add "eBay" to the good title
list, then any Web page containing "eBay" in its title will be allowed when
Web Site Zapper is operating in the Allow mode. Likewise, if you put "eBay"
on the bad title list, any Web page containing "eBay" in its title will be
blocked when operating in the Allow mode. If you put "ebay" in the good URL
list, then any Web page with "ebay" in its URL (such as www.ebay.com) will
be allowed when operating in the Allow mode. If you put "ebay" on the bad
URL list, then any Web page with "ebay" in its URL will be blocked when Web
Site Zapper is operating in the Block mode. The titles and URLs are not case
sensitive. For example, if you put "casino" in the blocked title list, any
Web page whose title contains "casino", "Casino", or "CASINO" would be
blocked.
One reason
for editing the list of titles or URLs is to trim down titles and URLs to
make them more general. This allows you to take advantage of the fact that
pages merely containing words or phrases from the title and URL lists will
be allowed or blocked, as the case may be. For example, if Web Site Zapper
had learned the page title "eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel,
collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices" using the learn mode,
you could use the edit mode to trim this down to "eBay". This would cause
any title containing "ebay" would be blocked or accepted (depending on whether
it had been learned as a good or bad site). If Web Site Zapper had learned
the URL
"popup-ads.com/scripts/popup.php?hid=2480cc07750e57915714&tmpl=x10PB2.tmpl"
as a bad URL, you could trim this down to "popup-ad.com". This would block
all pages hosted by popup-ad.com. Be careful how far you trim down a Web
page name. For example, if you objected to the page
http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/residentevilapocalypse.html, you probably
should not trim this down to yahoo.com, or your would be blocking every page
on Yahoo, including the search engine.
In order to
help you add undesirable pages to your list, Web Site Zapper comes with a
prepared list of undesirable pages. These are pages that are known to contain
viruses that can infect your computer if you visit them, or are pages that
often appear in popups. If you plan to use Web Site Zapper in the Block mode
and are compiling a list of bad sites, it is a good idea to add these to
your list. To do this, just click on the "Add Prepared List" button that
is displayed when you are showing bad site information and you have not yet
added the prepared bad pages to the list. Once you add the prepared bad sites
to the list, that button will disappear.
You can make
as many additions, changes, and deletions from the lists as you like with
the "Edit Web Site List Form". When you are finished, click on the Close
button and the form will disappear and the main form will
reappear.
You can resize
the "Edit Web Site List Form". Just move the mouse cursor to the right side
or bottom of the form. When the mouse cursor changes to a double pointed
arrow, hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse. If you increase
the width of the form, the list and text boxes will lengthen, allowing you
to see longer titles and URLs. If you increase the height of the form, the
list box will increase in height to allow you to see more Web site titles
or URLs. If you shorten the form, you may lose sight of some of the buttons
temporarily.
If you are
using Web Site Zapper for access control, you will have created an Administrator
and a Supervisor password. To help you manage these passwords, the
"Configuration" menu will also contain two more options. These options are
only visible if you are using Web Site Zapper for access control:
Change Administrator Password
This option
under the Configure menu will allow you to change the Administrator password.
You would use this if you suspect that someone has learned the password.
When you select this option, it will first ask you for the current administrator
password. Once you input the correct password, Web Site Zapper will ask you
to input a new administrator password. Note: Passwords are case sensitive.
This means, for example, that "Good" is not the same as "good" or "GOOD".
Be sure to remember the EXACT password you select, including
capitalization.
Change Supervisor Password
This option
under the Configure menu will allow you to change the supervisor password.
You would use this if you suspect that someone has learned the password.
When you select this option, it will first ask you for the current supervisor
password. You can input the supervisor OR the administrator password. This
allows the administrator to change the supervisor password if the supervisor
is replaced. Once you input the correct password, Web Site Zapper will ask
you to input a new supervisor password. Note: Passwords are case sensitive.
This means, for example, that "Good" is not the same as "good" or "GOOD".
Be sure to remember the EXACT password you select, including
capitalization.
Show notice when blocking Internet
This option
allows you to control whether Web Site Zapper displays a window that says
"Internet Access Restricted by Web Site Zapper" when you go to a forbidden
site. You close this window by clicking on the OK button.
This can be
useful so that people understand why they cannot get on a site. In some cases,
like company computers, people tend to call tech support or otherwise complain
when their Web browser suddenly closes when they try to get on a site. On
the other hand, some people might find it annoying or not want people to
know why they are having trouble getting on some sites. Therefore, you can
turn this feature on and off.
To turn it
on or off, click on the Configuration menu. One of the items on this menu
is "Show notice when blocking Internet." If this item has a check mark beside
it, Web Site Zapper will display the window when it shuts down a forbidden
site. If this item is not checked, Web Site Zapper will not display the window.
You check or uncheck this option by clicking on it with the mouse. If it
is checked when you click on it, it will become unchecked, and vice
versa.
You do need
to input the supervisor or administrator password in order to change this
setting. Web Site Zapper will ask you for the password when you click on
"Show notice when blocking Internet."
Select Redirect Site
Normally,
Web Site Zapper will shut down the Web browser when it goes to a forbidden
site. However, you can have it go to another specific site rather than shut
down entirely. To select a site to redirect the browser to, click on Configure
and then on "Select redirect site." Web Site Zapper will ask for the supervisor
password. Once you input the password, you will see the Redirect Form. This
form has a text box where you can input a URL. For example, you could input
http://MyCompany.com/MainPage.html. Then click on the OK button. Web Site
Zapper will then redirect the Web browser to this page instead of closing
it entirely when someone goes to a forbidden site. Note that this feature
only works if your Web browser is Internet Explorer, America Online, or a
few other browsers that are actually shells for Internet Explorer. Some browsers
like Netscape will still shut down entirely.
Another option
is to redirect the browser to a file on your computer, rather than an online
site. One file in particular is
C:\Web Site Zapper\Pointer.html
This file is a Web file that simply displays a message saying "Unable to
open this Web page. This page is blocked by Web Site Zapper." This is a way
to display the warning that Web access is controlled by Web Site Zapper without
actually closing down the browser and forcing people to rerun it. They can
then go to an authorized site immediately without restarting the
browser.
The "Files"
menu includes several options for using the report log that shows a list
of sites that were blocked. Of course, these options are only available if
you choose the option to "Save report of blocked sites" under the "Basic
Configuration" option. However, these options will still exist under the
Files menu even if you later turn off the report function, as long as the
report files exist.
View Blocked Sites Report
This option
allows you to see a complete list of sites that have been blocked by Web
Site Zapper. This will allow you to see what unauthorized Web pages people
have tried to access, or what popups Web Site Zapper has blocked. If you
are using Web Site Zapper for access control, you will need to input the
Supervisor password to use this option.
The Report
File viewer screen has a frame labeled "Show". Within this frame are two
option buttons, "titles" and "URLs". This lets you select whether you want
to view a list titles or URLs of Web pages that Web Site Zapper has blocked.
Beside this frame Web Site Zapper shows the number of Web sites blocked.
Beside this is the name of the report file being shown, if it is not the
default report file.
In the middle
of the screen is the list of Web site titles or URLs that have been blocked.
If you click on one of the items in the list box, the title, URL, and time
the site was blocked will be displayed below the list box.
You can refresh
the list by clicking on the "Refresh" button. This is useful if you are using
Web Site Zapper on a network to monitor what is being blocked on other computers
in the network, and you want to update the report.
You can resize
the Report File viewer screen. Just move the mouse cursor to the right side
or bottom of the form. When the mouse cursor changes to a double pointed
arrow, hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse. If you increase
the width of the form, the list box and text information will lengthen, allowing
you to see longer titles and URLs. If you increase the height of the form,
the list box will increase in height to allow you to see more Web site titles
or URLs. If you shorten the form, you may lose sight of some of the buttons
temporarily.
Purge Blocked Sites Report
This option
under the Files menu erases the list of site titles and URLs in the report.
You might want to do this if the list of blocked sites has grown so long
it is cumbersome to read through, and you have already read it and found
nothing of importance. Purging the report requires the Administrator
password.
If you want
to eliminate the long list of sited blocked but want to keep a record, you
can save the old report and start a new one by selecting a new report name
in the "Basic Configuration" screen. That would start recording sites blocked
in a new file without actually destroying the old record. You might want
to give the reports names that indicate the time of the report, like
"ZappedSitesSeptember2004". If you maintain several records, you can select
which one you are viewing (and recording to) using the "Select Blocked Sites
Report File" option under the Files menu. This option is explained
below.
Select Blocked Sites Report File
This option
under the Files menu is only visible once you have created more than one
report file. When you select this option, Web Site Zapper displays a list
of the report files that are in the same folder as your current report file.
Select a report file from this list by clicking on it and then click on the
OK button. If you click on the Cancel button, you will exit the screen without
changing your report file. Note that changing the report file changes the
file that you will view with the "View Blocked Sites Report" option" and
the file that you will purge with the "Purge Blocked Sites Report" option.
It also sets the file that Web Site Zapper will write the titles and URLs
of blocked sites to on your computer. It will not change which files other
copies of Web Site Zapper on other computers on your network write
to.
Pause/Resume Blocking
This option
at the top of the main screen allows you to temporarily turn off blocking.
If you are using Web Site Zapper for access control, it will require the
Supervisor password. Normally, Web Site Zapper will be blocking sites, and
the option on the menu bar of the main screen will read "Pause Blocking".
If you click on this, Web Site Zapper will stop all blocking of Web sites
(after asking for the Supervisor password) and the text will change to "Resume
Blocking". If you click on it while it reads "Resume Blocking", normal blocking
will resume and the text will change back to "Pause Blocking". No password
is required to resume blocking, even when Web Site Zapper is in access control
mode.
Register
This item
appears at the top of the main screen if you have not yet registered Web
Site Zapper. It disappears once you register and input the unlock code. Clicking
on this item will display the registration screen, where you can input the
unlock code, print the registration form, or easily go to the Leithauser
Research site and register online.
Uninstall Web Site Zapper
DO NOT attempt
to uninstall Web Site Zapper by manually deleting programs. Because Web Site
Zapper is a security program, it is designed to prevent this. Trying to manually
delete Web Site Zapper will only make it mad.
You can uninstall
Web Site Zapper using the normal Windows Add/Remove Programs (called Programs
and Features in Vista) function in the Windows control panel. If you do this,
it is best to close down Web Site Zapper first by clicking on the Files menu
on the Web Site Zapper control screen and then on the Exit option.
You can also
use the "Uninstall Web Site Zapper"
option under the Files menu allows you to totally remove Web Site Zapper
from your computer. If you select the "Uninstall Web Site Zapper" option,
it will first explain that you are about to uninstall Web Site Zapper and
ask you if you are sure you want to continue. If you click on the Yes button,
it will ask you for the Administrator password. Once you input this password,
it will delete Web Site Zapper from your hard drive. Note: On some systems,
especially some Vista systems, this procedure generates an error. If this
happens, Web Site Zapper will instruct you to go to the Windows Control Panel
and use to Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features to uninstall Web
Site Zapper.
Minimizing Web Site Zapper
Remember that
if you minimize Web Site Zapper by clicking on the minimize button in the
upper right corner of the main screen, Web Site Zapper disappears entirely
except for the lightening bolt icon on the system tray. Click on this icon
or double click on the desktop icon to restore the main screen.
Using Web Site Zapper on a network
To do this, select a folder on one computer in your network (usually the
server) that is accessible to all the others. You will use that folder to
store the report files and the block/allow site lists files in. You might
want to great a special folder just for this purpose, or use an existing
one.
Install Web Site Zapper on each computer you want to monitor separately.
Under the "Basic Configuration" option, set the "Site List File" option to
"Custom". Input the file path and file name for the site list file to the
desired folder and file name, as it appears from that computer. For example,
the desired folder might appear as "C:\Security" on the server. However,
it might appear as "G:\Security" on the other computers on the network. You
might set the site list file to "G:\Security\SiteListFile" on all the other
computers on the network. Just make sure that all the computers on the network
refer to the same file in the same folder, regardless of how the folder is
designated on each computer. You also need to give the file the same file
name. (Do not include an extension. Web Site Zapper will provide that.) You
can then access this file to add/modify/delete the site lists from any computer.
Of course, since it is password protected, only the Administrator can do
this.
There is another feature if you have Web Site Zapper set up on a network
and configured to share the site list file. An option will appear under the
Configure menu to pause blocking network-wide. This allows you to turn off
blocking on all computers on the network that share the same site list file.
If you click on the Configure menu, you will see "Pause blocking network-wide"
at the bottom of the list. If you click on this, it will ask you for the
administrator password. After you input this password, the option at the
bottom of the Configure menu list will change to "Resume blocking network-wide",
and a label will appear on the main screen that says that blocking is paused
network wide. Clicking on the "Resume blocking network-wide" option under
the Configure menu will resume blocking. However, doing this will also require
the administrator password. Note that pausing blocking network wide is residual.
That is, it persists until you turn it off, unlike the Pause blocking option
for the individual computer. Therefore, if you use this option, please be
careful to turn off blocking when you want it off.
The procedure for accessing the Blocked Site Report files from one computer
is similar. Set the "Blocked Sites Report File" option to "Custom name and
location". On each computer, set the path to the same folder. For example,
if the server folder "C:\Security" appears as "G:\Security" on Fred Smith's
computer, use this folder for the report file. However, on each computer,
use a DIFFERENT file name. For example, on Fred Smith's Computer, you might
assign a report file name of "FredSmithSites". The full designation of the
"Custom name and location" for the report file on Fred Smith's computer would
therefore be "G:\Security\FredSmithSites". Again, do not assign an extension.
Once you have installed Web Site Zapper on each computer you want to control,
you need to install it on the computer you want to control the other computers
from. You must do this even if you do not need to control Web browsing from
that computer. Set the site list file to the same file you set the others
to. Create a Report File for this computer too. It should be in the same
folder as the report files from the other computers, but with a different
name. Once you do this, the "Select Blocked Sites Report File" option under
the "Files" menu will allow you to select any of the report files.
Once you have set up the computers this way, when you run the Web Site Zapper
viewer program, the Files menu will include an option to Select Report File
to View. The default when Web Site Zapper first runs is always the Report
File for the computer you are on. However, selecting this option under the
Files menu will bring up a list of Report Files. Select the one you want
to view from the list and click on the Ok button. If you are viewing a user
defined report file, the name of the file will show on the main screen above
the list of viewed sites to help you keep track of which file you are viewing.
Using Web Site Zapper with America Online
Web Site Zapper
works with both Internet Explorer and America Online. There is one difference.
With Internet Explorer, Web Site Zapper totally closes down the browser.
With America Online, it blocks the browser from displaying the site. You
will see the screen that says that the page is blocked by Web Site
Zapper.
Bug reports, help requests, suggestions
If you need
help with this program, have found a bug, or have a request for additional
feature, please contact Leithauser Research. The best way is to send an email
to Leithauser@aol.com. You can also call Leithauser Research at
If you are
suggesting an additional feature or other improvement, we will make these
changes and release a new version soon if we believe these improvements would
have broad appeal. You will be notified when the new version is released.
If we feel that the changes you suggest are not commercially viable, we can
still create a custom version of Web Site Zapper for you for a fee. Contact
Leithauser Research if you are interested in this.
Go to Leithauser Research
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