SIP-Benchmark III was a project of the Digital Opportunities Foundation in 2009 - 2017.
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Magic Desktop

Company
Easybits Software AS
Version
8
Devices supported
Alternative Tool
Operating system
Windows 7
Windows 8
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Price *
39.00 €
Language of interface
danish, dutch, english, german, greek, hungarian, italian, japanese, norwegian, polish, portuguese, romanian, russian, spanish, swedish, turkish
Test date
SIP Bench III, 2nd test cycle, Winter 13/14

*Prices might change according to the latest company offers

USABILITY

Installation of the tool: The installation itself is quick and easy, so that the installation process was not tested with regards to usability.
Configuration of the tool: Magic Desktop changes the default windows user interface completely. It is adjusted especially for kids and offers also an own webbrowser. The configuration itself is rather hard to find and is mostly focused on design settings. Only some options can be adjusted, so consequently the user expectations are not fulfilled. The design is appealing and very child-friendly.
Usage of the tool: The alert message offers the options to allow access to a website or to go back to a safe ressource. It is designed appealingly. The reporting is rather functional and adequate but not substantial.

Usability of the installation process: n/a
Usability of the configuration process: 2.9
Usability of the usage of the product: n/a


Overall score for usability: 2.5 out of 4 points


FUNCTIONALITY

Magic desktop creates its own user surface and works differently than the other tools. It is possible to create several profiles and to set a time limit frame for them. A default white list can be used for browsing which is presented in the browser and contains only child-friendly game sites. The user can block the web, the E-mail/Webmail Client and certain applications, such as Skype and Windows Life Messenger.


DETAILED FUNCTIONALITY

Area of needFunctionalitySpecific issuesAssessment
Management Management of User profiles Create several profiles Yes
Remote Management Manage on various devices No
Monitoring Remote access to monitoring No
Filtering Customisation Topics Customisation of Filtering Topics No
URLs White List Restrict Browsing to White List Yes
Default White List Yes
Modification OR Creation No
URLs Black List Creation of User's own Black List No
Keywords Keywords Default Black List No
Default White List No
Creation of a User's Black List No
Creation of a User's White List No
Time Time Limit Settings Set a specific time frame or web access duration Yes
Blocking Message Type Ask for unblocking by parents No
Redirect to safe resources No
Usage Restriction Web Block Access Yes
Monitor Access No
Safe search Availability Yes
Social Networks Block Access No
Monitor Usage No
Personal data Provision Block No
Streaming Block Access No
Monitor Access No
P2P Block the application No
Monitor Downloads No
Skype Block chat Yes
Block video chat Yes
Monitor No
Prevent new Contact No
Windows Life Messenger Block chat Yes
Block video chat Yes
Monitor No
Prevent new Contact No
Email Block email client and/or webmail access Yes

DETAILED USABILITY FINDINGS


Yes / No
I: installation in 3 steps or lessYes
I: choice of installation for beginners or advanced usersn/a

C: different degrees of strength for the filteringNo
C: different content criteria for the filteringNo
C: option to transfer filter configurations between target usersYes
C: option to transfer filter configurations between devicesNo
C: overall comprehensible configurationYes
C: overall conformity with user expectationsYes
C: overall easy to learnNo

U: alert message in a child friendly languagen/a
U: option to customise the reaction in case of blockingn/a
U: overall easily operable and comprehensible reportingn/a

DETAILED SECURITY FINDINGS

The Tool prevents the user from by-passing the filter by:Yes / No
Using the IP address instead of the URLn/a
Using an alternative browsern/a
Changing time and date settings*n/a
Disabling or uninstalling the software without a password*n/a
Closing the filtering tool trough the Task Managern/a
Using a proxy instead of a direct connection to the Internetn/a
Accessing the web-pages through the Google Cachen/a
Reaching a website through translation sitesn/a
Renaming a blocked applicationn/a
Using Safe Moden/a
Filtering Content personalised by usern/a
Filtering Content evolving through timen/a
Filtering Multimedia contentn/a
Filtering outbound contentn/a


Funded by
Logo: EUEuropean Commission


Partners:
Cybion Online Business Intelligence

Stiftung Digitale Chancen

coordinated by:
Innova - Technology Transfer and Valorisation



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