CEDAR HILLS, UT — Paraben, a developer of computer-forensic software applications, has released a new suite of enterprise tools designed to help employers get control of that nagging workplace scourge, pornography.According to the company, Paraben’s PS2 Command Kit will analyze networked computers and detect suspicious images. (Generally speaking, “suspicious images” are ones that incorporate large amounts of certain colors in specific pink ranges.) Images are evaluated against a number of top-secret parameters and classified on a three-level scale ranging from “safe” to “probably illicit.” According to chief executive officer Amber Schroeder, Paraben’s analysis will stand up as evidence in criminal or internal investigations.
Schroeder said the software cannot distinguish between images of child abuse and legal adult pornography, but it can analyze images on hard drives and the Web. That makes it an effective tool for screening material on websites employees visit during working hours, before the material is downloaded to local equipment.
As Schroeder sees the situation, employers are vulnerable to potentially costly lawsuits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if employees surf porn at work. Exposing unwilling others to unwelcome images and the “secondary effects of porn” have been held actionable in court, she said, because porn can create a hostile working environment.
The software package costs about $17,000 for 500 networks of up to 500 computers.
