HomeSafe - An Overview

What HomeSafe can do

Help protect children online

HomeSafe lets you block categories of websites that may not be suitable for children, including:

• Adult content
• Gambling sites
• Social media
• Drinking and drugs content

You can choose which categories you'd like to restrict for your household.

Set online time limits

Need fewer distractions during homework or family time? Homework Time lets you limit access to social networking and gaming websites during selected hours.

Warn you about potentially unsafe websites

If Virus Alerts is switched on, HomeSafe can warn you before you visit a website that may contain harmful content, helping you make an informed choice before continuing.

Help protect against scams

Scam Protection helps block websites known to be used by scammers. It also enables Safe Search to reduce explicit content in search results.

What HomeSafe can't do

HomeSafe provides an extra layer of protection, but no web filter can block every threat.

There are a few things HomeSafe can't do:

• Block every image or video if it hasn't been correctly categorised
• Control content accessed through some apps or VPN services
• Remove viruses hidden within downloaded files or email attachments
• Work when you're using a third-party DNS service instead of TalkTalk DNS servers

HomeSafe and SuperSafe: what's the difference?

HomeSafe and SuperSafe work in different ways and can be used together for extra protection.

HomeSafe

• Protects your home broadband network
• Works across devices connected to your home Wi-Fi
• Filters content and warns about potentially unsafe websites
• Included with TalkTalk broadband at no extra cost
• Managed through My Account

SuperSafe

• Protects individual devices
• Helps defend against viruses and malware
• Adds security for activities like online banking and shopping
• Requires software to be installed on your device

Using both services together gives you broader protection for your family and devices.

Looking for help with HomeSafe? 

You can manage your HomeSafe settings in My Account or via our TalkTalk app.

You can also find additional support in our HomeSafe help guides. For useful tips see How to use TalkTalk HomeSafe .

 

While we’re all getting stuff done and enjoying ourselves online, we also need to keep our computers, our data and our families safe.

So every TalkTalk broadband customer gets our HomeSafe web filter included for their home network, protecting any device that’s connected. You just activate it and choose your settings in My Account.

 

 

 

What can’t HomeSafe do?

Unfortunately, no web filter can be 100% foolproof, so here are a few examples of things that can happen.

• Some videos and images that don’t have an accurate description may get through.
• Mobile apps and VPNs may not be recognised and therefore can’t be blocked.
• HomeSafe can’t detect viruses hidden in files you receive or download to your computer – but you can use SuperSafe to do this.
• HomeSafe uses TalkTalk DNS servers to operate our filters. They can’t do their job if you’re using a third-party DNS server (like OpenDNS or GoogleDNS).

 

HomeSafe and SuperSafe. What’s the difference?

Security features can be a bit confusing. HomeSafe and SuperSafe are two separate tools that fight threats in different areas, and we always recommend you use them together for the best security.

 

HomeSafe is a family-friendly web filter for your home Wi-Fi, blocking inappropriate content (KidSafe), as well as sites that could harbour malware (Virus Alerts), for any device that’s connecting to it. It’s free, there’s nothing to download, and you just activate it in My Account.

SuperSafe protects a specific device wherever it’s online, fighting viruses that try to infect your devices and securing your banking and shopping. It’s software you download onto any mobile tablet or computer.