Naviscope

Posted originally on 2001-05-28 here and reprinted with permission.

This review covers NAVISCOPE. The download of the application went well, file size was 614KB.

Starting the installation process, Naviscope prompts for a directory to store user data, and another directory for installation data.

Immediately taken to a configuration page, one is able to check (enable or disable) the following options (* = default enabled):

• Remove ads from web pages *
  
• Prefetch pages for faster browsing *
  
• Automatically close pop-up windows
  
• Correct my computer's clock based on NIST atomic clock time *
  
• Connect to websites faster using persistent connections *
  
• Prevent text from blinking on web pages *
  
• Cache DNS address resolutions for faster web page loading *
  
• Show detailed real-time browsing information and web activity *
  
• Activate the Internet search assistance -- instance access to search engines *
  
• Activate the Internet shopping assistance -- an online shopping directory *

I disabled options 7, 9 and 10; yet I enabled option 3. Installation was almost instantaneous on my PII. System Tray icon appeared and ZAP alerted me to naviscope.exe version 1.00 wanting to act as a server. Clicked a permanent yes.

The Naviscope Toolbar immediately opened staying on-top of my desktop.

There is a default website setting under the blocking button on the toolbar (the B shield). Default enabled options were:

• Block Ads
  
• Block Blinking Text
  
• Block pop-up windows while loading
  
• prefetching

In addition, I enabled block cookies.

Using URL bullet 9 as one test page for advertisements, Naviscope did not successfully block any of the advertisements even though the option to block ads was enabled. Visiting some other sites from the list above, it appeared to be a crap-shoot -- some ads were blocked, others were not.

This feature has some real issues.

Moving along and running some cookie tests using the URL list above, Naviscope was unable to filter most of the cookies. Most successfully were saved to my cookies folder, which Naviscope failed at preventing.

Yet, attempting to log into URL #6 both securely and unsecurely while having Yahoo cookies blocked, I was unable to log in. As soon as I allowed Yahoo cookies, I was admitted. Naviscope does not offer consistency.

IMO, Naviscope does not block cookies at any comfortable level.

Checking the pop-up windows test with URL #8 has shown that pop-ups are not stopped at all if I enable or disable pop-up blocking while loading. I had to shut-down Internet access in ZAP to prevent further pop-ups.

However, re-enabling the option to block pop-ups while loading and enabling block all pop-ups did block pop-up windows; unfortunately, when trying to back out of that URL in the same window caused a URL redirection to more promiscuous sites. This was not seen when the block all pop-ups option was disabled.

Again, Naviscope does not win here.

Task Manager shows that Naviscope takes 6,544 K of memory usage.

I would have listed the filtering statistics, but they would not add any value due to my findings.

I was going to use Ethereal to sniff packets on my system during the test; however, I was not impressed at all with Naviscope so dispelled with this part of the test.

My 3¢? A product whose version is 8.x needs more work and development before it can be comfortably relied upon.

Added: March 23rd 2002
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