Software designed to prevent access to rude or perverse content.

Some censoware products work by keeping a list of all websites containing such information and blocking them. Websense does this. It's a tough brief. Imagine trying to keep up to date with all the internet pr0n. (Maybe some of you don't have to imagine).

Another aproach is to remove or replace rude words from text, sometimes used to censor emails. This has hilarious results: discussions about the English seaside resort of Scunthorpe, or the county of Essex become difficult. The BBC used to do this to all emails going through its servers. It neatly converted this message:

"Matsushita held a cocktail party at their swanky new skyscraper in Scunthorpe on Saturday. I bumped into Dick Feltcher, whose haircut was a little shaggy. He'd accumulated quite a pile of buttered scones. The subject of blow-jobs never came up, however. What a chump"
Into:

"Matsua held a tail party at their sy new skyser in Shorpe on Saay. I ped into Dick Feltcher, whose haircut was a little gy. He'd aculated quite a pile of ered scones. The subject of blow-jobs never came up, however. What a p"