Model: Kogan Portector
Rating: 11 out of 10
Price: $2999 inc. free shipping
Web: http://www.dbcde.gov.au/

In response to the federal government’s discovery that spams and scams are infecting home computers through the internet portal, consumer brand Kogan Technologies has developed an important product and none too soon.

Called the Portector, it’s designed to provide a physical barrier against portal spams and scams.

It claims to be 100% portal compatible to ensure the up to 20,000 Australians who are getting their computers infected by these spams and scams remain safe but the thing we’re most impressed by is its ease of use. Unlike most internet filters, this one can be literally just thrown together in a couple of minutes, ensuring anyone, even those in government, can use it. And from what we can see, it won’t slow down your Portal access.

However, the demonstration video lead us to be a bit concerned about its ability to safeguard your portal access over the long term. The amount of bounce from what we consider to be a relatively small spam load seemed to us a bit excessive. We’re not sure whether it’d be strong enough, despite its 8000-thread count, to handle significant spam loads, say, from a government advertising campaign spruiking the benefits of internet filtering.

The other thing is its shape. The Portector looks to be a filter that works on a rectangular design. And as we all know, portals are round (see image). So we’re not sure whether the Portector can protect all edges of the Portal unless its large enough to cover it.

We also note that Kogan only has one size of Portector. We’re awaiting a government response on whether those with ADSL2+ Portal access will require a larger Portector than those on the ADSL1 or even dialup Portal access. We also don’t know whether this is compatible with wireless Portal usage.

The only other thing we don’t know from Kogan is whether the Portector is Australian-made. If it is, we believe the Department for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy should take the lead and order it in so Australian working families can rest easy, knowing that the government is portal-safe.

We also expect the Portector to be machine-washable and drip-dry.

Still, it’s obviously an important product that we hope gets international recognition as there is no reason why, with just a few minor adjustments, that it shouldn’t work in other countries where portal spams and scams are a serious government concern.

Similar Posts: