Do you repeatedly check the web
"only for a moment" when you should
be doing real work?
Do you lose hours of productivity to surfing the web?
Help yourself focus on what you need to do, when you need to do it, by
using our new Internet De-Addiction tool: The
Internet
DeAddiction Program II.
Experts define
Internet addiction disorder (
IAD,
also known as "
Internet overuse"), as excessive
Internet use that interferes with daily life.
Certain
websites, especially social networking sites like Facebook and twitter,
are known as effective time-wasters because they relax the brain's
frontal lobes, which are
responsible for self-control, planning, reasoning, and abstract
thought, and leave you at the mercy of your impulses.
Some
of our customers, who happen to be college students, report how even
when using the Internet to do their homework, they keep drifting back
to social sites and wasting their
precious assignments time. After contacting us, explaining the
nature of this "Internet addiction" problem and requesting some kind of
software solution that could temporarily block the Web for them while
allowing access to their college or university website (to do their
homework), we came up with
this edition Internet De-Addiction tool.
Our concept is simple: You
know what's good for
you. You
know
how to best spend your time. But your computer's default
configuration makes the distance between you and the time-wasting
Internet temptations ridiculously easy to overcome. All you need now is
somewhat greater distance.
This is where we step in and offer you an "Internet timer". Our
Internet timer, also known as the
Internet DeAddiction
Program II, lets you set the time of day in which you need
absolute disconnect from the Internet. You enter
when
the Internet is to be blocked and for
how long, you
then click the OK button and from now on, you are in control again:
Now... it is true that you can always circumvent this Internet
de-addiction little helper by
deliberately
entering a different start time and/or block time duration. But that's
point: Surrendering to temptation is typically not deliberate. With
Internet
DeAddiction Program II, you
will
have a few more seconds, a few more keystrokes and a few more
mouse clicks to weigh in whether this is really what you want to do.
To learn more how our Internet de-addiction tool works, click
the the tab labeled "How It Works".
The
Internet DeAddiction Program II is perfect for
both homes and offices and
will
not block your network connections to your shared file server
or other productivity tools on your local network (LAN).
Note: This product is currently compatible with
Windows XP only . We are working on Windows 7 and Vista support.
The beauty of this wizard is that you don't have to follow any complex
instructions. Once you download this app (save it first to
your desktop or in
an easy-to-find folder), you double-click it, click the Next button on
the
installation wizard and Voila! You will now see a green (or red) icon
in your
system tray, indicating the state of your Internet connection.
When you start Windows and you logon to your account,
InternetDeAddictionProgramII
will start automatically, with the Internet
always Unblocked:
Depending on the time settings you enter via the Block Time &
Duration dialog box, this may change within
up to one minute
to
Blocked:
To invoke the Block Time & Duration dialog
box, in order to specify
when the Internet is to be
blocked and for
how long, right-click the green
InternetDeAddictionProgramII
icon in the system tray and select 'Time":
A dialog box window will appear, prompting you to enter the start time
(in
24-hour convention, i.e. 9:00PM is 21:00),
duration of the Internet
block and the URL of a
single
website to be excluded:
In
the example above, the Internet will be blocked from 8:15PM till
11:45PM, while still allowing access to
http://www.uvm.edu. Click OK to
save your settings and, depending on the time of
day and the settings you entered,
InternetDeAddictionProgramII's
Systray
will turn red, within up to 1 minute, indicating
Blocked
Internet connection:
To unblock Internet connection, simply wait for the timer's expiration.
Note:
You may be tempted to unblock the Internet by selecting "Exit"
from
InternetDeAddictionProgramII's context
menu, but if you do
that, you will simply receive the following dialog box:
This
is by design and it is not a bug. You
will be
tempted to workaround this block but, if you are truly determined to
restore your productivity, this little reminder will help you recall
your resolution and commitment to staying on track.
Stay
tuned for upcoming upgrades which may make
InternetDeAddictionProgramII
even more polished. By purchasing
InternetDeAddictionProgramII
you will
be entitled to 12 downloads
over a period of 1 year (whichever expires earlier).
Note:
no desktop icons will be installed, as to
avoid cluttering your desktop. Instead, you will find a Software Candy
entry in your Start Menu, which allows you to uninstall it, should you
ever want to do this.
According to the Computer Addiction Study Center at Harvard
University's McLean Hospital, between 5% and 10% of Web surfers suffer
a "
Web dependency". Web dependency is
yet another term coined to avoid the distracting and divisive term
addiction.
As
in other forms of addiction, many web surfers are aware of their own
Internet addiction and even acknowledge it. Their ways of dealing with
the situation vary from the totally giving in (i.e. doing nothing to
limit their time on the Internet) to physically disconnecting the
Internet. We have recently learned about a professional working from
his home office, who unplugs the wireless Internet cable and puts it in
his wife's bag, who doesn't work at a home office like him -- not
before checking, for the last time that morning, his email, Facebook
and Twitter accounts, plus comments posted in his blog.
In
China, for example, it is estimated that 10% of web surfers suffer
Internet addiction. The New York Times reported in 2007 that in 30% of
Internet users under the age of 18 in South Korea, are prone to
becoming addicted to the Internet. In South Korea alone, about 140
de-addiction camps have been established, in addition to approximately
100 hospitals with dedicated de-addiction programs. In China there are
about 400 de-addiction camps, with costs exceeding $1,000 per
patient. In the USA, a new de-addiction center for teenagers charges a
minimum of $14,500 for a 45-day program.
Software Candy's
Internet DeAddiction Program II
is by no means intended to be a substitute for psychological help
offered by professionals. If you reached a point in which you need to
seek medical or psychological help in order to reclaim your productive
life back, then this tool is not for you.
Software Candy's
Internet DeAddiction Program II is
for Internet users who are still capable of controlling urges, if given
the right reminder.
Our
Internet DeAddiction Program II
could also be helpful in determining for yourself whether you are truly
addicted -- and to what extent. It could also serve as an inexpensive
check before deciding to spend thousands of dollars for a professional
treatment program. You may be amazed to find out how strong-willed you
are.
Note: You must be able to logon
to your
computer as Administrator in order to Install and use this program in
its current version. We are working on ways that will enable
non-Administrator use and benefits of this program.
- Q1. What is the difference between this tool and Internet
DeAddiction Program I? Which one should I choose?
- A1. Unlike Internet DeAddiction Program I,
which temporarily blocks access to the entire Internet, this tools
allows access to a single website of your choice, as to not get in the
way of your productivity (yes, the Internet can be very useful to do
real work, too).
- Q2. I downloaded and installed this software and
it works beautifully. Thank you! However, I can't find its icon on the
desktop. Did I do anything wrong?
- A2. No, you did everything correctly.
By design, we do not clutter your desktop with unnecessary icons.
Instead, we insert the proper menu items in your Start Menu.
Take control of your time. Order the
Internet
DeAddiction Program II and reclaim your productivity now.
Here is how:
