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Liverpool-based UK ISP Giant has introduced a new network-level internet content filtering and security service called ‘Guardian‘ for their customers, which is available for free on all of their broadband packages and is designed to “work across every connected device — no downloads or per-device setup required“.
Guardian is designed to give Giant’s customers a single, simple switch so that they can block malicious websites — and optionally adult content — across every phone, laptop, smart TV, games console and IoT device on their Wi-Fi network.
Just to be clear, existing customers can also access the new feature for free, so it’s not only a product for new subscribers. Customers of the service can simply switch Guardian on directly from the Giant portal, choosing between three different levels:
- Guardian Off — Standard internet with nothing blocked, for customers who already run their own filtering.
- Guardian Standard — Automatically blocks websites known to spread malware, phishing scams and credential theft. Recommended for every household.
- Guardian Family — Everything Standard blocks, plus adult content. Designed for households with children.
The changes, once applied, are said to take effect in seconds and can be reversed at any time. There are no data caps, no throttling, and no impact on connection speed.
Callum Longworth, Direct of Giant, said:
“We wanted online safety at Giant to be genuinely easy — no downloads, no per-device setup, no confusing settings pages. Guardian is one tap in your account and it protects everything. It’s the kind of thing we wish every broadband provider had built in as standard, so we did it.”
A number of other broadband ISPs also have network-level security filters, including most of the major ISPs, although some of them do tend to reserve their more advanced features for a paid upgrade. However, we would always advise consumers to ensure that they’re also using good anti-virus/firewall software on their computers, as network-level filtering like this doesn’t catch everything.