Tribute to Safe Eyes
I was disappointed to see that McAfee (which acquired Safe Eyes about two years ago) has decided to lay off the staff and close the doors of SafeEyes’ office. As mentioned on the SafeEyes’ website, they will only continue to support the SafeEyes software for existing users until January 1, 2014.
Safe Eyes and Covenant Eyes have been working side-by-side as friendly “competitors” to provide filtering and accountability in the fight against Internet temptation. We have had a good relationship, even helping each other out in programming from time to time.
Many thousands of people have been helped by their use of the Safe Eyes’ program, and the innovation of the Safe Eyes staff has continually kept us on our toes, challenging Covenant Eyes to maintain a quality program.
I will miss the challenge, the competition. Kudos to the Kenny brothers for bringing Safe Eyes to life, and to the Safe Eyes staff for affecting so many people’s lives by helping to bridge the gap between technology and relationships.
21 Responses to Tribute to Safe Eyes
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I do not see anywhere on their website where they are shutting down the service completely. It appears that they are only going to stop offering their Safe Eyes Business Ethershield and continue to offer Safe Eyes for home use. Though the announcement is not clear I do not see anywhere that indicates that Safe Eyes is closing its doors permanently. Do you have any other information source besides the support announcement?
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I don’t know that the service will be shut down completely. The website says “We will continue to support the software for existing users until January 1, 2014,” so I believe McAfee intends to support the program through that date, and perhaps beyond. The SafeEyes name and InternetSafety domain are good names, so I would also think that McAfee would at least continue the brand for some time.
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To follow up, we actually drove down to their offices north of Atlanta. The building is branded McAfee and totally empty. During our visit a group of McAfee employees were just finishing packing what was left and loading it onto a moving truck. We went into the building and inquired about Safe Eyes and if any of them were Safe Eyes employees, and told that “Safe Eyes is gone”.
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They should turn their code into open source collaborative commons before they cease to be.
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Ron,
Thanks so much for the additional info! I am sad to see them go, but am happy to recommend Covenant Eyes to several friends who are still using Safe Eyes. Thanks again for the info!
Sean
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Does anyone else feel uneasy seeing the one ‘All Seeing Eye’ up in the corner of the Covenant Eyes Co.? How can a company who has been around for over 10 years. be so clueless about what many people are coming to learn about. A Christian company should be informed and diligent about choosing their branding logos. As Christians, we are to ‘avoid even the appearance of evil’. This is shocking to me and many others. Christian or not, there is gong
to be loss of business when they show no concern about their logo. The obvious conclusion is that this business agrees with all that the luciferian eye of Horus stands for.
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Hi Sam. I’m not sure our logo bears much resemblance to the Eye of Horus or the Eye of Ra or the Eye of Providence (aside from being an eye). There are distinct stylistic elements that set apart these pieces of religious artwork from just any image of an eye.
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Here is a prime example where Covenant Eyes and the good old ‘All Seeing Eye’ on a body used in their commercial. This is evil.
http://youtu.be/au80wX9SDp4
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Sam, why is the presence of an eye on a body “evil”? Is it more evil than just the eye itself? Why?
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It is sad to see. I’ve been using Safe Eyes for my home for 5+ years. I’ve seen a dramatic difference in the quality of product and customer support is practically non-existent. Their most recent update has left me with no filtering and their customer support says “don’t use the internet until a new update is ready”. Very disappointing.
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Luke, yes they are all slightly different but that goes for all of the the All Seeing Eyes artwork. Each one is slightly different, but all are the Single Eye. It says something quite clearly. Your Marketing team is falling down on it’s job. You have the power to make a change in your company’s logo. All it takes is a small change – how about another eye. Two eyes would be more symbolic of your Covenant EYES name wouldn’t it? The public is becoming more and more informed about the ‘All Seeing Eye’ and it’s demonic implications. Just as a swastika or a pentagram has definite implications, regardless of the art work involved. Regards-
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Hi Sam. The single-eye logo pre-dates our marketing department, and the decision to maintain the logo has been upheld by the executive leadership for nearly 13 years (since we’ve existed as a company).
I can’t deny that a single eye symbol has historic connections to pagan religions. The question is whether specific symbols or artifacts can be redeemed for Christian use. The single-eye is a great example. In Middle Ages, the Eye enclosed in a triangle was a way to depict God’s trinitarian nature and omniscience.
There are often several conflicting philosophies about this. Some believe pagan symbols or rituals can never be redeemed for Christian use: once pagan, always pagan. Some believe any symbol or ritual can be redeemed. Others believe it is a matter of discernment and cultural sensitivity: some things can be received, some rejected, and others can be redeemed.
The company itself does not have a position on this issue. Personally, I would identify with the latter belief. (The symbol of the cross, for instance, was used centuries before Christ in pagan religious expression, but then the New Testament repeatedly appeals to the imagery of the cross to talk about Christ’s death. Even in the first century, Christian immediately began using the image of the cross to adorn their tombs.)
I’m not trying to be contentious about this. I simply haven’t heard any reasons why the All Seeing Eye symbol is unredeemable. I’m all ears if you care to share any. Thanks.
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Well Luke, you certainly are not uniformed about the ‘All Seeing Eye’ and you know very well exactly what it is being used for and what it represents, in today’s world. Are you saying you are using your company to ‘redeem’ satan’s logo? Really? I’d say you are very attached to using it and determined to do so regardless of the implications. God will not be mocked. I noticed all of the one-eyed people running around your commercial on you tube. Thank you marketing team! You are a Christian business? Some ‘christian’ businesses believe the lie that lucifer is their god and if they used his symbols (triangle and one eye, etc.) that they will have a more successful business and greater wealth, demonically. So you are going to take that nightmare and use it for God’s glory? I’m afraid your commercial just went over the top on that issue. Here is the Youtube link you might find interesting.
http://youtu.be/kNSdCDYhUM8
This is Aleister Crowley pictured below.
http://providermodule.com/Administrators/S.D./ProvidenceCrowley.png
“Satan Cry Aloud! Thou Exalted Most High!
Oh My father satan! The Eye!”
–Aleister Crowley Magnum Opus Book Four.
Please consider what I have told you. Thank you for your time.
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Hi Sam. Maybe my question wasn’t clear. I apologize. What I’m asking is why you believe a single-eye symbol is an irredeemable symbol.
I fail to see why the little eye-guy cartoon was any more “over the top” than the logo itself, if you, in fact, believe the logo is itself demonic.
God is the creator of the eye. Satan is the one who has used it as a symbol for pagan cults. I’m asking why you believe God’s people can’t redeem its use for the purpose of symbolically portraying “a covenant with my eyes.” All you’ve done is assume that any attempt to redeem a single-eye symbol must be mocking God. Why do you think this? I am genuinely curious what reasoning you are using.
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Hello Luke.
>>I’m asking why you believe God’s people can’t redeem its use for the purpose of symbolically portraying “a covenant with my eyes.”<<
Because humans don't have the ability to redeem anything, only God does. Jesus didn't die for the one-eye symbol, He died for us. Then He commanded us to come out of the world and be not conformed to it. In your case, how can you redeem its use for the purpose of symbolically portraying "a covenant with my eyeS?” Your business states eyeS -plural. Your favorite scripture states eyeS -plural. How can One eye it work for you? Two eyes would work perfectly. Thereby killing two birds with one stone.
Symbols are very powerful in the occult, especially when they are placed publicly. I am not saying you are involved in the occult….God forbid! What I am saying is that you are (hopefully) unintentionally assisting them in their ultimate goal. This is of course, between you and God, and for this reason I will leave you to your own final decisions. However, you have been warned.
-Thank you for your time.
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I use “redeem” in the same way Paul did in Ephesians 5:16 and Colossians 4:5. “Redeem the time.” We can redeem things in the sense that we can salvage something for God’s purposes.
I simply disagree that a one-eye symbol is universally evil. I can be persuaded otherwise if I am given reason, but rest assured, your comments are being passed along to others in the company.
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haha yeah I’ll bet! :D
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Personally I think the eye business is a tempest in a teapot. But in keeping with Paul’s attitude about food offered to idols, maybe a future version of CE could allow people to change the logo to something else. Im more irritated by the giant screen that has to pop up on my tablet announcing I use covenant eyes to the world whenever I start my tablet. And it is because of CE that I have to turn it off more often because it uses more power on sleep than before. Not everyone needs to see that in church. Not everyone needs to know. Do you need advertising that badly?
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Hi Ray. I believe the splash screen is an industry standard for a lot of software programs. Nearly every program on my computer has a splash screen. I think the issue here is that there is some sort of mis perception that using Covenant Eyes means someone must have a demonstrative struggle with looking at inappropriate content. Nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve heard from thousands of individuals over the years who use Covenant Eyes to prevent possible online temptations and have no history of a demonstrative problem.
I’d love to get your take on this. Is there something we communicate in by our brand or our splash screen that is negative? Do other content control programs have this issue? If someone sees Net Nanny (or other software) on my computer, is the perception the same? I’d love to hear what you have to say about that.
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What a load of old tosh! All this rubbish about ‘evil eyes’ gives Christianity the bad name it often so richly deserves. Have you no conception of the history of Christianity that you place such emphasis on these things? The early christians in Egypt were quite happy to adopt the image of Horus and his mother as a template for Mary and the infant Jesus; the early chiristians in Greece and the near East used Apollo as the model for the first dipicitons of Jesus. The death on the cross – Odin was hung (read crucified) on the tree of life Yggdrasil let alone all the other origins of much Christian and Hebrew theology in Eygptian, Cannanite and Sumerian mythology. Get a grip on yourself and spend your time to do some good spiritual work by being of real service to people in need.
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Dear Sam,
You are clearly insane.
Also, as to the ORIGINAL purpose of this article. It is too bad to see the Safe Eyes team go. They were exceptional in what they did. Another big company digesting the good folks out there with no care about the little people. As for Safe Eyes being discontinued, it is only the Ethershield service that is being stopped for now, McAfee is continuing to support (albeit terribly) the Safe Eyes platform for now. Until they decide it’s too expensive to keep their outsourced, cheaper, non-American jobs to keep it maintained.
DN