As kids grow up to be accomplished users of technology, they may learn how to bypass parental controls. To prevent this, parents should involve them in creating family rules and check filters regularly.
contrôle parental can seem overbearing or paranoid, but it’s necessary to keep kids safe in a digital world that poses real dangers. This guide has expert-approved tips on introducing and explaining restrictions.
Controls for Computers
As parents, you want to ensure your children can use the internet safely and have access to age-appropriate content. Setting up parental controls can help you limit web browsing to specific sites, block mature content, and monitor screen time on their computers.
With most major operating systems, there are built-in tools available to set parental controls for the computer your child uses. For example, Windows 10 provides Family Safety settings that can be managed from your Microsoft account and apply to the PC, Xbox One gaming console, and Windows phone. Microsoft Family Safety also allows you to manage device usage and screen time, as well as filter inappropriate websites. The system offers category blocking (suicide, drugs, pornography) that goes beyond the basic browser filters on Windows 10. It also evaluates website content on-the-fly to provide a more precise level of protection than the standard browser filters. It can also prevent apps and games from downloading if they’re not rated for the user’s age group.
Controls for Mobile Devices
In addition to allowing parents to monitor their children’s online activities, cell phone parental control apps let them set screen time limits on apps and games. They can also restrict access to websites that may contain inappropriate content and prevent kids from buying apps or completing in-app purchases.
Many smartphone manufacturers have their own built-in controls for their devices, and some third-party apps offer additional features. Some, such as Google Family Link, allow parents to track their child’s location in real time and see who they call, text or video chat with.
Others, such as Verizon Smart Family and Samsung’s Kids Mode, can lock the phone into a limited mode that can only be accessed with a four-digit PIN. Many apps include a step-by-step guide to help kids understand and use the parental controls on their device. Parents should always talk to their kids about the benefits of using parental controls and explain that it is an important part of being safe online.
Content Filters
A content filter blocks access to website content deemed inappropriate, risky, or offensive. They’re most commonly used by businesses through firewalls but can also be deployed by schools to protect students from age-inappropriate material and by governments to restrict access by citizens. Some products also block program files that contain malicious code such as Trojan horses, worms, and spyware. These solutions are sometimes called Internet filters, censorware, or accountability software.
Parental control software such as Net Nanny uses a whitelist or blacklist of websites and allows, alerts, or blocks them according to the settings you choose. The technology can also detect sites that might be harmful to your child such as pornography or hate speech and notify you when such a site is accessed.
As more work is done remotely, employees need strong controls to manage distractions and ensure company systems are not open to cybercriminals. In addition to content filtering, many solutions include time control functions that allow parents to set limits on how much time their children can spend online.
Usage Controls
There are several computer usage controls available, such as blocking websites or programs and limiting screen time. There are also programs that will shut down or log off a computer after a certain period of time.
If you are worried about your children talking to strangers online, there is a program that will monitor chat conversations by scanning for keywords, emoji and slang. It will alert you if it thinks something is inappropriate or dangerous.
To use parental control settings, a child account must be created and the user must log in using a Microsoft Account (not a local account). You can configure the parental controls from the family settings online page in Windows Settings. If you want to set up parental controls, opt for creating a Microsoft account instead of a local account when prompted during the setup process. The parental controls will apply when the child uses a Windows device, but will not prevent them from accessing their friends’ or school computers.