The NextAdvisor guide to parental control software setup

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August 20th, 2010 - Posted by Kent

Parental control software allows parents to monitor the Internet activity of their kids, set online time limits, as well as institute blocking policies for forbidden content. Not all parental control software is created equal, of course, and our rigorous review process really sorted the good from the bad. But even the best parental control software is useless if the computer is not set up correctly. Smart kids can get around the software if there are security holes. This guide aims to provide the basics that will help parents prepare their computers, no matter which software they choose.

1. Think About Passwords and Security Questions

Your parental control software is only as affective as your passwords and security questions. You'll need to come up with good passwords for both your parental control software and your Windows account. You can use the same password for both as long as it's good. What makes it good? It needs to be hard to guess, but easy to remember. If you're stuck for ideas, you can try a random password generator, though its results can be difficult to remember. Later, when you set up your parental control software, you'll need a security question, in case you forget the password. Make sure it's nothing your kid can guess or find out (be wary of biographical questions whose answers may be discoverable via Facebook, such as "High school mascot.").

2. Set Up Your Accounts

Armed with a good password, you're ready to set up your accounts. If your computer currently does not require you to log in, you don't have any accounts enabled. You can get to the "Manage Accounts" page by typing "User Accounts" in the Windows Start Menu. You need at least two accounts for parental control software to work its best:

A) Administrator account. We've called it "Parent" to make things easier, but it can be anything. You'll also set the password on this screen. If there is no password, you'll see an option to "Create a password." If there's already a password, it will say "Change the password."

B) Standard User account. We've called it "Kid" because it'll be easier to keep track for this demonstration. It should have a password too.

C) Additionally, you'll want to make sure the Guest account is either turned off, or has a password, so kids can't use that as a non-protected alternate account.

3. Make Sure "User Account Control" Is Enabled

Most Windows systems will already have this option turned on and configured, but make sure it is on your computer. You'll find this option at the bottom of the User Accounts control panel. The reason it's important to have User Account Control turned on is because it forces the system to ask for a password when new software is installed. This will prevent Regular Users from installing software that could be used to fool the parental control software. On Windows Vista it's a simple on/off switch, while on Windows 7 there are several settings (see here). We recommend "Always Notify."

4. Install and Setup Your Parental Control Software

When you install your parental control software you'll be able to choose which accounts you'll be monitoring and filtering content for . These should map directly to the accounts you've already set up. You probably don't want your own Administrator account to be monitored, but you probably do want to monitor the Regular User Account. If you haven't yet purchased parental control software, check out our comparison and reviews. We put six of the most popular products through rigorous tests to find the best.