Best parental control software. Mipko Control app

The parental control function in Windows 10 is designed so that parents can monitor the actions that their child takes on the computer, restrict the child from visiting unwanted resources and set the length of time spent at the computer.

Also, this feature will negate the likelihood of breaking something in the system by deleting system files or changing settings that are critical for it. You will learn more about all this from the proposed article, it also contains detailed instructions to create account and rules for using a computer for a little user.

In Windows 10, parental control has become less free - there are restrictions on the use of this function. They consist in the fact that for the exploitation of family safety, it is imperative to work from under the account Microsoft records(the software giant wants to know about everything, even about the restrictions that parents impose on the pastime of children in the virtual world) and be connected to the global network. The function does not work without the Internet. For users, such solutions will not bring any benefit.

Create an account for a child with the settings proposed by Microsoft

The first step in configuring parental controls is creating an account for the little user. The easiest way to solve the problem is through the new "Options" menu.

1. We call it by holding Win + I.
2. Go to the "Accounts" section.
3. We activate the tab "Family / other users".
4. Click on the icon with a plus sign "Add a family member".

We stop at the first option "Add a child's account", after which we set the address of the personal Email, in its absence or unwillingness to enter these data, select the item "No mailbox address". Although, on the next iteration, you will have to enter it or accept the offer to start an email.

The next iteration is the indication of personal data (first and last name), as well as mail, if this was not done in the previous step. Next, you will have to enter the child's date of birth (Microsoft wants to know everything, because here you can cheat, as in the case with the name), city of residence and set a password for the account being created. If you indicate that the child is under 8 years old, Windows 10 will automatically activate increased precautions for the new account, and if the child is over 8 years old, all settings can be changed manually.

Then the developer goes even further and asks for a personal phone number and another mailing address, suddenly you will have to restore your account. The phone number will have to be confirmed, so you won't be able to cheat here.

At the final stage, it will be proposed to use the Microsoft Advertising service, which is not worth doing. This service collects data about the user and uses it to display advertising messages based on his interests.

We close the window and we can log in to the new account. For this, as mentioned, an internet connection is required. After logging into a new account, you need to perform its additional configuration, and a message with data that parents can follow the child's actions pops up only at the first authorization in the account.

Configuring account restrictions is carried out by following the account.microsoft.com/family link after authorizing on the Microsoft resource from the account of the parent who created the restricted account. This page can also be accessed through the "Parameters". In the "Family / other users" tab, click on the "Manage settings via the Internet" button.

Setting up a limited account

The following options will become available in the main window:

• Activity reports - activated by default with email alert function;
• InPrivate Browsing is a function of anonymous web-resources browsing without storing navigation history (disabled by default for children under eight years old).

Below is a list of other parameters and settings.

1. Browsing web pages. By default, resources that are harmful and unwanted for children are blocked, and safe search is enabled in the search engine. If necessary, you can correct the list of prohibited sites.

The settings (site filter, safe search and collection of web navigation information) are applicable only for integrated web browsers (IE and Edge). If you want a complete record of user behavior on the computer, other browsers should be blocked.

2. Apps and games. The window displays a list of programs installed on the computer, including those integrated into the operating system, installed by the user. These include both portable applications and all games found. It contains data on the time of starting and shutting down the software.

The menu allows you to block applications that will appear in the list (this will happen only after the first launch of the program / game from under a limited account), regardless of whether the game / program is installed or is portable. Getting content from Windows Store can be limited by age.

3. Timers of work for the PC. The window displays information about the duration, start and end time of the session. Here you can specify the duration of working sessions and indicate the time when the child can enter the account.

4. Shopping / spending. If there is money in the account of a small user, you can track the expense of his personal funds spent on purchasing digital content in the Windows Store or making purchases through the functions built into games. Here you can replenish an empty account without providing access to the attached bank card.

5. Finding a child - this function is necessary for parents whose child takes with them portable device, for example, to study. It will help to track the user's location during the operation of the device (laptop, tablet).

In principle, there is nothing complicated or incomprehensible with the work of parental control in the top ten, apart from a couple of disappointments:

• obligatory presence of the Internet;
• entering confidential information about yourself and other family members;
• the impossibility of blocking applications before their first launch from under a limited account;
• configuration update child account with a significant delay (it's worth dwelling on this a bit).

How parental controls work

After configuring a child account, you have to wait some time for the settings to take effect. Of the features of this function, the following should be noted.

2. Information about running applications and the operating time of the PC appears with a significant delay (up to several hours). In this case, it automatically becomes impossible to prohibit the child from working longer than the specified time (seeing that it is near midnight on the clock, you cannot end the work session).

3. Information about visited web resources is not always displayed, even for Edge and IE.

4. Information about purchases is also displayed with a delay or not at all, but the data on running games and software is presented in the best possible way.

Another unpleasant moment for parents is that a child, having mastered some knowledge and skills of working at a computer, will be able to easily remove all established restrictions. You don't need to have access to parent mail or Microsoft accounts to do this. But to do this without leaving a trace will not work - the corresponding notifications will immediately come to the specified mailbox... We will not dwell on this mechanism.

Today, tablets and smartphones in children appear at a fairly early age, and most often these are Android devices. After that, parents usually have concerns about how, how long, why the child uses this device and the desire to protect him from unwanted applications, websites, uncontrolled use of the phone and the like.

In this manual - in detail about the possibilities of parental control on Android phones and tablets, both by means of the system, and with the help of third-party applications for these purposes.

Built-in Android parental controls

Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, itself Android system(as well as the built-in apps from Google) is not very rich in really demanded parental control features. But there are a few things you can customize without resorting to third-party applications.

Note: the location of functions is indicated for "pure" Android. On some devices with their own launchers, the settings may be located in different places and sections (for example, in “ Additionally»).

For the little ones - in-app lock

The function " App lock"Allows you to run one application in full screen and prevent switching to any other application or Android" desktop ".

To use the function, do the following:

1. Go to Settings - Security - App lock.
2. Enable the option (after reading about its use).

3. Run desired application and press the button " Overview"(Square), slightly pull the application up and click on the" Safety pin».

Eventually, using android will be limited to this application until you deactivate the lock: to do this, press and hold the " Back" and " Overview».

Parental control in the Play Store

Google play Marketplace allows you to set up parental controls to restrict app installs and purchases.

1. Press the " Menu»In the Play Store and open the settings.
2. Open the item " Parental control"And put it in the position" On", Set the pin code.

3. Set restrictions on filtering Games and Apps, Movies and Music by age.

4. To prohibit buying paid applications without entering your Google account password in the Play Store settings, use the " Purchase authentication».

YouTube parental controls

YouTube settings allow you to partially restrict inappropriate videos for your children: YouTube app click on the menu button, select " Settings» - « General"And include the item" Safe mode».

Also, in Google Play there is a separate application from Google - "YouTube for kids", where this setting is enabled by default and cannot be switched back.

Members

Android allows you to create multiple user accounts in " Settings» - « Users».

In the general case (with the exception of profiles with limited access, which are rarely available), it will not work to set additional restrictions for the second user, but the function can still be useful:

• Application settings are saved separately for different users, i.e. for the user who is the owner, you can not set parental control parameters, but simply lock it with a password (see. How to set a password on Android), and the child is allowed to enter only as the second user.
• Payment data, passwords, etc. are also stored separately for different users (i.e. you can restrict purchases in the Play Store simply by not adding payment data in the second profile).

Note: when using multiple accounts, the installation, removal or deactivation of applications is reflected in all Android accounts.

Limited user profiles on Android

A long time ago, Android was presented with the function of creating a limited user profile, which allows you to use built-in parental control functions (for example, prohibiting the launch of applications), but for some reason it did not find its development on currently only available on some tablets (not on phones).

The option is in " Settings» - « Users» - « Add user / profile» - « Restricted profile”(If there is no such option, and the creation of a profile is started immediately, this means that the function is not supported on your device).

Third-party parental control apps for Android

Given the demand for parental control functions and the fact that Android's own funds are not yet sufficient to fully implement them, it is not surprising that there are many parental control applications on the Play Store. Further - about two such applications in Russian and with positive user reviews.

Kaspersky Safe Kids

The first of the applications, perhaps the most convenient for the Russian-speaking user - Kaspersky Safe Kids... V free version many necessary functions are supported (blocking applications, sites, tracking the use of a phone or tablet, limiting the time of use), some functions (location determination, tracking VK activity, monitoring calls and SMS and some others) are available for a fee. At the same time, even in the free version, the parental control of Kaspersky Safe Kids provides ample opportunities.

Application usage looks like this:

1. Installing Kaspersky Safe Kids on Android device the child's age and name settings, creating (or logging in) a parent's account, providing the necessary Android permissions(allow the application to take control of the device and prevent it from being deleted).

2. Installing the application on the parent's device (with settings for the parent) or logging into the site my.kaspersky.com/MyKids to track the activities of children and set rules for the use of applications, the Internet and the device.

Provided that there is an Internet connection on the child's device, changes in parental control settings applied by a parent on the site or in an application on his device are immediately reflected on the child's device, allowing you to protect him from unwanted network content and not only.

Several screenshots from the parent's console in Safe Kids:

• Working time limitation

• Limiting the time of working with applications

• Application ban message on Android device

• Site restrictions

You can download the parental control application Kaspersky Safe Kids -

Parental Control Screen Time

Another parental control application with an interface in Russian and, mostly, positive reviews -

The programs included in the review are usually included in the Parental Control category. In general, according to the definition of Wikipedia, parental control is a set of rules and measures to prevent the negative impact of the Internet and a computer on a person under guardianship (usually a child). The scope of such software can be expanded to include almost any user who needs to restrict access to local or network functions computer. This material is a supplement to the review, which has already covered some aspects of parental control.

ChildWebGuardian Pro

After installing the program, you will need to configure the primary parameters: a password, specify an email address for sending reports, select a computer profile - home, school or office. Further, after entering the password, the user enters the program settings section, where he can manage groups of users with limited rights and administrators. To change the role, it is enough to transfer the name of the system profile to the required group. It is also easy to create additional profiles that may be needed for more or less strict control of actions.

In the section "Forbidden words" there is a list of stop words by which the content of Internet pages, email messages and correspondence in ICQ is blocked. Here you can create your own groups of words, as well as adjust the maximum number of forbidden words acceptable in the content of the text.

In the "Filter Web" section, there are white and black lists of sites where you can add other addresses. One of the most relevant options is blocking social networks, including VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Facebook. There is no option to disable all social networks with one click, and methods of blocking on other grounds are also unavailable: apparently, only URLs are blocked, while there are many ways to bypass the ban through anonymizers. In the same section, you can configure the schedule, according to which the Internet will be available to users with a limited profile. For each site through context menu you can set up an individual schedule. There is no possibility of setting URL masks, however, as can be seen from the available lists, it is enough just to specify the keyword that will be mentioned in the address bar.

ICQ & Email - setting filters for appropriate communication formats. In the case of email correspondence, you can create a list of trusted addresses that will not be blocked during transmission. But the outdated ICQ, apparently, the developers should supplement with other IM-clients, including the much more popular Skype with its own transfer protocol. Therefore, it is strange that ICQ in ChildWebGuardian Pro gets too much attention. On the other hand, as an option, you can use the next section - "Filter by programs", where you can block any application.

Returning to the reports. If there is a need to remotely control and record user actions in the log, you can go to the section of the same name and activate the option "Log events to the log". The log file records such events as visited sites, blocked content from prohibited lists. Also in this section you can configure sending reports to the email specified immediately after installing the program. Perhaps, there is a lack of more detailed statistics on the time spent on the Internet / system, logging the entered keyboard shortcuts and similar information - tools that are found in other survey programs.

ChildWebGuardian Pro is available natively in Russian. You can freely familiarize yourself with all the functions without restrictions and intrusive notifications. In addition, there is a free and less functional edition of the program (see the list of differences from the Pro version).

Summary

ChildWebGuardian is a program with an extremely intuitive interface and section organization. It contains basic options that will help parents restrict children's access to the Internet and programs, games. The main focus is on network security.

In Hidetools Parental Control there is a clear delineation of functions into 3 modules: reports, restriction of control and settings. Access to each of the items in these sections is available through the menu in the main window, as well as in tabs.

In the first section, Reports, you can get acquainted with the statistics in detail: launching applications, visited sites, typing text from the keyboard (with a division according to the corresponding programs, where the typing took place), screenshots of active windows. In short, the reporting function is fully implemented. The whole question is how to use the capabilities of the program without "going too far", because, in fact, many programs, including this one, are no different from keyloggers and other "spyware" programs.

The second section, Controls, does not so much control as it imposes all sorts of restrictions on user actions. However, it remains unclear how the prohibited categories in the Website Blocking tab relate to websites. Apparently, they exist separately from each other. In the same section of settings, you can also create white and black lists of resources by adding addresses / keywords to the desired list.

Unlike, say, ChildWebGuardian, there is no schedule by which you can regulate access to a particular application or site. Of the available funds, only a limitation is available general access to PC (PC Usage Limits), this option can be found in Time Controls → Time Limits.

In the Application blocking tab, you can prevent the launch of specified applications (most often, computer games) or choose an option from the list of popular browsers and messengers. Windows Security can lock Control Panel, Device Manager, Registry Editor and others system components that open a "loophole" for a user with limited rights (be it a child or any outsider).

Several interesting options should be noted in the settings module. First, for each account in the User Account tab, you can activate the rules that will be applied during the session. This includes monitoring, filtering websites and applications, time control and system security - that is, the options already mentioned. However, for complete convenience, this section lacks groups and a mechanism for managing them (at least as simplified as in ChildWebGuardian Pro).

Secondly, a detailed setting of statistics is available in Monitoring Settings, thirdly, reports are sent to the administrator's email at a certain interval.

Hidetools Parental Control is available in trial mode for 14 days.

Summary

Hidetools Parental Control is designed to track user activity (monitoring function) and restrict access to system settings and the Network. If the monitoring part is functional enough, I would like to see more options for restricting access - otherwise, roughly speaking, the program is spyware.

[+] Functional monitoring module
[+] Convenient switching of protection in active / inactive mode
[-] Weakly developed profile management
[-] No blocking of access according to the schedule for certain sites

KinderGate Parental Control

KinderGate Parental Control is an application for restricting children's access to web resources, developed by Entensys, a well-known Internet security company. Includes a number of tools for applying restrictions on a schedule, filtering by site categories, blocking dangerous sites, as well as monitoring and statistics.

During installation, KinderGate requires you to set a password to enter the administration interface and select an access level that determines how strict the filtering of Internet resources will be.

Going to the "Rules - Blocking Categories" tab of the KinderGate Management Console, you can see the categories that will be blocked.

By the way, the program uses the Entensys URL filter module, which includes an updated database of 500 million (!) Sites. True, one must take into account that Western resources are not so dangerous for a child, and in general, they are less relevant.

Also, in certain sections of KinderGate Parental Control, you can see the "Trusted sites" button. By clicking it, a list of "white" sites opens, where it is easy to add other resources. The black list is formed in the section "Address denial", where you must specify keywords or masks by URL.

Schedule settings are available in the "Work Schedule" section. The limitation can be configured according to a fixed schedule or in an arbitrary format. Unfortunately, you cannot specify a time limit without reference to a schedule.

Parental Control has a tool called "Advanced Rules" that allows you to combine several rules at the same time: to deny access to the protocol, sites, linked to a schedule, etc. Unfortunately, offline documentation does not provide a sufficient number of full-fledged examples that would talk about the practical benefits of applying such rules. There are more examples in the online help.

A small but important remark. Install and uninstall KinderGate PC very carefully. Application operation affects network drivers and system services, the disabling of which will entail unpleasant consequences, in particular - restricting access to the Network. The same rule applies to all programs mentioned in the review. You should not install more than one or two of them at the same time to avoid conflicts.

Summary

KinderGate Parental Control is a program with a pre-installed filter system and the ability to configure access on a schedule. Supplied with tips, help, available in Russian. One of the most optimal solutions to this problem.

[-] Problematic deletion
[-] Limited functionality of scheduled access settings
[+] Updated filter base
[+] Combined rules

Kids PC Time Administrator

Kids PC Time Administrator features, as the name suggests, focuses on limited access on a scheduled basis.

Initially, it seems that the program has a setup wizard. However, the jump buttons, as it turned out, are only for navigating between sections. Make settings in the prescribed manner or go to each section through the menu - there is no fundamental difference.

An individual schedule can be specified for each user; profile selection is available in each section. In addition, in some cases it is easier to set the same limits for everyone.

The schedule is configured in the "Allowed time periods" section, where using the calendar you can allow or deny access with minute precision. If this option The administrator will consider restrictions inconvenient, you can go to the next section and set the number of hours per day that the user will have at his disposal.

A certain part of the settings of Kids PC Time Administrator refers to the usual system "tweaks": blocking the Device Manager, uninstalling programs through the control panel, prohibiting account management, etc. Here, the choice of options is very modest. Another limiting section not related to the schedule is "Protecting folders". By means of the program, you can hide the selected folders with important data or protect them from being changed.

Some tools for reporting in Time Administrator are available, but the absence of any settings, remote control and sending logs to email - all this indicates the weak implementation of other aspects of the program.

Summary

Kids PC Time Administrator can be used if the child spends too much time at the computer and the session needs to be limited. Filters, prohibited lists and other additional tools are not provided here.

[+] Wide possibilities of time limitation
[-] No filters
[-] Inconvenient calendar interface

Child Control 2013

Unlike Kids PC Time Administrator, Child Control 2013 allows you to restrict not only access to system resources, but also access to the Internet on a schedule. This and similar tasks are simplified by a step-by-step wizard. In short, there are 4 sections in total with parameters:

• Time Limits: hourly limitation of work in the system / on the Internet
• Blocked Times: time slots when system / internet access will be blocked
• Internet Control: an Internet filter that contains allowed and denied resources in the lists. Optionally, you can only allow access to whitelisted sites ("Allow only these websites"). By keywords blocking the address is not possible, you must enter at least the domain URL
• Other Settings: Configure the security level, reporting options and remote access to the program.

Then the user goes to the main window of Child Control 2013. In addition to the settings related to time limits (section "Time Limits") and already mentioned in the step-by-step wizard, a number of other possibilities are presented here.

In the section "Internet" - the already familiar, by alternative products, Internet filter. The categories and their contents, of course, were created by the developers without taking into account the Russian locale, so the available data can be regarded more as an example when compiling lists. There are white and black lists available, also in the "Misc" tab, you can select the action of the program when blocking the site.

In the next section "Programs" - practically the same options, with the only difference that they are applicable to programs. Here you can also manage blocked and allowed lists, configure scheduled launch (Time-limited application group). For Windows 8, there is a corresponding tab, with one click all Windows 8 Apps are blocked, as well as the Windows Store.

In the "Windows Security" subsection of the "Security" section, system partitions are blocked, the third-party access to which is undesirable. Moreover, Child Control 2013 has a very wide range of options: secure boot, time settings, changes to user accounts, etc.

Section "Usage Log" provides detailed statistics on the use system resources as well as visits to websites. Statistics include information for the day, week and month. For convenience, it can be opened in the viewer by pressing the "Report" button. In addition, it is possible to send statistics to the specified email (see "E-mail Report").

In Child Control 2013, the developers have provided a large number of additional settings... Section "Settings" allows you to configure notifications and other messages to the user, the behavior of the program when the limits are exhausted; advanced filter settings, group management are possible.

Finally, it is worth paying attention to such a possibility as remote control the program through the browser - the section "Remote Control" is intended for its activation.

Summary

One of the most functional programs of this review, including the number of additional settings. One of the attractive aspects of Child Control 2013 is its graphical reporting.

[+] Detail of reports, graphs
[+] Versatility
[+] Remote control

Pivot table

Program		ChildWebGuardian Pro	KinderGate Parental Control	Kids PC Time Administrator	Child Control 2013
The developer		S. Zimin, S. Markin	Hidetools	Entensys Corporation	pchomesoft.com	Salfeld Computer
Platforms		Windows XP +
License		Shareware (750 rub.)	Shareware ($ 39.95)	Shareware ($ 19 / year)	Shareware ($ 15)	Shareware ($ 29.95)
Localization		+	−	+	−	−
Access limitation	Scheduled	+	+	+	+	+
	website filter	+	+	+	−	+
	to programs	+	+	−	−	+
Remote access		+	−	−	−	+
Reporting		+	+	+	−	+

One of the problems that parents have to solve is the child's access to a computer and the Internet. How long can a child spend in front of a monitor screen? How long is he allowed to play games? How to make a little user's time on the Internet safe? Each family answers these and many other questions for itself. Nevertheless, the fact that the problem of parental control has long become common is indicated by the fact that tools to restrict access to applications, games and sites were included in Windows Vista... Similar tools have recently appeared in many complex security applications, for example, in Norton Internet Security and Kaspersky Internet Security. There are special programs intended solely for parental control. If a few years ago almost all of them were in English, then today it is not a problem to find an application developed specifically for Russian-speaking users, which undoubtedly indicates that there is a demand for such solutions.

Parental Controls in Windows Vista

If you are using at home Windows computer Vista, you can use the built-in parental controls.

This requires the child to have their own account created. It is clear that you do not need to assign administrator rights for it. Next, you need to go to the Control Panel and in the "User Accounts" section click on the link "Setting parent controls". Next, you need to select the user for which the restrictions will be enabled, and in the "Parental Control" group set the switch to "On".

Windows Vista makes it possible to control the use of a child's computer in four ways: to limit the time that he spends in front of the monitor screen, to block access to some sites and other Internet services, to prohibit the launch of some games and programs. The section "Restrictions on Internet use" sets the rules for the child's access to Internet resources; you can also prohibit downloading files.

By default, the medium level of protection is enabled, in which the filter works for sites devoted to weapons, drugs, with pornographic content and containing obscene language. By selecting a custom protection level, you can add sites about alcohol, cigarettes, gambling to the prohibited categories, as well as those sites whose content the filter cannot evaluate automatically. The most severe restrictions on web content are imposed by using a high level of protection, where a child can only visit sites that are identified by the filter as "children". Regardless of which content filtering mode is selected, you can create a black and white list of sites, that is, determine which resources a child can or cannot access, regardless of the automatic filter settings. Since the filter does not always fire, it is very useful to keep the activity tracking enabled. In this case, Windows will save the addresses of all sites that the child viewed. If an unwanted address is found in the generated report, it can be added to the black list. The settings for limiting computer use by time are very simple. There is a grid that looks like a school schedule, in which the parent indicates the hours at which access to the computer for the child is prohibited. Restrictions are set separately for the days of the week.

In the "Games" section, restrictions on the launch of games are set. Note right away that you should not rely on this section of the settings, since Vista does not perceive some games as such, mistaking them for regular applications... The same goes for rating restrictions. In theory, you can rate the games that the child cannot play, but in practice, the child can launch a game that will not be found in the Vista database. That is why it is much safer to use the section "Allowing or blocking individual programs". It displays all the applications that are installed on the computer, and parents can mark those that the child is allowed to run. The program can be added to the list manually. This approach is good because the child will not be able to run, for example, new game, which he took from a classmate without showing it to you.

Parental Control in Kaspersky Internet Security

Parental controls are often found in online security applications. Let's take the Parental Control module in Kaspersky Internet Security 7 as an example. When parental control is turned on, all users are assigned the "Child" profile and, accordingly, the restrictions set for it in the program settings are set.

The second profile - "Parent" - allows you to freely surf the Internet, without restrictions, without turning off parental controls. The first thing to do when configuring this module is to select the "Parent" profile and set a password for it. After that, you can turn off parental controls or switch to the "Parent" profile only after entering the password. Using Kaspersky Internet Security 7, you can configure access rights to certain websites, mail, and other Internet services. Parents can choose the categories of sites that the child will not be able to access, prohibit his communication by mail and chats. In addition, you can create black and white lists of resources.

Another parental control feature is limiting the time you use the Internet. You can set the daily rate of stay on the Internet or set the hours at which the use of the Network is allowed. However, unfortunately, there is no provision for changing these settings depending on the days of the week.

If a child tries to get to a forbidden page, a message is displayed that the site is blocked.

All pages visited by the child when parental control is turned on are recorded in the report. In Kaspersky Internet Security 7, there are no options to restrict the work on the computer in general, but the program can be successfully used in conjunction with applications such as CyberMama.

CyberMom

Developer: Cybermama
Distribution size: 3 MB

CyberMama, unlike Kaspersky Internet Security 7, allows you to control the time your child spends at the computer, but does not have the means to filter web content. After starting CyberMama, the computer can work in one of two modes - "parent" and "child". At the first start, the mode is set to "parent" and it is possible to enter a password. It is this set of characters that will be used to unlock the computer after the expiration of the time allotted for the child to work with it. With the help of "CyberMama" you can set a restriction on working with a computer, as well as prohibit the launch of some applications. The parameters responsible for the time limits are quite flexible. A separate schedule is selected for working days, as well as for weekends and holidays. In the program settings there is a calendar in which you can mark all the holidays. A very thoughtful decision, considering that the holidays are different in each country.

Parents can decide how many hours a day the child can work at the computer, allow or prohibit the use of the Internet. In addition, you can allow the use of a PC only during certain periods of time, and for each of these intervals, allow or deny access to the Internet. Everyone knows that while working at the computer you need to take breaks, but not everyone adheres to this rule. Meanwhile, this is especially important for the child's body. With the help of CyberMom, parents can set the frequency of breaks (for example, every 45 minutes) and their duration. During this time, the computer will be locked. With regard to launching applications, CyberMama provides two modes of operation: when a child can launch all programs except those that are blacklisted, and when he can launch only those applications that are included in the whitelist.

When you switch to "baby" mode, an alarm clock icon appears at the bottom of the screen. It shows the child how much time he can still use the computer. However, if desired, the child can turn it off by right-clicking on the program icon.

The child can also see his work schedule - how much time he can still work, how long the break will last, etc.

Five minutes before the expiration of the allowed time, a warning appears on the screen reminding you to save all documents. When the program is running in the "child" mode, it is impossible to close it from the task manager window - it immediately starts again. Attempts to shift time back are also unsuccessful. Moreover, if a child tries to do something similar, the strict "CyberMama" will immediately record these actions in a report, which the parents will then view. Restarting does not help to get rid of the program - "CyberMama" remembers that the allowed time has already expired, and locks the computer immediately after starting.

KidsControl 1.6

Developer: YapSoft
Distribution size: 4.4 MB
Distribution: shareware
The purpose of KidsControl is to control the time a child spends on the Internet. The peculiarity of the program is that if a prohibited site is detected or an attempt to go online at the wrong time, the child will not be able to load the web page. In other words, the program does not give itself out in any way - it does not show any warning labels, does not say that the page is blocked, etc., it just displays in the browser empty page"Server not found". KidsControl consists of two modules - the application itself, which is responsible for blocking sites, and the control panel. To enter the control panel, a cipher is used (yes, it is a cipher, not a password). The control panel login window contains buttons from zero to nine, with which you can set a cipher for access. This is done to prevent possible interception of the password by keyloggers.

The control panel provides several profiles - "child" and "no restrictions", you can also set profiles for other family members. If the code is not entered when starting KidsControl, the program will be launched with the "child" profile; to switch to another profile, you need to enter a certain combination of numbers. The cipher for access to the control panel and for activating the "no restrictions" profile and others are different things, for each profile its own combination of numbers for access is set. For a child, KidsControl provides the following restrictions: a web filter by category, black and white lists of sites, a time limit for Internet browsing and a ban on downloading certain types of files.

Despite the fact that the web filter, according to the developers, is based on a directory of a million sites, our testing has shown that it can hardly be relied on. By including all filter categories, which even include video and music sites, we freely opened resources from the first page google search on request "mp3". Pages found for "porn" also opened without problems. Therefore, it is better to use KidsControl in conjunction with Kaspersky Internet Security 7, where the filters are stricter.

The time limitation on the Internet works more correctly - during prohibited hours, it is impossible to open a web page or even check your mail. However, the bad thing is that there is only the possibility of scheduling work, and it is impossible to set the total number of hours a child can spend on the Internet per day.

Blacklists and whitelists work a little differently from other programs. If you make a whitelist of sites, then this will not mean that the child will be able to visit exclusively these resources, just such pages will not be blocked. When creating a black and white list of sites, you can use the "*" symbol. For example, if you blacklist the string "* tube *", then the child will not be able to access any Youtube or Rutube sites, or any other sites that contain this combination of characters. However, if you add Youtube.com to the whitelist, the blocking will not work for it. Finally, it's worth mentioning the download restrictions. different types files. Our testing has shown that it works quite correctly, but it would be nice to add the ability to manually add prohibited file types. For example, KidsControl has the ability to block the download of ZIP files, but RAR archives can be downloaded without problems.

Time Boss 2.34

Developer: NiceKit
Distribution size: 1.6 MB
Distribution: shareware
Time Boss as well as standard Windows tool, allows you to set limits based on accounts. The program window displays a list of all users who have access to the computer. For each account, you can define the type of account - "Chief" or "Slave".

Time Boss allows you to limit the time you use your computer, the time spent on the Internet, as well as make a list of prohibited programs and folders. The tools for limiting the working time are quite flexible - you can set how many hours a user can work per day or per week, specify the hours during which the computer can be used, create a schedule for the days of the week. There are also separate buttons for quickly adding bonus time for the current day or for the weekend. Similar restrictions can be set for working on the Internet. It should be noted that by default the program perceives only browsers as Internet applications. Internet Explorer, Opera and Firefox, all others need to be added manually in the program settings. True, there is a checkbox for automatic detection applications that use the Internet, but it's better to play it safe. One of interesting features Time Boss - the ability to set the time of use of a specific application. With its help, you can limit the time that the child spends playing computer games. Time Boss allows you to install system constraints... These include: prohibition of use system registry, control panel, task manager, to change the date and time, download files via Internet Explorer. In addition, you can disable the ability to search and run applications from the Start menu, set restrictions on access to disks.

Depending on the administrator's preferences, Time Boss can work in one of two modes - normal and invisible. In the first, the user sees how much time is allotted to him for work by clicking on the icon in the taskbar, and in the "Invisible" mode, the program does not give itself out. To alert the user to the end of the working period, you can enable alerts that will appear five minutes before the end of the allowed time. A warning can be displayed as a text message, picture, or as a system error.

A separate section - "Prizes" is designed to add additional time for the user to work with a computer or the Internet. If the "Disable time limits" checkbox is checked in the prize parameters, the user will be able to use the computer and the Internet, regardless of the set schedule. Time Boss keeps detailed statistics of the work of each user at the computer and presents them in a visual form. In the Journal, you can view all the actions that users performed, and, moreover, it is possible to filter the logs. For example, only attempts to access prohibited sites or a list of running programs... In addition, statistics on computer and Internet use are provided in text and graphic form.

It is worth noting the very useful ability to create screenshots. Time Boss will take screenshots at specified intervals, then they can be viewed in the log. For convenience, you can start a slide show by setting the time each picture is displayed on the screen.

However, it should be borne in mind that by default screenshots are saved in a very unreliable place - in the Screenshots folder, which is placed in the Time Boss installation directory. To prevent the users you are monitoring from finding it, you should specify a safer location, and also deny everyone access to this folder. Finally, it should be noted that it is very difficult to get rid of Time Boss - the program is not removed from the "Startup"; it restarts immediately when the process ends. To unload it, you must click the "Prepare for deletion" button in the settings.

Conclusion

Of course, children are at times much smarter than their parents, and there is probably no remedy that can keep them from finding a way around the restrictions. Therefore, you should not rely entirely on programs to ensure parental control, they will not replace conversations with mom and dad about the rules of behavior on the Internet and why you need a computer. On the other hand, they can be excellent helpers in education, and in combination with live communication about the benefits and dangers of a computer, they can provide excellent results.

Parental Control in Windows is a built-in feature of all operating systems from Microsoft, with which parents can organize the child's work at the computer, prohibit the use of certain programs or sites, and view statistics on PC activity.

The function is useful in any family, because you will always be aware of how much time the child spends at the computer, what sites he browses and what games he plays. One of the main parental control options is setting the time to turn on the PC. You can prevent your child from turning on the computer, for example, after six in the evening. As a result, he will not be able to log into his account in any way.

Windows Parental Controls

With the standard control option, parents will be able to:

• Track all the actions that the child performed at the computer. What programs were launched and how long they worked. The system provides the PC administrator account with detailed reports on children's accounts. Thus, you can get the most complete picture of the interaction between the child and the computer for a week or a month;
• Parental control on a Windows computer allows you to install game programs, taking into account their age limit. The child will not even suspect that there is an active monitoring function. During the installation of games, the system will automatically verify the digital signature of the installer, which contains the name of the game, the developer's company and the age limit. If the age is higher than the one allowed by you, the application will not install under the guise of a system error;
• Full control over the work with the browser, search engines and various web resources. Track the history of the child's activity on the Internet, limit the use of sites in the description of which there are keywords you specified;
• Limiting the time of working at the computer. Set the time period during which the child can turn on the computer. Upon expiration of the required time, the work of the gadget will be automatically terminated. This option will allow the child to organize their daytime schedule and help to get used to the limited sitting at the computer without the constant requests of parents to turn off the device.

Creating accounts with a password

Before setting up parental controls in any of versions of Windows, you need to create two accounts on the computer - for you and the child. If the account of the parents is without a password, the child will be able to bypass all the restrictions set without any problems by logging in under the administrator's account.

The child's account does not need to be password protected. Without input code word it will be easier for the account owner to get started with the computer. You just need to click on your profile photo and wait for the desktop to load.

Follow the instructions to create multiple system users in Windows 8/10:

• Open the start menu and click on your profile picture;
• Then, in the drop-down list, click on the "Change account settings" field;

• In the window that appears, go to the "Family and other people" section;
• Click on the "Add family member" button;

• Then go to add child account mode and follow the instructions of the setup wizard. After completing the procedure, two accounts will appear on the computer - yours and the child's;

To set a password for a user record, click on his photo and select "Access password" from the list. If an administrator entry is linked to Microsoft service Online, the access password is the password of the email linked to the account.

Instructions for Windows users 7:

• Go to the control panel and select the "Category" view mode;
• Click on the field "Accounts", and then on the button for adding a new profile;
• Set a password for your account and for the child page. In Windows 7, this is done by simply clicking on the user's photo and entering a passcode in the settings. There is no binding to Microsoft Onlline service.

Setting up a feature in Windows 7 - how to enable

Parental Controls in Windows 7 supports the following options:

• Limiting the time the computer is turned on;
• Configuring the list of allowed programs;
• Limitation on the running time of games.

To enable control, make sure that a child account has been created on the computer. Then open Control Panel and select the User Accounts field. Select an administrator profile.

Check if a password is set. To familiarize yourself with the documentation on parental control from the OS developer, click on the field indicated in the figure below.

All additional profiles will be displayed under the administrator account. Click on the child's record, in our case it is the Tester icon. Next, a window will open with additional information.

In the section "Selecting allowed actions" activate parental controls.

Now you can start limiting the work of the second user. The above window displays a set of parameters that you can change. The first one is setting the computer's operating time.

You only need to mark the time range during which it will be allowed to use the PC. The setting can be made for each day of the week. Click on the white square to change its color. Blue color means that at this time the child will be able to work at the computer.

To select several cells at the same time, hold down the left mouse button and select the desired time interval.

The next function is to set up work with installed games... Here you can prohibit or allow the inclusion of game applications, set the allowed age rating, or manually select those games installed on your computer. That the child can turn on.

Notice! If the application does not indicate its rating, it will also be blocked for the second account.

To save the settings, click on the "OK" button at the bottom of the screen.

If pirated games are installed on your computer, it is recommended to configure access to applications manually, since these programs will not be displayed in the window for selecting the allowed age limit.

To check the correctness of all settings, be sure to test the operation of all functions yourself. Try to play a prohibited program or game. If necessary, double-check the correctness of the set parameters.

Setting up parental controls in Windows 10

Parental Controls in Windows 10 brings even more features and capabilities. An innovation that the developer launched is the option to control purchases in the Microsoft store. Parents can set the maximum purchase amount and age limit. Thus, a child cannot buy a game that is intended for a certain age.

In total, there are 5 categories of software in the app store, sorted by age:

1. 6+ years old;
2. 12+ years old;
3. 16+ years old;
4. 18+ years old.

Create a child account as described above and set a password for the system administrator page. Now you can start setting up parental controls.

Immediately after creating a new account, log in under her name and check if she really was created in the "Child" category. Also, you can customize the design of the desktop and add all the shortcuts necessary for the child's work. This will allow children to get started faster and not search required programs across all system folders.

To manage the child's record settings, go to https://account.microsoft.com/account/ManageMyAccount?destrt=FamilyLandingPage and log in with the record of the owner (administrator) of the computer.

The second account is already linked to yours. To start setting up, just click on the additional profile icon.

Available settings:

• Work timer. To limit the time spent at the computer, set the allowed time range for each day of the week.

Also, in the parental control settings window there is an option to control the location of the child. If he is using a portable gadget with Windows 10, parents will always be aware of where the child is. This is possible with real-time geolocation services.

Disabling the parental control function

Let's take a look at how to disable parental controls on Windows 7.10. To deactivate the function in Windows 7, just go to the child account settings and uncheck the box next to the "Parental Control" field.

To deactivate the option in Windows 10, go to the family account on the Microsoft website and reset all previously set restrictions.

Additional parental control software

In addition to standard control tools, from the store Microsoft Store you can also download other programs for organizing children's work at the computer.

Waky safe

Waky Safe is simple and functional utility to organize information search on the Internet. The utility is used as absolutely secure browser... Which is recommended for use by children. There are built-in mini-games.

Kid search

Limits the ability to work with the Internet. Parents can adjust the settings for working with search engines and social networks.