Parents can not always be around their children to ensure that the websites they visit are safe and appropriate, which is why many use features parental controls to help block or restrict potentially dangerous content. While the best way to do that is to get with a parental control software, most computer systems and operation of the mobile device also include their own parental control features. Microsoft Windows is no exception to this rule because it offers some parental controls and a web filter. To help parents determine if these features are worth using, we show how they work in Windows 8 and Windows 10 as well as break whether it provides sufficient protection for your children.
How to control settings parents and the web filter work in Windows 8?
Regarding the general parameters of parental controls, Windows 8 allows you to set a time limit on the use of your children's computer (similar to the functionality offered by most software parental control), so they can not connect to certain hours. You can even set different times for different days of the week, which makes it easy to let more computer time on the weekend over the week. Windows 8 also allows you to select games and programs that your children have access. It is important to note that this feature only applies to running programs on the computer itself, games or programs based on web not, which means you'll have to block specific websites game if you do not want your kids to access. You can choose the specific sites you want to allow or block by adding them to the list of blocked websites or the list of allowed sites.
With Parental Control web filter Windows 8, you can choose from four levels of restriction to automatically block online content: High, Medium, personalized and None. The high level is said to be suitable for children aged 8 to 12 years and allows your children access to kid-friendly sites and the sites you've added to the list of sites allowed only. If you select the average level, the sites will be filtered based on content categories, such as pornography, adult content, sex education, hate speech and drugs. The custom level also uses these content categories, but you can adjust the filters in each category (eg block some but not all sites under sex education). Finally, if you select None, no web content is automatically blocked or restricted.
he changed anything with Windows 10?
With the introduction of Windows 10, the parental control features have been revamped, but only slightly. All previous features we mentioned for Windows 8, such as the Web filter and time restrictions are still there with the new version of Windows, but how you activate or deactivate them is different. Before, families used to be able to use a single account to their computer, and now parents have to create a separate child account for their children in order to use these functions. Once you have the child's account set up, you can go and set the parental control features, as authorized websites, blocked websites and the time restriction settings. Something else is different in Windows 10 is that the setting of these parameters is done on the web, as opposed to previous versions that have allowed parents to connect with their local Microsoft account to make adjustments. Although this seems a disadvantage, access to Internet only has been created to simplify the Parental Control settings on all your Windows devices. Windows 10 also allows parents to view activity reports of the websites their children are visiting to help parents monitor what their children are doing online and help ensure they do not benefit or harmful content inappropriate.
Do you need more protection?
Although Windows offers many features to help parents protect their children against inappropriate content, it might not be enough. According to Windows, "Turning on the web filter should significantly reduce the number of objectionable websites your children can see, but it does not offer absolute protection." This is where using a parental control software can be handy. Although they can not completely guarantee the safety of your child online, these services go beyond basic Windows parental controls offering smart lists blocks proxy sites to resistance reports online history of activity of your children as well as social media monitoring. Visit our control critical software relatives for more information on how these services can help keep your children safe online.