Tip #4113 - Vista Parental Controls
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Q:
What can you tell me about the parental controls in Windows Vista? I need
to set them up so my kids will be safer on the computer, but I'm not sure
where to start. Please help!
A:
Well, as a matter of fact, I can tell you quite a bit about them! And
with kids being back in school now (or if they're not yet, they will be
soon!), this is perfect timing for this question. Most kids are done playing
outside for the summer and they'll be inside using the computer a lot
more for all those reports and school projects they have to do. So, there
isn't any better time than now to make your computer "kid safe."
And to be honest, there's no better way to do that than with the parental
controls that come along with your Windows Vista computer!
We have done articles
in the past on child safety for Windows XP, but we haven't covered much
on this topic for Vista yet and that's what I want to change today! By
the time you're done reading this article, your kids (or grandkids) will
be doing their schoolwork on the safest computer in town. Let's check
it out!
Lucky for you, the
parental control software you need for your computer came right along
with your Vista operating system, so you don't have to worry about purchasing
another program or anything like that. The controls in Vista are designed
to help you manage what your children do while they're using the computer.
You have total control over what programs your children use, what games
they play, which Web sites they can visit and you even have control over
the amount of time they can spend on the computer. To keep your mind at
ease, everything is taken care of.
To get to the Parental
Controls section of Vista, go to Start, Control
Panel and then select User Accounts and Family Safety.
Next, click on the link that says "Set up parental controls
for any user." Vista will then ask you if you want to continue
since you will be changing some components of your computer. You will
only be changing a few settings, so click Continue to
move on.
Now, the next thing
you need to do is make sure all of your accounts are password protected.
If you have more than one account on your computer, you need to create
a password for each of them. If you don't, your children could log in
to another account where the parental controls are not enforced and that
just defeats the whole purpose! To do this, click on an account that doesn't
have a password. Then click on the Yes button when it
asks you if you want to ensure that all your accounts have passwords.
You will then be taken to the area where you can set up passwords for
all of your accounts. On the other hand, if your accounts already have
passwords, you can just skip past this part.
When you're ready,
click on the account name that you want to set parental controls for.
You will then see a list of settings and you can go through each one to
set them up exactly the way you want them. For the Parental Controls
option, make sure the On choice is selected. The next
option is Activity Reporting. That one needs to be turned
On as well. Next, you can go down the list and change
the settings to fit your needs. You can do so for: Windows Vista
Web Filter, Time Limits, Games
and Allow and Block Specific Programs.
Once you have all
of those set up, go over to the right hand side of the window and you
can change your settings for the Web Restrictions (you
can set it to High, Medium, None or Custom) and you can turn on the Time
Limits, Game Ratings and Program Limits
controls if you want as well. When you're completely finished changing
your settings and when you're satisfied they're set right for your children,
simply click OK. Once you click OK, everything will take
action!
Now, everything is
pretty self-explanatory when you're going through the settings, but if
you'd like to read more about each one specifically, you can check out
this Web
site. I highly suggest that you take the time to go through your parental
controls, especially if you have younger children. Also, if your children
use the Internet a lot, you'll definitely want to pay attention to the
Web settings. With all the crazy stuff going around on the Web today,
you need to take control and keep your kids safe. It all lies within your
hands and with it being so easy to do, there's no reason why you shouldn't!
I hope your children have an awesome and safe school year!
~ Erin
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