I personally agree with both of these statements:
- the Internet is beautiful because it is free (or it would be fantastic if it were truly free);
- the internet is dangerous because there is no control.
I think that all my peers have grown up discovering the good and the bad of the internet by themselves also because the parents were absolutely unable to control an instrument that until a few years ago was a real novelty.
Today the discussion is very different, children surf the internet, chat, subscribe to social networks, publish photos and also buy online.
New sites are born every day, opportunities grow and, at the same time, the dangers, malicious sites and improper or violent web pages are always around the corner.
Rather than preventing their children from using the internet until they become older and more responsible, parents can let the children free to use the computer and surf, while staying in control .
To control how children use the computer and the internet, you can use the free Windows Family Safety online service, which can be configured properly without having to be expert and with the security guaranteed by Microsoft.
While the Family Safety program for Windows 7 can still be downloaded from the Windows Live Essentials suite (whose support ended in 2017), updated Family protection has become an internal feature of Windows 10 .
For example, if you have a child who uses your home PC and whose online and offline activities you want to control, you can, in Windows 10, create a controlled account in the family group.
From the Start menu, open the Settings, then go to Accounts > Family and other users and add the family members to check.
This process can also be done online on the Windows Family Accounts page
READ ALSO: create new computer users and manage them in Windows .
Once the Family group has been activated, on the account page you can choose which accounts to monitor and then choose the one used by the children.
Family Safety becomes active immediately with the default settings.
In particular, the filter can be configured on the web, so as to automatically prevent children (children) from accessing certain websites while using the computer.
There are five presets to choose from: from the more restrictive option (manually approved websites only) to the more free option without web filtering.
It is however possible to block specific websites by writing the addresses.
The functions of the Windows Family Filter are, briefly, these:
- Receive reports on the activities of the email-controlled account or check them from the Family site.
In the reports you will know the websites visited, the browsing history, the apps and games used and the time spent in front of the screen.
This is the most important function of Family Safety, to have a report on the websites visited and the use of the computer.
The fact that the administration and control interface is web-based allows you to keep an eye on the situation even from a distance, from your computer in the office or anywhere else in the world.
- Set a limit on the time you are on the PC, after which the child will be forced to switch off.
- Block sites to prevent viewing.
- Allow the child to ask for parent approval on purchases in the Microsoft Store.
When the child visits a new web page blocked by the protection filter, he can request to see it through a form.
The parent can accept or decline the child's request from the configuration panel.
It almost seems as if you are setting up a company computer where the employee asks the boss for specific permission by submitting an electronic form.
- Block inappropriate apps, games and videos .
- Check the position of the child, if using a Windows 10 phone or an Android smartphone with Microsoft Launcher.
In another article on how to block sites on the PC or limit browsing time, I mentioned another alternative program, K9 Web Protection, very powerful but perhaps less simple to use.
Described in another post is KidLogger, to have full control over a computer user.
Trying not to invade too much privacy and still leaving the freedom to make mistakes and experiment, I believe that a program like this Family Safety is definitely recommended.
If then you have a child prodigy of computer science (or even simply very awake), it will take you little to evade this surveillance but in this case, probably, he will already be very careful where to navigate.
Windows recommends disabling or protecting guest accounts as they can be used by anyone as a means of getting around control.
- the Internet is beautiful because it is free (or it would be fantastic if it were truly free);
- the internet is dangerous because there is no control.
I think that all my peers have grown up discovering the good and the bad of the internet by themselves also because the parents were absolutely unable to control an instrument that until a few years ago was a real novelty.
Today the discussion is very different, children surf the internet, chat, subscribe to social networks, publish photos and also buy online.
New sites are born every day, opportunities grow and, at the same time, the dangers, malicious sites and improper or violent web pages are always around the corner.
Rather than preventing their children from using the internet until they become older and more responsible, parents can let the children free to use the computer and surf, while staying in control .
To control how children use the computer and the internet, you can use the free Windows Family Safety online service, which can be configured properly without having to be expert and with the security guaranteed by Microsoft.
While the Family Safety program for Windows 7 can still be downloaded from the Windows Live Essentials suite (whose support ended in 2017), updated Family protection has become an internal feature of Windows 10 .
For example, if you have a child who uses your home PC and whose online and offline activities you want to control, you can, in Windows 10, create a controlled account in the family group.
From the Start menu, open the Settings, then go to Accounts > Family and other users and add the family members to check.
This process can also be done online on the Windows Family Accounts page
READ ALSO: create new computer users and manage them in Windows .
Once the Family group has been activated, on the account page you can choose which accounts to monitor and then choose the one used by the children.
Family Safety becomes active immediately with the default settings.
In particular, the filter can be configured on the web, so as to automatically prevent children (children) from accessing certain websites while using the computer.
There are five presets to choose from: from the more restrictive option (manually approved websites only) to the more free option without web filtering.
It is however possible to block specific websites by writing the addresses.
The functions of the Windows Family Filter are, briefly, these:
- Receive reports on the activities of the email-controlled account or check them from the Family site.
In the reports you will know the websites visited, the browsing history, the apps and games used and the time spent in front of the screen.
This is the most important function of Family Safety, to have a report on the websites visited and the use of the computer.
The fact that the administration and control interface is web-based allows you to keep an eye on the situation even from a distance, from your computer in the office or anywhere else in the world.
- Set a limit on the time you are on the PC, after which the child will be forced to switch off.
- Block sites to prevent viewing.
- Allow the child to ask for parent approval on purchases in the Microsoft Store.
When the child visits a new web page blocked by the protection filter, he can request to see it through a form.
The parent can accept or decline the child's request from the configuration panel.
It almost seems as if you are setting up a company computer where the employee asks the boss for specific permission by submitting an electronic form.
- Block inappropriate apps, games and videos .
- Check the position of the child, if using a Windows 10 phone or an Android smartphone with Microsoft Launcher.
In another article on how to block sites on the PC or limit browsing time, I mentioned another alternative program, K9 Web Protection, very powerful but perhaps less simple to use.
Described in another post is KidLogger, to have full control over a computer user.
Trying not to invade too much privacy and still leaving the freedom to make mistakes and experiment, I believe that a program like this Family Safety is definitely recommended.
If then you have a child prodigy of computer science (or even simply very awake), it will take you little to evade this surveillance but in this case, probably, he will already be very careful where to navigate.
Windows recommends disabling or protecting guest accounts as they can be used by anyone as a means of getting around control.
