Children are curious by nature, and tend to rebel as they grow older. The internet can provide a wealth of information to students; but we all know its drawbacks. There’s a lot of stuff out there which is absolutely inappropriate for kids. So how can you ensure that they do not access content that they should not?
Parental Controls, of course. They give you control over what your children watch, and play online. You can talk to them about the dangers of unsupervised browsing, and even include them in the decision making process as to what they can do and what they cannot. This will help them understand why it is necessary that they be shielded from content that is unsuitable or dangerous.
Unlike the earlier version of Windows, Windows 7 has a sophisticated and robust set of controls that are comparable to popular parental control software like Net Nanny or Safe Eyes. The parental controls in Windows 7 are easy to customize and manage, and allow you to exercise greater control on how your kids use the internet. This software is also very well integrated with the operating system.
Here is how you can configure the parental controls in windows 7:
• Go to Start – Control Panel, click on ‘All Control Panel Items’ and select Parental Controls (under the options for accounts and safety)
• If you are asked for your password, enter it.
• In case you have not created separate user accounts for your kids, do it now.
• Select the user account or accounts for which the controls are being set.
• Select the ‘enforce current settings’ radio button. You can then go on to configure the settings.
• The first setting is for Time Limits. This allows you to enforce the timings at which your kids can access the computer. You can set different timings for different days of the week. The whole week is represented as a grid of hours, so it becomes very easy to set the time limits. If your child tries to login at a time which has been restricted, the computer will simply not allow the login. If the child is logged in and continues past the witching hour, then the machine will log off. You could allow them extra time on weekends and holidays. You can modify the settings at any time.
• Then you have the Games option. You can decide what kind of games your kids can play based on parameters like language, violence, nudity, and so on. There are a whole lot of options within these, like mild violence, violence with animated blood, and so on. You get the drift. Clicking on ‘set game ratings’ will allow you to specify the types of games your children can play.
• The last option is ‘Allow or Block specific Programs.’ This option lets you block or allow access for ALL the user accounts, including your own. If you want to prevent your children from accessing particular programs, you can select the programs you think are appropriate for your kids, and specify that only these may be accessed by them.
• Once you are done, you will come back to the User Control Window. Once you click on ‘OK’ here, the settings will be applied and your job is done.
Your children are now safe from accessing questionable web content from your home computer.
An internet enthusiast, Ryan Larkin writes about Social Media, Internet and the latest in Technology. He is writing for www.broadbandproviders.com – the leading provider of the best value broadband internet. broadband internet
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