Thread: Parental control

Parental control is definitely not a central suite feature, so the various protection products differ wildly in what they offer. If you need this capability, the first thing to look for is per-user settings, so you can configure the PC differently for your toddler, your teen, and yourself.

Typically the suite will offer to block Web sites matching specific categories such as chat, drugs, porn, violence, and more. Some of these products refer to
their own databases of categories when determining whether to block sites. A few utilities analyze page content, and a very few-such as McAfee Total Pro¬tection-attempt to cover up naughty pictures.

Another common feature, time control, lets you set limits on when the kids can use the computer or the Internet. The best option here is a complete weekly schedule of times when the Internet (or computer) is and isn't avail¬able, along with a total daily time limit. CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2008 is one of the few that offer both the weekly grid schedule and a daily time limit. Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 has a daily limit and time schedule but doesn't include a handy grid like the one you'll find in CNs product. Other suites have pieces but not the whole package: Bit¬Defender Total Security 2008 offers the weekly grid but not the additional daily maximum.



Some parental-control systems log every attempt to visit a banned Web site. Some log every site your kids visit, good or bad. Occasionally I've found suites that log every URL for every user account, monitored or not-that's not so great for privacy. Deeper monitor ing, like recording 1M conversations, is rarely available; that's more in the realm of standalone parental-control apps such as Bsafe Online.
Many teens who find a favorite site blocked or the Internet verboten after 9 p.m, will try to break through the parental-control protection. The suite should resist tampering, and the parental control must be browser-independent so launch¬ing a little-known browser can't fool it.