| Parental control software is a kind of software package for home computers which controls computer use, filters the Internet content, thereby allowing parents to secure a safe online experience for their family.When picking out a parental control software package for your family, pay attention to the features described below. First and foremost, the tool should be user-friendly and easy to install and set up. Secondly, the package should be shielded with a password and not easily turned off by Internet savvy kids and teens. It should filter or block anything that a parent finds improper for a child. Some software packages include profanity masking - even in e-mails and instant messages - a proxy guard to keep your child from visiting a proxy website to avert the parental control programs, and social networking controls to block or control your kid's conduct on the most popular websites, including Facebook and MySpace. There are also parental controls that provide chat monitoring. This feature is great for filtering improper words and reporting live chat conversations so that you know who your child is talking with and what they are talking about when you are not monitoring.Other features which parents may regard as useful include time limiting that allows you to set a schedule for your child's Web usage to certain times of the day and reporting features which will give you a detailed rundown of all of the Internet activity on your computer. Some of the software tools also have pre-set profiles based on age groups purpose-built to create a user-friendly set-up for parents who are not as computer-literate as they would like to be when it comes to shielding their kids from some of the dangers associated with using the Web. Some software packages allow parents to use the package on a network containing up to 3 home computers. This is a great feature to seek, if you have several computers at home or if your child has their own portable PC.Even though the software packages are similar and are designed to allow parents to control computer usage and filter the Web content, they have some differences in features that may make one or another more appropriate for your family or situation. For example, some software programs really work well with social networking sites while some do not, so if your kid has a personal profile on any of these websites, you will want to opt for a parental control that has those features. Each program has something different to offer, so take the time to read each review carefully to decide which software program is the most suitable for your family. |
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