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Inside Vista Parental Controls
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Windows Vista is the first version of Windows to take a serious attempt at providing
parental controls
and
Internet filters.
With these new tools parents are wondering if they still need to invest in 3rd part
parental control software
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Although the Vista
parental controls
do provide decent basic control they are just that, basic. Consider, for example, the scheduling
tools designed to limit the amount of time children can use their computer. First, the scheduling
tools only allow certain times of the day to be blocked off, compared to some
parental controls
that let you also limit there computer use to a maximum amount of time per day. Also, the
Vista time limits can only be used to limit access to the entire computer. Good 3rd party
parental controls
will also let you time limit access to specific programs, meaning you can restrict the amount
of time your children can play games without affecting their ability to use their computer for homework.
The closest the Vista
parental controls
come is allowing you to completely block specific programs
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The Vista
Internet filters
are also quite basic. They provide a couple of predetermined security levels that allow you to select
the level of
Internet filtering,
as well as the ability to add your own list of sites to block. This much is pretty standard of
even the most basic
Internet filters,
but none of the advanced tools are available with the Vista
parental controls.
For example, some high quality
Internet filters
also let you schedule access to specific websites.
With tools like this you can limit the amount of time your kids spend on any website,
such as myspace or facebook, without affecting any other aspect of their Internet browsing. This is
simply the best way to reduce distractions while allowing Internet access that may be necessary for homework
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Finally, the Vista
parental controls
have a major security hole. They are designed such that any user with an Administrator account
can modify the settings. Up front this doesn’t appear to be much of a problem since you should have all
users run Windows under a restricted account, but many parents have found that this isn’t always
possible because there are many programs that will not function properly unless the user has Administrator
rights, including several popular games
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While the Windows Vista
parental controls
are a step in the right direction they fall short of the mark. Any parent that is serious about
protecting their children online is advised to purchase quality 3rd party
parental control software,
which can generally be found for under $60. It’s very cheap insurance when you consider the alternatives
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