Parents are always looking for ways to keep their kids safe. Windows Vista has added a cool feature called Parental Controls which are very easy to use which help when it comes to computers and the Internet.
While it is great to have your children use and learn the latest technology, spending too much time with video games and surfing the Web can be unproductive. Ultimately it is the parent’s responsibility to monitor their children’s activities but today’s tip will show you how to utilize a great tool in Vista to help out. This feature of Vista actually allows you to control the time a user can access their account.
Open Control Panel and click on Set up parental controls for any user.
Next, choose your kids account … or whoever you want to limit time on.
Make sure Parental Controls are on then click on Time Limits under Windows Settings.
Now simply select the the schedule for time allowed on the Internet and when it will be blocked then click OK. That is all there is to it!
While you child is logged into their account there will be an icon in the lower right corner by the clock showing Parental Controls are enabled. Also, as the time gets closer for them to get off the computer, balloon notifications will appear in periodically telling them how much time is left. When the time runs out…the user is logged off automatically.
I’m OUT!
SuperDale,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great piece. I don’t think that some people really know how easy it is to run the pre-installed Vista parental controls, but you spelled it out very nicely.
Have you checked out Family Safety at all? It’s the new Microsoft parental control center that’s hosted by Windows Live. I think it’s pretty cool in that you can access settings nad change them on the go by accessing the Web interface.
Here’s a link, just in case you want to check it out: http://download.live.com/familysafety
Cheers,
Ron
Windows Outreach Team