Adding parental controls to your home computer

Q. I am not very computer savvy but do want to add some internet controls to our home computers (1 mac & 1 PC). Can you suggest some straightforward, not-too-techy ways to do this?

A. Here are some ideas for where to begin:

• As a starting point explore the parental controls that come with your operating system for example via Microsoft within Windows Vista or Windows 7.
  On a Mac, use the Mac’s built-in parental controls (details can be found here: www.apple.com/macosx/security).

• The most common way to add parental controls is via a piece of software that you as the parent install on the computer and then set up to your own requirements. The most well-known of this type of software is probably “Net Nanny” (www.netnanny.co.uk) which consistently gets good reviews. A copy will need to be purchased for each computer and is available for both Mac and PC.

• A site that may also be of use is getparentalcontrols.org. This site offers some good advice as well as a very comprehensive review (in downloadable pdf format) of many different brands of computer-based parental control software, as well as things like child-safe search engines and games console parental controls. It’s American so not all of the advice may be applicable to the UK, but it’s worth looking at and it’s up to date.

• Read our Heads’ Tips on internet safety for more useful links & advice.

Please note, the procedures and software detailed here do not guarantee full protection or security of personal information and are offered on the basis of advice only.

With thanks to the St Catherine’s School, Bramley IT Department