Parental Control Software: Reviews

Reviews say Safe Eyes, CyberPatrol and Net Nanny all do a good job blocking questionable websites and monitoring kids' time online, but each program has different advantages. CyberPatrol's big advantage is versatility. It… gives parents more options than any competing product. Customization can apply to any or all users. All parental control software lets users restrict kids' access to Internet applications like chat, file-sharing or web browsing, but Windows-only CyberPatrol can also restrict access to programs on the computer's hard drive, such as games or finance software. The catch is that CyberPatrol can only be installed on one computer.

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A couple of reviews say Safe Eyes is the best program, and it's a good choice if your home has more than one computer, since Safe Eyes can be installed on up to three systems. Its other advantage over CyberPatrol is that… Safe Eyes' remote changes become effective immediately -- that's helpful if you're at work and your child needs access to a blocked site or needs extra time online. Safe Eyes is one of the few programs available in a Mac version.

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Net Nanny is the new name for ContentProtect, and the poorly rated previous version of Net Nanny no longer exists. Reviews say the new version excels in ease of use – its interface is very intuitive and smooth for… parents, yet it's hard for kids to circumvent. Net Nanny blocks peer-to-peer networks, allows remote management and provides effective filtering. Additional licenses for more than one computer must be purchased separately, so it's not as economical as Safe Eyes if your home has multiple computers.

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If you buy a new computer or plan to upgrade your operating system to Windows Vista, reviews say you should try Vista's included parental controls before buying standalone software. Vista offers most of the major features… of standalone software: time limit settings, adjustable levels of site and application blocking, IM blocking and usage logging. One criticism is that Vista doesn't allow parents to customize time limits as well as some programs; another is that it doesn't offer remote management. Apple's new operating system, Leopard, offers similar features to Vista and standalone software, except that it doesn't allow the same fine-tuned control over games as Vista does.

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