Parental Control Software: Reviews

Reviews say Net Nanny 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 or CyberPatrol if your home has multiple computers. Net Nanny is available in a Mac version, but reviewers caution that the Windows edition is more fully featured.

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CyberPatrol's big advantage, reviewers say, is its 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. Critics also say CyberPatrol works well for controlling access in settings outside the home, such as libraries and schools. While there's no Mac version, a web-based edition is also available. CyberPatrol can be installed on up to three computers, and additional licenses can be purchased.

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Critics praise Symantec's OnlineFamily.Norton parental controls service, finding it outperforms the parental controls on other Norton products, such as Norton Internet Security (*Est. $45). OnlineFamily.Norton has… impressed critics in particular for its tools for encouraging parent-child communication. While OnlineFamily.Norton isn't quite as feature-rich as top contender Net Nanny, reviewers prefer it to all other free controls -- and many paid ones too. Norton had planned to start charging for OnlineFamily.Norton in early 2010, but it remains free for the time being.

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Many reviewers say Safe Eyes is a top program. And it's a good choice if your home has more than one computer, because Safe Eyes can be installed on up to three systems, and additional licenses are relatively inexpensive.… Safe Eyes is available in a Mac version that's more robust than most other parental control programs (it also works on PCs), and it is especially recommended by critics for households with both Macs and PCs. Another advantage 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.

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