AVG Family Safety

Bottom Line

AVG Family Safety's web-based browser and features-packed online management system make it a great option for protecting your kids while they browse and play on PCs and Android or Apple devices. AVG Family Safety provides social networking monitoring and web filtering in nearly 60 categories -- more than any other parental control program. (AVG acquired well-regarded Bsecure in 2011 and re-branded that parental control software as AVG Family Safety.)

Setup and Installation

Even mobile users need to have a PC in order to install. AVG Family Safety's web-based management service (Est. $50) protects your kids online by filtering out offensive content. It only works on PCs, though there are free apps for Android, iOS and Windows phone users. Setting up and installing AVG Family Safety's app is a somewhat complicated process for iOS users (it's only available with version 4.3 or higher). AVG recommends disabling your default browser first since the app acts as a safe mobile browser; full instructions are on the app's iTunes page. The free AVG iOS app operates independently from the main software.

If you choose, you can purchase AVG Family Safety's main cloud-based management service on a PC and use the app along with the main software on a Windows computer. Why pair an Apple app with Windows-centered AVG Family Safety software? While AVG Family Safety for iPad and iPhone blocks pornography and malware, AVG Family Safety is more robust and lets you manage multiple devices, including setting up and applying user profiles to numerous devices. AVG Family Safety is offered in five languages: English (default), Spanish, Czech, Italian and French.

Features

Filtering for dozens of categories and cyberbullying protection. AVG Family Safety has a host of features that work in addition to Apple's built-in mobile security. It includes anti-pornography and anti-malware protection (such as phishing, scams and fraud) along with AVG's privacy-focused Do Not Track function that allows you to reject or approve attempts to collect your online activities. By using AVG Family Safety's cloud-based management software with your iOS or Android device (on top of those apps), you can set up user profiles and manage options including filtering websites from 58 categories, such as violence. These options can be customized for each user based on their age or by manually checking categories.

The software also gives you the power to block individual websites (including social networking sites) and monitor activity on each Apple device. Games can only be blocked on PCs, and videos, games and music are filtered by ratings. Parental notifications are sent via email or text (with immediate messages for critical alerts), and social networking sites and instant messages can be monitored for inappropriate posts and cyberbullying. AVG Family Safety's app for iPad and iPhone also works with iPods.

Performance

Customized filtering praised. AVG Family Safety shares PCMag.com's coveted Editors' Choice award with the best reviewed parental control software Net Nanny (Est. $40) . The popular software BSecure Online also won the award but has been bought by AVG and folded into Family Safety. Most of the professional reviews are for older versions of the software.

While a few changes have been made since they were written, the bulk of the comments are applicable to the current version. PCMag.com applauds AVG's wide range of features and functionality, including customized filtering and IM and Facebook monitoring. PCWorld notes that the program will monitor social media sites for inappropriate posts, but the reviewer is disappointed that it doesn't actually block the content.