Parental Control Software Review

Introduction to Parental Control Software

Parental control software enables parents to limit what their children see and read online, manage time spent on the Internet or on the computer, select which other computer programs children can use and monitor and log all internet activity. Although the mere existence of parental control software continues to be controversial, reviews say programs have generally improved to the point that they overcome the objection that they cannot accurately filter websites and content. All parental control programs sometimes over-block or under-block, but performance is now good enough to give reviewers confidence in recommending programs. Reviews also say that any of the top six or so programs are now impossible for kids to circumvent.

Australia-based Choice magazine (a nonprofit organization devoted to comparative reviews) and PC Magazine have the best reviews of parental control software. Both magazines conduct thorough testing and both review current versions of many programs. UK-based Computer Shopper also has quite recent comparative reviews, though the write-ups are not as informative as either PC Magazine or Choice. Britain's WebUser also conducts testing, but is currently more useful as a source for Internet filtering rather than parental control software. MoralMetric.com, a website devoted to "morally friendly" Internet usage, does a thoughtful job of comparatively reviewing and rating filtering products, but does a poor job of distinguishing between current and outdated parental control software.

Though some are clearly better than others, the balanced approach taken by all of these reviewers is impressive. The best reviews point to parent-child communication as the most important tool. Conversely, we found comparative reviews and a wealth of good information on many sales-based websites that attempt to scare parents into buying any product that will yield a commission. Although those review sources are helpful supplementary resources, they are not as credible as the ones named above.

The consumer versions of Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system, were released last year, and Apple's new operating system, OS X 10.5 (also called Leopard) was released in October 2007. Both operating systems include integrated parental controls that may rival the best third-party standalone programs. While many websites and magazines devote a paragraph to parental controls as part of lengthy reviews of Vista and Leopard, no one has yet compared Vista or Leopard with commercial standalone programs. We did find a review that compared Vista and Leopard to each other, and found them to be comparable in features and effectiveness.

Based on those reviews and descriptions, the tools in both operating systems appear to have some major advantages over third-party products. Many programs, including some of the best, require annual subscriptions. Such programs, including Safe Eyes (*est. $50 per year) and Net Nanny (*est. $50 per year), will stop working if you fail to renew your subscription. Perhaps the presence of Vista and Leopard will force companies to reconsider this annual-fee business model. Vista and Leopard will automatically update and never require additional fees. If you are buying a new computer with Windows Vista or a new Macintosh with Leopard, or plan to upgrade soon, you might consider trying their parental controls before investing in other software.

In addition, a parental control module is often included as part of an Internet-security suite, such as Norton Internet Security (*Est. $55). If you already own one of these titles, you should try their included Internet filters before paying extra for standalone software. Reviews say the parental controls included with these suites lack the level of control of CyberPatrol or Safe Eyes, but they are a good start and might be adequate for younger children. Norton Internet Security allows one of four access levels for each user. Parents can set a default configuration for each child, then fine-tune along the way, blocking or allowing specific websites or applications. One missing feature is a scheduling option, so you are unable to monitor each user's Internet activity. For more information on these and other Internet security suites, see the separate ConsumerSearch report on Internet security software.