Top Parental Control Software

Which parental control programs offer the best protection?

Net Nanny (Est. $40) , a cloud-based management system, has an intuitive interface, which is designed with non-tech-savvy parents in mind, with easy-to-read reports and charts of your child's online activity. Among its features are blocking porn; masking profanity; and filtering social networks, instant messaging and inappropriate websites on Macs and PCs.

Tech-savvy tweens and teens will have difficulty getting around the filter, which reviewers say is one of the best on the market because it blocks even secure HTTPS sites (websites that cannot easily be examined by parental control software). Net Nanny uses dynamic content analysis, which blocks websites when they run questionable content and permits access to sites when the text, images or videos are appropriate.

Net Nanny also has a remarkable notification system: Parents or guardians have the option to receive hourly, daily or weekly alerts via SMS or email for potentially troublesome websites, web searches, IM and social networking activities. Net Nanny monitors some social media networks, instant messaging and chat rooms. The product isn't cheap and piecemeal pricing can drive up costs: Net Nanny will cover your Android tablet for an additional $20 per year per device; there is also an iOS app (Est. $5) with limited functionality. Net Nanny Social (Est. $20 a year) focuses entirely on social media, covering all the major networks.

Reviewers say Net Nanny's Mac version is less robust than the Mac version of Safe Eyes (Est. $50) , a program that works especially well in PC/Mac households (see the next section for our review). Qustodio Premium (Est. $50) and AVG Family Safety (Est. $50) receive fewer reviews, but both are excellent products.

Qustodio Premium also has excellent filtering and blocking technology, including the ability to block HTTPS (secure) sites and questionable content in 29 categories. AVG Family Safety provides web filtering in nearly 60 categories and social networking monitoring, and it works with PCs, iPads, iPhones and iPods, but not Macs.