Parental Control Software

Best parental control software

Your choices about what type of content is objectionable are based on your moral, social, political and religious beliefs. Furthermore, you may find some types of content inappropriate for your youngest child, but suitable for your oldest children. For those reasons, flexibility is the most important buying consideration for most parents. According to reviews, SurfControl's CyberPatrol 7.6 (*est. $40 per year) offers parents the most options.

In an older review, WebUser gives CyberPatrol a five-star rating, citing outstanding features and performance. Reviewer Mark Wilson says the program provides "a wealth of filtering options." Though it doesn't earn the top spot in UK-based Computer Shopper's latest ratings, Karl Wright says it is easy to set up and "blocked everything we'd expect it to." Wright's only complaint is that chat filtering is "less impressive." PC Magazine's praise is restrained, but still positive overall. CyberPatrol rates fourth in Choice magazine's testing, but the editors readily admit that any of the top six programs are equally effective in filtering web content and that little separates the best programs.

CyberPatrol can be customized for each child by using existing Windows user accounts, or additional user profiles can be created (an unlimited number of profiles is available). Parents can customize options for limiting time on the computer or in any particular application. The program can also block access to other programs, even ones that don't access the Internet, such as your financial software. In addition, CyberPatrol can filter, monitor and record instant messaging and chat programs.

CyberPatrol includes 13 categories of questionable content. You choose which categories to block. Flexible parental control extends to individual web pages. Parents can block entire websites or just objectionable content within web pages; you choose which words to block. The program includes blacklist and whitelist filters that allow you to block or allow specific pages. You can even override a filter for a one-time exception. (A blacklist filter blocks certain, specified pages, while a whitelist filter allows only pre-approved pages to pass.)

If you don't want to spend the time to micro-manage, you can adjust the strength of the filters and let the program decide. Other advantages of CyberPatrol include preventing children from sharing personal data, the ability to run in stealth mode and free technical support. CyberPatrol's newest version also offers remote management, which lets users administer an unlimited number of computers from a single machine.

The major drawback to CyberPatrol is cost of use, since the program requires annual subscriptions (you can save money with a two-year subscription), and each subscription applies to only one computer. In comparison, Safe Eyes 5.0 (*est. $50 per year) also requires annual subscriptions, but it can be installed on up to three computers with no additional charge. If you wish to protect users on several computers, Safe Eyes is a better value.

PC Magazine chooses Safe Eyes 5.0 (*est. $50 per year) as an Editor's Choice (and the previous edition, Safe Eyes 2006, won an Editor's Choice award last year). The latest version offers the ability to create up to ten user profiles, up from four in the previous version. It also offers an enhancement to the user interface, with a helpful Account Summary page that gives an overview of current settings and allows customization. User accounts are not tied to Windows user accounts, but they can be connected with it for automatic login if that's desired. This allows for more flexibility in account management than programs like Webroot Child Safe, which only offer the option of using Windows user accounts.

PC Magazine reviewer Neil Rubenking likes Safe Eyes' reporting features. Safe Eyes is one of several programs that can be controlled from a remote location via the Internet. Changes become effective immediately. If your child engages in online behavior that you or the program has pre-determined is unacceptable, the program's publisher, InternetSafety, will contact you by e-mail, text message or telephone. Like CyberPatrol, Safe Eyes offers the ability to blacklist (always block) or whitelist (only allow) websites.

Safe Eyes doesn't have as many features as CyberPatrol, and the level of control is considerably less versatile and flexible. Safe Eyes is not capable of real-time analysis. However, it can block 35 categories of content. On social networking sites, Safe Eyes can record activities and produce reports so that parents can monitor usage. It will record if any identifying information is posted on these sites by a child.

Safe Eyes allows parents to establish a profile for each user, and kids must log in before they are allowed access. You can set time limits; the program logs web usage and chats. Safe Eyes also allows you to restrict or log chat usage, file sharing and access to any other Internet applications. Unlike CyberPatrol, however, Safe Eyes only works with Internet applications -- it can't block applications on your hard drive (but it can block peer-to-peer programs).

Safe Eyes is Macintosh-compatible, and although we found an unfavorable Mac-centric review of Safe Eyes 2006, Safe Eyes 5.0 for Mac seems to have remedied many of the problems with previous versions. However, the Mac version still can only block, not log, instant messaging. And Macintosh users will definitely want to consider Leopard's integrated parental controls before purchasing an external software program for this purpose.

In the past, Net Nanny generally fared rather poorly in reviews. That's all changed following its acquisition by ContentWatch, which married the product to its highly rated ContentProtect filtering software. Though the current version bears the Net Nanny brand, reports say the functionality and performance are more reminiscent of ContentProtect. Top reviewers add that the new Net Nanny 5.6 (*est. $50 per year) is even better than ContentProtect -- and light years ahead of the old Net Nanny (versions 5.1 and earlier).

Net Nanny 5.6 offers remote administration and the ability to block a wide variety of applications including chat, newsgroups, instant messaging, file sharing and e-mail. It also uses dynamic content analysis to analyze every page, so if a site is brand new or has changed, it will be blocked if inappropriate.

However, Net Nanny 5.6's particular strength is its intuitive interface, designed with non-tech-savvy parents in mind. Choice magazine and TopTenReviews.com are among those that top-rate Net Nanny, and PC Magazine recently honored it with an Editors' Choice award. Critics say that ease of use, dynamic contextual analysis of URLs (allowing real-time blocking) and remote management rank as its strongest features. PC Magazine's Neil. J. Rubenking lauds its excellent Flash-based reports and notes that key features are "hardened" so they are not easy for kids or even teenagers to circumvent.

Like CyberPatrol, Net Nanny comes with a license for one computer, and additional licenses must be purchased separately (*est. $20 per additional computer). However, TopTenReviews.com notes that settings are transferred between computers, making multiple installations easier. And Net Nanny offers toll-free tech support.

We found several reviews of the new parental controls in Microsoft's Vista, including a review at CNet.com that compares Vista and Leopard, the new Apple OS, in that regard. Vista offers all the major features of standalone software: time limit settings, adjustable levels of site and application blocking, IM blocking and usage logging. It also offers the ability to restrict or allow games based on the ratings from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

One criticism is that Vista doesn't allow parents to customize time limits as well as some programs (you can't set a daily or weekly maximum, says PC Magazine's Neil J. Rubenking), and another is that it doesn't offer remote management. According to a review by a blogger called "Island Dog" on the WinCustomize.com website, Vista's controls are easy to set up and use, and very effective and difficult to circumvent.

Microsoft charges no fees to use Vista's parental controls. Updates are automatic. The lack of annual fees is a competitive advantage. Vista isn't suitable for every computer, however. Experts say Vista's system requirements are steeper than the minimums stated by Microsoft (as shown in our comparison chart). Experts recommend 1 GB of RAM. Microsoft has a page dedicated to describing the features of the parental controls in Vista; you can find the link in Best Research below.

Apple's new operating system, Leopard, offers comparable features to Vista and standalone software, except that it doesn't allow the same fine-tuned control over games as Vista does. However, CNet.com's review found that Leopard's user interface was much more intuitive and easy to use, and it had better control of time limits, using a drop-down menu instead of a calendar grid. It also allows parents to make the computer easy for a young child to use, removing unneeded icons and simplifying the interface. And it offers the ability to remotely manage a child's computer from the parent's computer.

Parental control filters sometimes come with your ISP

You may already be able to access some parental controls through your Internet service provider. Elsa Wensel and Robert Vamosi of CNet.com recommend, "When choosing an Internet service provider, consider whether it provides built-in parental controls or Web filtering tools." AOL, for example, prompts parents to create individual screen names for each child. That screen name then becomes the child's personal e-mail address as well. Parents can select from four control levels for each child based on age or maturity level. These controls range from blocking most Internet content to blocking only sites designated for those 18 and over.

AOL has a Safety and Security Center that offers parental controls in addition to virus protection and identity protection. AOL's controls aren't as sophisticated as standalone software, although parents can create custom controls such as an online time limit and a regular report of Internet activity. AOL can block but not filter instant messenger content. The latest AOL browser works as a skin for Microsoft's Internet Explorer, so the hole that previously could allow children to open IE and bypass AOL parental control no longer exists. That does leave the question of whether a child can download a separate browser such as Opera or Firefox and access unfiltered content, but GetNetWise.org explains in their review of AOL 9.0 Optimized, "It is not technically possible to leave the service's approved-content area."

MSN also has a number of parental controls available for subscribers. MSN will block HTML images rather than the whole message as with AOL parental controls. MSN has added a unique feature that allows parents to grant override permission via a checkbox or replying to e-mail. This means a child could e-mail you at work and ask permission to visit a specific blocked site. Weekly activity reports are available through MSN, a feature that AOL currently does not implement. MSN doesn't filter e-mail, allow for scheduling or filter chat. You can, however, create a separate setting for each user.

EarthLink offers a child-safe browser that includes 15,000 approved sites. Parents can use an approved-senders list so that kids only get e-mail from people you know. Parents have the option of reviewing e-mail from contacts not on the approved list. They can then delete the e-mail or unlock it so it can be sent to the child. The same control is available for instant messaging contacts, and parents can set online time limits.

McAfee Security Suite is available free to Comcast subscribers. Parental controls in the package include time limits, website blocking and image analysis (which "allows parents to block images not suitable for young eyes, even on particular web sites which may not be blocked"). However, it's not clear from Comcast's website whether this is the latest version of McAfee Security Suite, and the earlier version (McAfee Internet Security Suite 2007) earned especially poor reviews from critics and users. See our report on Internet security suites for more information.

Free filtering programs

The most comprehensive reviews of freeware for parental control come from Choice magazine, which pits them against commercially available programs in its comprehensive, multi-category analysis. They conclude that the parental control freeware they tested performs as well as or better than commercial offerings. Parental Control Bar is freeware and ranked third overall and is "as good as commercial program CyberPatrol." Drawbacks to freeware are usually a relative lack of features, say Choice's editors, and lack of technical support.

Among freeware parental control software options, K9 Web Protection 3.0.23 by Blue Coat places sixth in Choice's review and is rated a seven out of ten by MoralMetric. MoralMetric says K9's big drawback is lack of IM and peer-to-peer controls, rendering it a good fit for younger children but not teens.

We only found one professional review of Crawler Parental Controls, but UK's Computer Shopper thinks enough of the program to rate it number one and grant it a Best Buy designation. Reviewer Karl Wright says, "It has all the features you'd expect in a paid-for program, and it's also easy to use." His only complaint is that the program can be overzealous. The program gets mixed user reviews at CNet's Download.com; some love the program, others not so much, and there seems to be no middle ground.

Important Features: Parental control software

Experts say to look for the following when choosing Internet-filtering software:

• Look for user-selectable access levels and customizable website lists. This will let you tweak lists of blocked sites, as well as adjust the level of restriction as kids mature. Also, look for packages that allow for multiple users at differing levels of filtering. Younger children need more protection; older children need less interference. Most Internet filters allow installation on only one computer, or require you to purchase additional licenses for additional computers. Others, such as Safe Eyes, do allow owners to install the product on up to three systems. Net Nanny discounts its additional licenses to half the cost of the original program.

• Look for filtering of instant messaging and social networking sites. Some of the most insidious online threats are rooted in instant messaging and social networking sites. Predators aim to identify and contact kids, prompting them to divulge phone numbers and addresses. The best Internet filters can block instant messaging entirely or filter chat conversations, alerting parents if suspicious keywords are logged. Most can also record chat conversations for review. Some prevent divulging phone numbers, credit card numbers and addresses. Social networking sites are a concern because of the potential for identifying details to be discovered as well as often-inappropriate content.

• Look for a package that's easy to maintain and update. As your child matures and can handle increasingly sophisticated content on the web, you'll want to keep abreast of product updates. All programs rely on an online database of offensive websites, but the better ones can also intelligently filter content that isn't in its database.

You'll find, as reviewers did, that no parental controls are perfect. While reviews say most do a very good job blocking pornographic websites, they can be less successful at blocking sites involving violence, illegal drugs or hate. Over-blocking, or the blocking of innocuous websites, occurs with every available Internet filter. Under-blocking (when a program misses a website that should have been filtered) is also still a problem, although overall, experts say this has been significantly reduced.

 Choice magazine advises parents that over time, programs "learn" what content you want them to block and become more effective, so bear that in mind when you first install software. A tech-savvy teen is unlikely to be able to thwart most current parental control programs, says PC Magazine editor Neil Rubenking. He advises parents to be sure that the software is independent of the web browser; otherwise teens can simply download a new browser and use that instead. Another feature to check is that the software doesn't allow kids to kill a process in Task Manager.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of Picks	Model (with Retailer Links)
4	Net Nanny 5.6 (*est. $50 per year)
3	CyberPatrol 7.6 (*est. $40 per year)
2	Safe Eyes 5.0 (*est. $50 per year)
1 Each	Integard, Parental Control Bar, Crawler Parental Controls, Bsafe Online 5.0, CYBERsitter, K9 Web Protection 3.0.23

CyberPatrol, Net Nanny and Safe Eyes top the most reviews. Many sources rank CyberPatrol as one of the three or four best programs, if not the best. Its chief drawback is if you need to protect more than one computer. Safe Eyes 5.0 is a little less versatile than CyberPatrol, but still a top choice in some reviewers' eyes. It has excellent reporting features, can be controlled remotely via the Internet and is one of the few products that's also available in a Mac-compatible version. Although more expensive than CyberPatrol 7.6, it can be installed on up to three computers. The latest version of Net Nanny 5.6 also scores well. It is a particularly good choice for parents looking for a product that's easy to use for them, but hard to defeat for their children. And though they don't appear on our consensus chart, don't overlook the parental control features on the Vista (PC) and Leopard (Mac) operating systems.

Sponsored links