Dadtrackworld: Parental control software for Jr's first laptop.

Microsoft Family (built in/free) is good for a lot of control and reporting - there’s a phone app too and it works across devices Xbox/pc/laptop etc basically anywhere signed in with that account.

For free simple web filtering then the free OpenDNS tools are pretty good at blocking a lot of obvious content you want blocking. If you create an account you can choose the categories but just configuring the DNS settings on the PC with OpenDNS servers will do a pretty good job.

All the above is free - just needs basic setting up. First thing is to create him a Microsoft account and link it to your own (obv you will need one too if you don’t have one already).

As ocean says.

Create your own user that has admin rights and create a user for them that does not.

That should then give you the control you need.

We also never allowed them to keep the laptop or phone in their bedroom over night at that age. That gets harder to enforce!

I'm using Google Family Link, though on an Android phone and a chromebook. It works well and I can control it all from my phone.
We have a parental control on the broadband router too.

Thanks, I've found the parental controls built into our router, so I've restricted the laptop so his connection dies at bedtime.

It's also got website blocking, but dolin grthem one byu one is tedious, trying to find a big word DOC list I can just paste in.

Have set myself up as the administrator and added him as a 2nd user.

Progress

Thanks all

Our approach was that any internet access was in a public room of the house.

Good luck.

Mine had been on Microsoft family since day 1. We get a weekly report and list of what she's been browsing and searching.

The only problematic bit has been YouTube, their kids version is crap as it blocks a load of good stuff for some reason (Glasgow Science Centre for one) and the rest is just the wild west especially where "kids" content goes. We tend to give her stuff to subscribe to and watch and turned off suggestions as it can quickly escalate to inappropriate content. Her aunt wasnt impressed with XKCD as one panel uses the F word but given my vocabulary that's a drop in the ocean. At 9 I'm sure she's heard much worse from some of the little goblins she goes to school with.

My mate who is q clever thought he d set his son, aged 10, age appropriate controls....how wrong he was, said 10 year old had hacked through them all. Dad had no idea how but son had got hold of all the passwords.

So however much u think u know about tech your kids are way ahead.

Mine had been on Microsoft family since day 1. We get a weekly report and list of what she’s been browsing and searching.

The only problematic bit has been YouTube, their kids version is crap as it blocks a load of good stuff for some reason (Glasgow Science Centre for one) and the rest is just the wild west especially where “kids” content goes.

Same here. MS Family for the kids laptops, and Apple Screentime for phones and iPads. Don’t need anything else.

Regarding YouTube, an adults account can add individual videos and channels to a kids account. So my youngest can only use YouTube Kids app, but we’ve added some channels that aren’t normally there after checking suitability.

It’s also got website blocking, but dolin grthem one byu one is tedious, trying to find a big word DOC list I can just paste in.

You have this backwards IMHO. Don't blacklist problem sites, block the lot and then whitelist the ones he's allowed to access.

Our approach was that any internet access was in a public room of the house.

This. The best parental control isn't software, it's wetware.

My mate who is q clever thought he d set his son, aged 10, age appropriate controls….how wrong he was, said 10 year old had hacked through them all. Dad had no idea how but son had got hold of all the passwords.

This is a problem inherent with any local (on the device) solution. Don't give them admin rights and restrict everything upstream. Router settings, OpenDNS Home as someone else said.

Back when I had apprentices, they wanted the Lab Wi-fi password. I told them, if they could hack it, they could keep it. They had the password within the day. I've never been more proud. 😁

You have this backwards IMHO. Don’t blacklist problem sites, block the lot and then whitelist the ones he’s allowed to access.

Then you run into a brick wall as soon as they do a search for homework or something.

I'll be honest, I can't remember what her restrictions are but never had an issue. As you say the wetware is far more critical.

Didnt know that about YouTube, must be a new feature as that never existed when we checked (and believe me, I tried everything including third party).

Dad had no idea how but son had got hold of all the passwords.

Passwords are always a weak point, probably the clever person set too easily guessed passwords. Difficult passwords are difficult and most people can't be bothered.

Last month, YouTube quietly added a feature to the YouTube Kids app that lets parents cherry-pick content from YouTube main. As announced in this video from the platform’s YouTube Viewers channel, the new feature gives parents the option to share both individual videos and entire channels from regular old YouTube to their kids’ cordoned-off YouTube Kids accounts.

https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/03/25/youtube-kids-add-content/amp/

Don’t be typing lists of websites into your router - it’s out of date before you’ve clicked save!

if you don’t want filtered internet for the whole house just edit the DNS settings on the laptop to use the following servers:

• 208.67.222.222
• 208.67.220.220

That will block adult, gambling, weapons etc and the lists are maintained by Cisco saving you a never ending job. 😎

I didn't bother putting any block on my kids stuff