Set up Parental Controls in Windows Vista

Kids are frighteningly computer savvy these days and still possess that insatiable curiosity. This makes them adept at savaging your PC with a few clicks and an innocent smile. But you can protect valued data using the new, improved user accounts in Windows Vista.

Article continues

1. Accounts for Everyone

To give a member of your family their own account, set up a new user account in Control Panel ➝ User Accounts. Click Manage Accounts then Create New Account and name it.

2. Standard Status

When prompted, give the account Standard User status rather than Administrator status. This means that person won’t be able to make important changes to the system, which safeguards your system.

3. Parental Controls

When the account has been created, go to Control Panel ➝ Parental Controls and choose the user from the list. Turn on the controls by checking the first box. Windows Vista also allows you to monitor their usage as well.

4. Web Protection

Click Web Restrictions to choose the level of control you wish to wield. High restrictions will block all sites, except ones approved for children, and medium will just block sensitive content. You can also choose to block downloads.

5. Time Limits

In the Time Limits option you can set times that your users can log on to the computer. Each square represents an hour – simply click to change the status. White boxes are the allowed times and blue boxes the blocked times.

6. Specific Games

In the Games menu, you can choose whether the user is allowed to play games on the system. Windows Vista also enables you to choose which games can be played; you can set this by clicking Block or Allow specific games.