The Best Parental Control Tools For Windows

Tools & Scripts
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Internet and web technology offer amazing learning opportunities for kids these days, however, they also pose a great threat to their young minds. Parents are becoming increasingly concerned about their children’s time online and on mobile devices.

Parental control apps allow the concerned parents to keep track of what their kids are doing and how they’re spending their time online. Here are ten of the best parental control tools for Windows that can help every parent in tracking their child’s online activities.

1. Qustodio

Qustodio allows you to keep track of your child’s activity and monitor their computer usage on any device – from Windows or macOS to Chromebook and even Kindle.

With its easy-to-manage interface, it won’t take much time in setting up. You can get detailed reports of your child’s online activities right in your app dashboard. You can also set a time limit, track their location in real-time, and apply filters for inappropriate content.

Qustodio features:
  • Block any unsuitable apps or content.
  • Monitor online and offline activities like web browsing, messaging, and call logs, etc.
  • Set time limits.
  • Get comprehensive reports of device usage and alerts about unsuitable activity, etc.

2. KidLogger

KidLogger is a free parental control software that gives you insight into what your children are doing on their computers and phones. You may use this program as a web history monitoring tool to check your kid’s online usage and all the websites they visit.

It also includes some helpful functions like time tracking, keystroke recording, Skype chat recording, monitoring USB flash drives, CD/DVD media activity, and so on.

This software may even record input sound into an MP3 file if a voice activity is discovered, and it can measure noise in the microphone and adjust settings until the threshold is reached. This function allows you to record voice conversations in Skype, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, phone calls, and other VoIP clients.

KidLogger features:
  • Multiple users monitoring support.
  • Records all audio and video calls.
  • Monitoring USB flash drives and CD/DVD media activity.
  • Recording of surrounding sounds into audio files and even keystrokes.
  • Launches automatically as the PC starts up.
  • Take a photo of a user with the web camera.

3. Mobicip

Mobicip is a comprehensive parental control solution that lets you monitor your child’s online activity on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It contains an app blocker, a location tracker, and an internet filter that works together to keep youngsters of all ages from seeing inappropriate material.

For example, the location tracker on Mobicip allows parents to keep track of their children’s movements. With just one click, Mobicip provides your child’s most recent location allowing you to locate a misplaced gadget or confirming that your kids arrived at school on time.

Mobicip’s internet filter makes sure your children visit age-appropriate websites only, even when they are using their personal devices. Different profiles for different users ensure that every family member has the appropriate set of online restrictions.

Mobicip features:
  • Monitor all family devices.
  • Allow/block any social media site or app.
  • Schedule screen time limits.
  • Track family device location.
  • Lock family devices instantly with a single click.
  • Protect your child’s data and profile.
  • Block specific websites.
  • Review browsing history.

4. Kaspersky Safe Kids

Kaspersky Safe Kids is one of the most effective parental control tools on the market that enables you to keep an eye on your children even when you’re not home.

Get smart tools that allow you to protect your child’s activities, monitor their behavior, and teach them self-control. The software allows you to restrict access to inappropriate or dangerous content, and establish screen time restrictions for each kid (per device).

You may use the GPS tracking function to define a zone within which your children are expected to stay – and be alerted if they leave it.

You can also keep an eye on your young one’s YouTube searches and search history. This way you can filter queries for potentially harmful adult subjects such as alcohol, smoking, and gambling.

Kaspersky Safe Kids features:
  • GPS tracking.
  • Screen-time controls.
  • Website and app filters.
  • YouTube safe search.

5. Net Nanny

You can keep an eye on your family’s digital habits and protect them from harmful material with Net Nanny. It’s a tool that aids parents in monitoring, restricting, and controlling their family’s internet usage. It can filter adult content in real-time, meaning you can limit what your children see when they see it.

Net Nanny can send reports on your children’s activity so you always know what they are doing online, even when you’re not around. Besides, you set time limits for computer and internet usage, helping your children understand the value of online habits.

Net Nanny features:
  • Blocks adult-content and explicit websites.
  • Sends alerts of online activity.
  • Helps you manage screen time.
  • Offers social media protection.

6. McAfee Safe Family

McAfee Safe Family is a great tool for monitoring your children’s activity on the internet. It offers several standard parental control features and can be used by parents with an unlimited number of devices, but it’s Windows app lacks modern features like speed or macOS compatibility.

Signing up for McAfee Safe Family is easy. Just provide a name, email address, and password to join the program – if you’re adding a new device(s), download their app on Windows, iOS, or Android. Next, create an account before completing some quick setup questions about yourself.

McAfee Safe Family features:
  • Protection for your Wi-Fi network via firewall.
  • Anti-phishing protection.
  • VPN facility.
  • Optimization of performance.
  • Password manager.

7. Bark

The Bark platform is the only one of its kind to monitor text messages, YouTube videos, and emails as well. With an affordable price tag with award-winning features, you can rest easy knowing your kids are safe from potential dangers,

Bark has an automated monitor that notifies you when your kids engage in conversations or view inappropriate content. You can then easily address any potential issues without having to go through much trouble.

Bark, in collaboration with child psychologists, youth advisors, digital media specialists, and law enforcement personnel, offers a scientifically proven strategy for safeguarding families against cyberbullying, internet predators, and sextortion. It’s all part of Bark’s mission to be the world’s most trusted safety partner for people who care about their children online.

Bark features:
  • Social media monitoring and applying web filters.
  • Text and email monitoring.
  • Screen time scheduling.
  • Parental alerts.

8. mSpy

mSpy is a parental control tool that lets you monitor and record your kid’s usage of their device in real-time. It updates you on their activities every 5 minutes, providing you with the most recent information.

It offers over twenty different features, including monitoring their downloads or blocking specific websites they visit- allowing for safe exploration of new worlds.

The best part is that it takes about 5 minutes to set up mSpy. Also, while using this application you’ll be invisible; there’s no app icon for them to see, so they won’t know that they’re being monitored.

mSpy features:
  • Keep an eye on every keystroke and touch on your child’s device.
  • See where they’ve been, where they’re going and what they’ve searched for?
  • Review their texts (including deleted messages).
  • Read their social media chats.
  • See the pictures they share and receive on any app.
  • Do it all without being detected.

9. Spyrix Personal Monitor

Spyrix personal monitor is a parental control software that offers special features to help you monitor all kinds of activities of your kids online and offline.

Apart from restricting access to inappropriate content, it protects your PC from the malware that may cause your computer to act unpredictably. On the other side, Spyrix Personal Monitor is effective because it has a keylogger that tracks all your kids’ online activities like emails, chats, and many others.

Spyrix Personal Monitor features:
  • Remote monitoring via secure web account.
  • Get screenshots of all kinds of activity done on the target device.
  • Easy remote uninstallation.
  • Search engines monitoring.
  • Screen and webcam recording.

10. Windows Family Safety

The Windows Family Safety app helps you keep your children safe when they’re browsing online and keeps them connected to you even if you aren’t around.

Now available as a free download for PC, the tool allows you to safeguard your children no matter where they go. With features like screen time restrictions, the capacity to track your kids’ online activity, and a mechanism to restrict social media connections, Windows Family Safety makes it easy to balance a child’s safety in a connected world.

Windows Family Safety features:
  • Get screen time and online usage activity logs.
  • Receive weekly email activity summary reports.
  • Apply Microsoft Edge web filters for family-friendly browsing.
  • Disallow inappropriate apps and games.
  • GPS tracker to locate your family.
  • Track and save frequently visited locations.

Conclusion

Most parents today use technology in some form or another when raising children, however it can get a bit risky if their activities are left unattended.

This list is a great starting point for those looking to control their kids’ digital footprint. From blocking sites and securing apps, these ten parental control tools will help you find the right one that works best with your needs.

Enjoy!

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