Parental controls are essentially features that can be integrated into computer programs, computers, televisions and video games, cell phones and other software that enable parents to control the viewing of adult content by their children. Some of these programs are available for free while others require a fee. Some of these programs are provided by the manufacturer while others come as freeware. There is also a great deal of available software on the Internet that can be used to block content by using parental controls. Parental control software can be downloaded from the Internet and installed in the computer or a laptop to allow parents to control what their children view and do on the computer.
One of the most commonly used parental controls is the Windows XP Privacy Plus. This is one of the more advanced programs and provides the user with a variety of features such as screen time limits and even uses the Family Safe Technology to block inappropriate content. These three functions make it more useful and effective in blocking inappropriate content and monitoring your child’s activities on the computer. It is important to remember that the Family Safe Technology feature will prevent your kid from viewing inappropriate content and the screen time limits ensure that your kid does not go over his or her limits. There are other types of parental controls that are available for use in Windows and other programs such as Mac OS X and the iPhone. The iPhone is similar to the Windows system in that it blocks inappropriate content as well and has a Family Safe Technology that allows you to monitor activity on your phone.
You can also use parental controls in Mac OS X Tiger or Leopard and Windows XP Home Edition. Each operating system has different filtering options and allows you to set the most up-to-date version of Windows to block inappropriate content from websites and programs. There are filtering options available in the iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry, tablet PC and other portable devices. There are filtering options in the Windows desktop PC versions and the Mac versions of the same operating systems.
In order to use the Family Safe Technology on your Windows PC, you need to be running Windows Vista or Windows XP Home Edition. You can also use a Mac computer to access the Family Safe Technology program and you need to have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with iOS 4 or higher rating. You will still be able to access the Family Safe Technology application using a Mac computer as long as the device has at least iOS 4.x. If you want to be able to block inappropriate content from appearing on your child’s phone through the Family Safe Technology program, you should connect the device to a computer via USB and then allow the device to download the updates through the free Windows Family Safety app.
You can also use a variety of filtering options in the Family Safe Technology application on the social media devices. You can choose to manage all of the contacts in one place or you can use separate contacts for each platform. When you create a Family Safe account, you can add and remove multiple profiles from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace among others. These features are available on the iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices as well.
The Family Safe Technology software is not available in the Google Play Store for android devices. You can use this service through the App Store instead. There are some notable exceptions to this rule such as the HTC Desire HD and the LG Desire HD. However, the Android devices are not covered in the review due to the limited testing resources. For more information on the Family Safe Technology app, check out the link at the end of this article.