Child-proofing Your Computer

Are you missing files? Did your settings change unexpectedly? Does your child spend too much time on the computer?  If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might have an experimental toddler, a computer savvy teen, or any age in between child that uses your computer also.

Password Protection

Put a password in place for each user.  Also, make sure that if you walk away from your computer it goes into a locked mode when the screen saver or sleep mode comes on.  If you are unfamiliar with how to set passwords, go into your computer’s control panel and click on “user accounts and family safety”, then click on “user accounts”, and finally, “create a password for your account”.

Use a Guest Account

You could allow your child to use a guest account in Windows.  By nature, this account has less permissions.  Guest account users won’t be able to install programs or change settings. By default the guest account is turned off in Windows, but is simple to turn on under account users in the control panel.

Built-in Parental Controls

Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 come equipped with built-in parental controls.  You can gain access to these controls under “user accounts and family safety”.  The parental controls allow you to monitor the time your child is on the computer.  You can block off specific days and times the child is allowed access.  In addition, you can filter games your child is able to play by the game’s rating and name. Lastly, the parental controls allow you to designate which programs your child is allowed access to. 

File Protection

You are able to lock or encrypt certain files you want to make sure your child does not read or change. To encrypt a single file, right click on the file, choose “properties”, then under the “general” tab click “advanced”, and then “encrypt contents to secure data”.  To build a container for encrypted files, many computer users turn to TrueCrypt, a free program, that allows you store files securely and doesn’t show up on your computer unless you need to use it.

Two Operating Systems

It is possible to install two operating systems.  You may want to use Windows 7 for your personal computing and put and old copy of Windows XP on as a secondary operating system for guests.  This assures you that guests cannot make any changes to your system, or if they do, you can reinstall the original settings without touching your other operating system.

Buy a Program

The software market has many options for parental control programs, from very basic to being able to watch every move your child makes on the computer. One free program is OnlineNorton.Family offering many parental controls including supervised chats and blockage of specific sites.  Due to the cloud storage of the controls, you are able to change settings and monitor remotely.  NetNanny 6.0 for about $39.95 provides many parental controls as well as recording chat sessions and emails.  It can also be accessed remotely.   A third software program out there is Safe Eyes 5.0 for about $49.95.  Providing tough security for children and monitoring of up to three computers, it provides more security features than many of the other software options.

It’s important to look at the ages of your children and security your needs before you decide on a security program or combination or security controls.

Written By:  Amy Murphy, TLC Computer Solutions, Las Vegas, NV