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Recognizing parents’ worries about their children, Microsoft has enhanced the Parental Controls feature in Windows 7, making it more sophisticated, efficient, and user-friendly. This tool empowers parents to oversee and regulate the amount of time their children spend on the Windows 7 system and its applications. By utilizing this feature, parents can effectively shield their kids from potential harm such as abuse, violence, cyberbullying, cybercrimes, online threats, and encounters with sexual predators. The ensuing steps outline how to set up the Parental Controls in Windows 7, ensuring your children are safeguarded from misleading content.

  1. Click Start > Control Panel. The Control Panel window appears.
  2. Click the All Control Panel Items option.
  3. Click Parental Controls option. You may be asked to provide administrator password. In that case, specify the password to go ahead.
  4. Note: You can conveniently locate the Parental Controls feature by using the search bar in your Start menu and access it directly from there as well.

  5. Select a standard user account for which you want to set the parental control. The User Control window appears.
  6. Click the On, enforce current settings option under the Parental Controls section.
  7. Click the On, collect information about computer usage option under the Activity Reporting section if you want to know that which program at which time has been accessed and used by the standard user. If you configure this option then on the basis of the activity report you can further redefine the parental control settings, if required. The activity report provides you information about the following:
    • Date, time, and duration for which the system is used
    • Websites that are accessed during a specific time period
    • Files downloaded including their location on the computer
    • Recently used software applications and blocked software programs
    • Computers games played on the computer
    • Sent and received emails including their content
    • Duration for which the instant messaging programs are used, including the duration for which Webcam and audio setup are used
    • SMS sent to mobile phones using instant messaging programs
    • Files and links exchanged using instant messaging programs
    • Song and movies played on the computer
  8. Next, we proceed with the actual configuration process. In Windows 7, you have the option to adjust the following settings in order to make the most of the parental control feature:
  • Windows 7 Web Filter: Facilitates you to configure settings to allow or block Websites, allow or restrict downloading, etc. Using this feature you can block Websites that contain material related to mature content, violence, gambling, etc.
  • Time limits: This feature helps you set the duration during which the standard user can logon to the computer. As soon as the duration is completed, the standard user gets automatically logged off. Using this feature you can set different logon timing for all seven days of a week. Setting the time limits is easy by dragging the hours for blocking or allowing for your children.
  • Games: Using this feature you can specify the games that the standard user (child) can play. The criteria for blocking games are ratings, game names, type of content, etc.
  • Allow and block specific programs: Helps you to configure settings to allow or block software programs that the standard user can execute.

This method allows you to set up parental controls in Windows 7, ensuring your child is shielded from inappropriate websites, engaging in violent games, or spending excessive time on the computer without purpose.

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Read Also : Disable the System Tray in Windows 7

Summary

This blog is focused on highlighting the beneficial aspect of Windows 7’s Parental Controls. It encompasses a comprehensive guide detailing the advantages and available options, empowering users to manage their children’s system usage time effectively. Additionally, for users grappling with corrupt or inaccessible file system data, a savvy Windows recovery tool is suggested.