Parental controls are a great way to keep your computer safe and protect your children from inappropriate content. Windows 7 includes parental controls that can be used to restrict access to websites, videos, and other content. To use parental controls in Windows 7:

  1. Open the Start menu and click Control Panel.
  2. Under Parental Controls, click Internet Options.
  3. In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Security tab.
  4. Under the General category, click Websites. Select the websites you want to allow your children to visit from the list on the left side of the dialog box, or type their addresses into the Address text box and then press Enter . To block all websites, select Allow All Sites . To allow specific websites only when your child is using a specific app or program, select Allow When Using This App or Program . To allow all websites except for specific ones, select Block All Sites . 5. Click OK . 6. In the Security tab of Internet Explorer , under Active Scripting , click Enable . 7. In the Address bar of Internet Explorer , type http://www2:port/restricted_site_name (where port is 80 if you are using a web browser on your computer, or 443 if you are using a secure web browser such as Microsoft Edge ), and then press Enter . 8. In Internet Explorer , under Active Scripting , click Disable . 9. Close all open windows on your computer and restart it for the changes to take effect.. ..

Parental Controls

To access Parental Controls open the Start Menu and type parental controls into the Search box and hit Enter.

Alternatively you can open Control Panel and click on Parental Controls.

When you open Parental Controls, click on the child’s account you want to set up.

Make sure to password protect your Administrator account…otherwise anyone can turn off Parental Controls and use the computer with no restrictions.

If you see a password hasn’t been set when you go into Parental Controls, click on the message and you’ll be prompted and Ensure Administrator Passwords.

Under Parental Controls mark the radio button next to On, enforce current settings. Then you can go through and control their computer time, games, and programs.

Set Time Limits

Click on Time limits to control when your child has access to the computer. If you want to only allow a few hours each day, it’s easiest to left-click and drag the mouse across all of the time slots to block them. Then allow the time blocks when you want to make the computer available.

Control Games

Click on Games to control the type of access your child has to games on the computer. You can completely block all games or select games by ratings and game names. These game ratings are based on the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

You can also select different game rating systems if it’s more appropriate for your location or if you like a certain system better than another.

You can also block games based on the type of content it contains…and it gives you a lot of choices.

Control Programs

If you want to restrict certain programs on the machine, click on Allow and block specified programs then scroll through the list of installed programs and block them.

Additional Controls

Windows 7 doesn’t have a Web Filter included like Vista did. If you want additional controls like Web Filtering and activity reports, you’ll need to install Windows Live Family Safety which is part of the Window Live Essentials suite. With it you can block access to certain sites and also get access to an activity report that shows you what sites your children have been visiting.

Everything can be controlled online which makes it nice if you want to access a report or change settings while at work.

The Parental Controls feature is easy to use and helps you administer how your children use the computer. Of course nothing is perfect or foolproof and the Parental Controls won’t replace good old fashioned “real parenting” but it makes it easier.

Download Windows Live Family Safety