YourWeb LIFE Security Center -- Guide

The parental controls built into Windows Vista are designed to help parents manage what their children can do on the computer. These controls help parents determine which games their children can play, which programs they can use, and which websites they can visit�and when. Parents can restrict computer use to specific times and trust that Windows Vista will enforce those restrictions, even when they're away from home.

The Parental Controls panel, part of the User Accounts and Family Safety Control Panel applet, centralizes all of the key settings of the Windows Vista Parental Controls.

From this one location, you can configure the parental controls for your computer and applications, setting appropriate limits on your children's game playing, web browsing, and overall computer use. The Parental Controls panel provides a centralized location where you can turn parental controls on and off; block or allow specific programs, games, and websites; and set controls for every aspect of your child's computer use. Third-party family safety software and services providers may also choose to have their products and services accessible from the Parental Controls panel in Windows Vista. Parental Controls does not work on domain-joined machines, such as in a business environment.

Activity reports

From the Parental Controls panel, you can review easy-to-read activity reports that show how your children have been using the computer. Monitoring your children's computer behavior not only makes it easy for you to keep track of what they are seeing, hearing, and doing, but it also enables you to refine and modify parental controls based on actual feedback. For your children, the Parental Controls icon in the system tray is always visible to let them know that the Parental Controls feature is on.

The default setting is to allow your children to use the computer during all hours of the day and night, seven days a week. To restrict their computer use, you simply click the specific times and days that you want to block. As a child nears the end of an approved time period, they receive a 15-minute and a 1-minute notification that their time is about to expire. If their time ends before they log off the computer, Windows Vista suspends their session and displays the logon screen so another user can use the computer. The child's session stays active in the background, however, so the next time they log on, they can pick up where they left off without losing any of their work.