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I posted a little slice of praise for these parental controls on my personal blog. In the 1st couple hours, I got a comment and two emails asking for more info. Wow, I didn’t realize there was that much interest in the subject. Anyhow, I decided to share this on Mobilitysite although it’s kind of off topic.

I have blocked internet use for my kids for a long time, but now it’s getting to the point where I need to let my 14 year old daughter get online to do some things. I am not going to allow her the run of the net like many have at that age, but I am going to unlock the information superhighway a little…

Anyhow, if you haven’t messed around with the Parental Controls in Vista, DO SO NOW. They are really nice.

This is nothing new, but today was the 1st time that I took the time to setup these controls and I am really in awe at the power. I used to own a license to an after market program that was quite costly and not as nice.  Read on for screenshots of the setup controls…

This is the parental control screen. Here you can admin several settings about the account control.

Internet settings. Let me tell you, High blocks A LOT of things. I had to set it to medium.

You can block installed games, including aftermarket games. If you let some games be accessible, you are presented with more options too…

Select what games teh kids can play…

 
You can also block and/or allow certain executables too.

After you are all setup, you can set reminders to tell you to check in on the accounts. Here is what they look like.

Chris Leckness (3527 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.