If you have children who share your computer, or if
you’re setting up a computer for the kids’ use, it’s wise to take
precautions regarding the content and programs that they can access.
Locally, this might take the form of blocking access to certain
programs (such as your financial software), using ratings to control
which games they can play, and setting time limits on when the computer
is used. If the computer has Internet access, you might also want to
allow (or block) specific sites, block certain types of content, and
prevent file downloads.
All
this sounds daunting, but Windows Vista’s new Parental Controls make
things a bit easier by offering an easy-to-use interface that lets you
set all of the aforementioned options and lots more. (You get Parental
Controls in the Home Basic, Home Premium, and Ultimate editions of
Windows Vista.)
Before
you begin, be sure to create a standard user account for each child
that uses the computer. When that’s done, you get to Parental Controls
by select Start, Control Panel, Set Up Parental Controls. Enter your
credentials to get to the Parental Controls window, and then click the
user you want to work with to get to the User Controls window.
Activating Parental Controls and Activity Reporting
You should activate two options here (see Figure 1):
Parental Controls—
Click On, Enforce Current Settings. This enables the Windows Vista Web
Filter, and the Time Limits, Games, and Allow and Block Specific
Programs links in the Settings area.
Activity Reporting—
Click On, Collect Information About Computer Usage. This tells Vista to
track system events such as blocked logon attempts and attempted
changes to user accounts, system date and time, and system settings.
The User Controls window gives you four links to use when setting up the controls for this user:
Windows Vista Web Filter—
Click this link to display the Web Restrictions page. Here you can
allow or block specific websites, set up general site restrictions
(High, Medium, None, or Custom), and block file downloads. If you
select the Custom Web restriction level, then you can also block
specific content categories (such as Pornography, Mature Content, and
Bomb Making).
Tip
To
make your life easier, you can import lists of allowed or blocked
sites. First, create a new text file and change the extension to Web Allow Block List (for example, MyURLs.Web Allow Block List). Open the file and add the following text to start:
<WebAddresses>
</WebAddresses>
Between these lines, add a new line for each site using the following format:
<URL AllowBlock="n">address</URL>
Replace n with 1 for a site you want to allow, or 2 for a site you want to block, and replace address with the site URL. Here’s an example:
<WebAddresses>
<URL AllowBlock="1">http://www.goodcleanfun.com</URL>
<URL AllowBlock="1">http://www.wholesomestuff.com</URL>
<URL AllowBlock="2">http://www.smut.com</URL>
<URL AllowBlock="2">http://www.depravity.com</URL>
</WebAddresses>
Note
If
the user is logged on when a restricted time approaches, an icon
appears in the notification area to let that user know. If the user is
still logged on when the restricted time occurs, the user is
immediately logged off and cannot log back on until the restricted time
has passed. Fortunately, Vista is kind enough to restore the user’s
programs and documents when he or she logs back on.
Time Limits—
Click this link to display the Time Restrictions page, which shows a
grid where each square represents an hour during the day for each day
of the week, as shown in Figure 2. Click the squares to block computer usage during the selected times.
Games—
Click this link to display the Game Controls page. Here you can allow
or disallow all games, restrict games based on ratings and contents,
and block or allow specific games. You’ll see how this works in the
next section.
Allow and Block Specific Programs—
Click this link to display the Application Restrictions page, which
displays a list of the programs on your computer. Activate the User Can Only Use the Programs I Allow option and then click the check boxes for the programs you want to allow the person to use.
Example: Setting Up Parental Controls for Games
If
you have kids, chances are, they have a computer—either their own or
one shared with the rest of the family—and, chances are, they play
games on that computer. That’s not a problem when they are being
supervised, but few of us have the time or energy to sit beside our
kids for each and every computer session—and the older the kid, the
more likely that a hovering adult will be seen as an interloper. In
other words, for all but the youngest users, your children will have
some unsupervised gaming time at the computer.
To
avoid worrying about whether your 8-year-old is playing Grand Theft
Auto or something equally unsuitable, you can take advantage of the
Game Controls section that enables you to control gaming using ratings
and content descriptors.
Before
setting up the controls, you should select the rating system you want
to use. Return to the Parental Controls window and then click the
Select a Games Ratings System link to display the Game Rating Systems
window shown in Figure 3. Select the rating system you prefer and then click OK to return to the Parent Controls window.
Click
the user you want to work with to display the User Controls window.
Activate the On, Enforce Current Settings option (if you haven’t done
so already), and then click Games to display the Game Controls window,
shown in Figure 4.
The next three sections run through the three methods you can use to control game play.
Turn Off Game Play
If
your kids are too young to play any games, or if you’d prefer that they
spend time on the computer working on more constructive pursuits, you
can turn off game playing altogether. In the Can UserName Play Games? section, select No to prevent the user named UserName
from launching any games from the Games Explorer. If you select Yes
instead, you can use the techniques in the next two sections to control
the games the user can play.
Controlling Games via Ratings and Descriptors
Instead
of shutting off all game play, you’re more likely to want to prevent
each user from playing certain types of games. The easiest way to do
that is to use game ratings and content descriptors. In the Game
Controls window, click Set Game Ratings to display the Game
Restrictions window, shown in Figure 5.
Click
the rating option that represents the highest rating the user is
allowed to play. For example, if you’re using the ESRB rating system
and you select the Teen option, the user will be able to play games
rated as Early Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+, and Teen. He or she
will not be able to play games rated as Mature or Adults Only.
You can also prevent the user from playing unrated games by selecting the Block Games with No Rating option.
You
can also block games based on content descriptors. If you scroll down
in the Game Restrictions window, you see the complete set of content
descriptors, each with its own check box. For each check box you
activate, the user will not be able to run any games that include that
content description, even if the game has a rating that you allow.
Blocking and Allowing Specific Games
You
might want to fine-tune your game controls by overriding the
restrictions you’ve set up based on ratings and content descriptors.
For example, you might have activated the Block Games with No Rating
option, but you have an unrated game on your system that you
want to allow the kids to play. Similarly, there might be a game that
Vista allows based on the ratings and descriptors, but you’d feel more
comfortable blocking access to the game.
In the Game Controls window, click Block or Allow Specific Games to display the Game Overrides window, shown in Figure 6.
The table displays the title and rating of your installed games, and
shows the current control status—Can Play or Cannot Play. To allow the
user to play a specific game, click Always Allow; to prevent the user
from playing a specific game, click Always Block.
