As you probably know, the Internet is a massive repository of information, useful tools and services that can help children learn and mature.
But there is also a downside to the web: It also has a wide variety of potentially harmful content and services that are easily accessible by youngsters.
There are a number of good child safety apps that you can install on your family’s computers, but if they are running either Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 you don’t have to install anything extra in order to protect your kids from the darker corners of the web.
All you have to do is set up a “Family Account” on the Microsoft website, then create a “Child Account” for each of your children.
After everything is set up your kids can log in to their respective child accounts and use their computers and the Internet without you having to worry about them accessing materials and services that aren’t appropriate for them.
As the parent, you can set whatever restrictions you want to have applied to your children’s accounts and they won’t be able to do anything online that falls outside of those restrictions.
You can also set time limits for your kids’ computing sessions and receive activity reports detailing everything they did online. Of course it will be up to you as the parent to decide how much freedom, privacy and responsibility you wish to grant to your children via the settings in your Microsoft Family Account.
If this sounds like something your family could benefit from, you can learn more and begin setting things up by visiting this page on the Microsoft website.
Bonus tip #1: This post explains why there is really no such thing as privacy on Facebook (or on the Internet at large for that matter).
Bonus tip #2: Want to make sure you never miss one of my tips? Click here to join my Rick’s Tech Tips Facebook Group!
Note: Image courtesy of Crissy Pauley.
Want to ask Rick a tech question? Click here and send it in!
If you found this post useful, would you mind helping me out by sharing it? Just click one of the handy social media sharing buttons below.