This week we're gearing up for Valentine's Day, with great daily deals on gifts and lots of tips to celebrate on a budget. We also have new reviews of cheap cribs and snowboard bindings.
Free Parental Control Software Review, Best Cheap Parental Control
Filed in:
Apple,
Cheap Computers,
Children,
Computer Accessories,
Computers,
Family,
Free,
Kids,
Parental Control Software,
Security,
Software,
Teens,
Websites
Cheapism
Mid-range
High end
$0
$30
$100...+In this review:
- Free Parental Control Software Review, Best Cheap Parental Control
- Parental Control Software Review
- Discount Parental Control Software Features Comparison Table
Free and Cheap Parental Control Software Buying Guide
You've probably seen plenty of advertisements for free parental control software and wondered whether it could do the job as well as the software that you'd pay to download. The truth of the matter is that there's a lot of free parental control software out there that's either useless or the source of computer security problems.
The main thing you need to know is that there are two types of free parental control software that you can download: toolbars that you use to block certain websites from your computer, and full software programs that let you monitor and block content. Most parents prefer the full software programs, although there are good toolbar programs if you just want to block certain sites. As for the software you pay for, you can spend about $30 a year or upwards of $100 a year. But you don't get more control or protection for these big bucks if you choose wisely from the cheap or free parental software that's available.
At this point you may be wondering how software companies can afford to give away reliable and effective free parental control software when other companies charge a hefty price. In some cases, as with Kidlogger, the software is open source; in others, such as K9 Web Protection free parental control download, the company behind the software is a non-profit organization that receives funding from grants and contributions.
Parental Control Features
Regardless whether it's a free parental control product or just cheap parental control software, what you want is an array of useful features combined with reviews that indicate the software is safe to download. One critical feature to look for is automatic blocking of adult sites, as well as the ability to block and approve sites manually at your discretion. Other desirable features include the ability to record your child's online conversations and monitor social networking site activity. In addition, downloading should be simple and the software should not take up a lot of space on your hard drive. Updates should be automatic or prompted by the system.
Free Parental Control Software Site Blocking.
The most basic feature of any parental control software is the ability to automatically block sites according to parameters that you set. An obvious example is software that prevents all "adult" sites from coming up. K9 Web Protection software, a free parental control download, does a fine job of this by dividing web content into a large number of categories and letting you block entire categories as you see fit. Net Nanny (starting at $27.17 a year, Amazon
) likewise lets you block specific sites as well as general types of sites depending on the features you choose when setting up the system. With Net Nanny you can also block specified types of sites during certain times -- for example, no game sites during homework hours -- which may be one reason to choose this parental control software despite its cost. In a parental control software review, PC Magazine notes that CyberSitter (starting at $29, Amazon
) also blocks categories but recently lowered that number to 12 from 30, making the product much less attractive from a parent's point of view.
Free Parental Control Software Site Approval.
One of the biggest drawbacks of cheap or free parental control software is that it often blocks sites that are totally clean. The best free or cheap parental control software programs provide some method of approving acceptable sites on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the parental control software you're using, you may either need to be online to approve the sites or you'll receive email notification that sites were blocked, giving you the option of overriding the block during or after your child has tried to access the site. K9 Web Protection handles this task by letting you manually approve entire categories of content as well as individual sites. The ParentalControl Bar (free to download) does the most thorough job in this arena because it blocks nearly all sites and asks for site-by-site manual approval from parents.Free Parental Control Download.
Your cheap or free parental control software must be easy to download and should sit in a small corner of your hard drive. Just as important, it shouldn't cause any security problems. All the free and cheap parental control software products on our list are easy and safe to download. By way of example, parental control software expert reviews at Internet Content Filtering give ParentalControl Bar a 10 out of 10 for easy installation. Downloading K9 Web Protection is a bit more complicated only because it requires you to register on the website to receive a free activation code for the download. All of the other cheap or free parental control software programs we recommend download easily either from their own sites or from third-party approved sites, such as CNET.Free Parental Control Software Social Network Monitoring.
Whichever free or cheap parental control software you choose, it should enable up-to-date monitoring of email, instant message chats, and social networking sites like Facebook. Note that cheap or free parental monitoring programs do not always monitor this Web 2.0 technology, so check carefully before making your selection.Net Nanny is the most low-cost and with-it product in terms of Web 2.0 technology, according to parental control software reviews at Computer Shopper. In addition to providing the controls noted above, Net Nanny also helps to block proxy sites that smart teens sometimes use to access social networking sites without being monitored. KidLogger (free to download) and ChatShield (free to download) efficiently monitor chat functions only. ChatShield is useful for kids who chat on Windows Live Messenger, while KidLogger is better at monitoring a range of different chat sites. Notably, however, both of these free parental control software programs are incapable of monitoring some of the more popular Web 2.0 sites and services, like Skype. K9 Web Protection and Parental Control Toolbar can't deal with the social networking phenomenon. If you have younger children who aren't active on Web 2.0 sites, then these two products may be adequate; alternatively, you could combine one or the other with a secondary program, such as KidLogger, for stricter monitoring.
Parental Control Software Remote Access.
With many cheap parental control software programs you can access the logs and information stored by the software from any computer. This feature makes monitoring online activities a lot more convenient, but could cost you real dollars. Net Nanny wins praise from expert parental control software reviewers at Internet Filter Review who say the remote reporting and remote management are among Net Nanny's best features. CyberSitter likewise gives you access from afar. Free parental control software doesn't provide this feature, but enterprising third parties have developed methods for allowing remote access on some free programs. For example, users posting on the K9 Web Protection forum created proxy software that accomplishes the goal. But because such software comes from an unknown third party, with all the attendant risks, be cautious about installing it on your child's computer.
Back to top »
Read user comments below
Best Free Parental Control Software
K9 Web Protection
The system used by this software to monitor the web is very advanced: Websites of concern are divided into categories and you can allow or block entire categories of content as well as approve specific sites manually. The software is updated regularly at no cost to you.Parental Control Software Deals
| Download K9 Web Protection |
Net Nanny
This full-featured software ranks high even in comparison with mid-range and high-end products, and is well worth the investment. It lets you remotely monitor what your child is doing and where your child is going online, including activity on Web 2.0 sites like IM and Facebook. Net Nanny also blocks specific websites or types of sites, such as proxy sites (used by smart kids to outwit most monitoring tools) and gaming sites.Parental Control Software Deals
Good Free Parental Control Software
Kidlogger
This parental control software offers some of the most advanced monitoring options from free software programs, including keystroke, chat message, and email monitoring. You can see what's happening on the screen through screen captures at 15-minute intervals. The downside: Kidlogger doesn't let you block any websites at all, so you'll see what's going on but you can't do anything about it.Parental Control Software Deals
| Download KidLogger |
Parental Control Bar
This free download easily installs in three steps, takes up little room on your hard drive, and efficiently monitors what your kids are viewing online. The only drawback is that it sometimes blocks good sites but includes a feature that allows site approval through two different methods.Parental Control Software Deals
| Download Parental Control Bar |
Cheapism.com on Facebook
Think Twice Budget Parental Control Software
CyberSitter
This program offers many of the same features as the other cheap products here, but the company has struggled with download problems in the past year. In response, the company has adjusted the software, the result being a decrease in the number of blocked sites. You might want to hold off on this one until the product becomes more stable.
ChildProtector Internet Filter
Many parents have tried this program because it offers a free 21-day trial. But getting this program is a mistake: not only does it fail to work properly but it's nearly impossible to remove from your computer entirely if you decide you don't want it anymore. The damage it does to your computer outweighs any potential benefits.
Products Mentioned in This Review
CyberSitterChildProtector Internet Filter
Kidlogger
Parental Control Bar
K9 Web Protection
Net Nanny
Weekly Update: Crib Recommendations, Snowboard Bindings, and Valentine's Day Tips
February 9th Daily Deals - Apple Accessories Deals, Romantic Gifts, and more.
Today is a great deals day for Apple and smartphone accessories.
February 8th Daily Deals - External Hard Drive Deal, Valentine's Day Gifts, and more.
Today we have some great tech deals in addition to our Valentine's day deals.
© 2012 Cheapism
We do not accept payment or other gratuities from manufacturers or retailers to recommend or discuss their products on Cheapism.com. Nor do we accept any payment or other gratuity from websites to blog about their news stories or posts.
Made in NYC
