Protect your computer from your children
It doesn’t take much for a younger user to cause real headaches
Online by Ray Saitz for September 27, 2018 Protecting Your Computer from Your Children
A new school year is underway and children have swapped their summer activities for school and homework. While young people all seem to have a smartphone or a tablet, or both, a laptop or desktop computer is almost indispensable for creating presentations and long documents, which means that in many homes a parent’s computer is going to be doing a lot more work.
Unfortunately, sharing your computer with other people, and especially children, can be a risky undertaking. There are privacy issues and a young person might inadvertently open a malicious email attachment, get tricked into installing malware that could destroy your important files, or visit socially unacceptable websites. Luckily, there are steps you can take to allow access to your computer but still protect your privacy and security.
The most direct thing you can do is to make yourself the administrator of the computer with a login and password. Anyone else can be added as a standard user which gives them a personalized desktop and access to programs on the computer but no access to your files.
Also, a standard user can’t make any system changes or install software without the administrator’s permission.
The administrator can make all kinds of drastic changes to the computer so never tell any other user your password.
Adding a user in Windows 7 is pretty straightforward. You click the Start button, go to the Control Panel, and in the User Accounts section you select Create a New User. Windows 10 makes the process more complicated. Microsoft prefers that you set up any family member with an online Microsoft account to log in to the computer which some parents might not like. An option is to go to the Accounts section in Settings and under Family and Other People choose Add Someone Else to this PC and follow the steps for adding a limited standard user without a Microsoft account. There is illustrated help at the Laptop Mag site (https:// www.laptopmag.com/articles/ limited-user-accounts-windows-10).
For more control there are built-in parental controls. In Windows 7 parental controls are somewhat basic but functional and will let you restrict the time an account holder can use the computer, what kinds of games can be played, and which programs are allowed.
In Win 8.1 and 10 parental controls are called Family Safety and have comprehensive features such as settings to filter websites by content and age level, restrict the use of apps on the computer, and set time limits. Unfortunately, in Windows 10 the parent and child must log in to the computer with their Microsoft accounts, but in exchange for setting up the accounts the parent can access the Family Safety website and monitor the child’s online behaviour, get email alerts, and make changes to the settings. There is a nine page set of instructions for doing this at the Tech Radar site (http://tinyurl.com/y7o7o9wo).
There are also plenty of retail parental control or “filtering” programs which can quietly restrict just about anything a child could do on a computer. You can read a review of the most popular at Top Ten Reviews (http://www.toptenreviews.com/software/security/ best-internet-filter-software).
However, before reaching for your credit card, there is a free program called K9 Web Protection (www1.k9webprotection.com) which is available for Windows and Mac computers, iPad or Android tablets, and smart phones. It’s interesting that K9 also claims that it will also protect adults from the worst of the internet, including malicious sites and dangerous downloads.
You should be aware that if you’re using the retail version of an internet security suite, such as MacAfee, Norton, F-secure, or Kaspersky, customizable parental filtering and monitoring controls are included which will also prevent your child accidentally installing any malware or viruses.
A child will quickly realize the presence of filtering software and the degree of control you impose will depend on factors such as trust, internet awareness, family relations, and how computer savvy you are. The bottom line is that no amount of software can replace sensible and attentive parental supervision and an open discussion about your expectations and your child’s responsibilities.