Parenting in the Digital Age

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Modern kids have never known a time when they couldn't connect to the entire world via the internet. In fact, they probably spend more time online than anyone else—certainly more than their parents. If you are a parent, this presents a problem, as there are explicit, disturbing, and illegal sites on the web that you don't want your kids to encounter. Furthermore, with the ever-increasing number of devices that kids use to connect, you simply can't supervise every moment they're online on your own. That's where parental control services can help. This software gives you the ability to block unwanted web content, limit screen time, restrict the use of risky applications, and more. Basically, these services are a way to help keep your kids safer on their computers and mobile devices.

That said, parental control software is no substitute for good communication. If you don't want your kids to visit unsafe, unsavory, or inappropriate sites, talk to them about your concerns. We recommend that you also take the time to convince your older kids that you'll respect their privacy while still monitoring their online actions, a promise you should strive to uphold. We prefer software that embraces this kind of collaborative approach, rather than apps that covertly spy on kids. If your kids see you as big brother, it's a safe bet that they'll find ways to outsmart you and evade even the most sophisticated systems. As tech addiction increasingly becomes a problem, it's important to instill the value of good device habits on to your children as well.

Apple on Wednesday introduced a slew of new privacy controls for iPhone and Mac users — a day after the Facebook CEO was hauled in front of European lawmakers in Brussels to testify about the. Stay Private and Protected with the Best Firefox Security Extensions The Best Video Software for Windows The 3 Free Microsoft Office Photo Editor Alternatives Get the. Maintaining privacy and keeping data secure are hugely important for any Mac user. Yet many of us give it scant attention and do little more than the bare minimum, if anything at all to ensure. For more information about these gestures, choose Apple menu ( ) > System Preferences, then click Trackpad. You can turn a gesture off, change the type of gesture, and learn which gestures work with your Mac. ContentBarrier is designed specifically for Mac OS devices and developers focused on exactly how it interacts with other Mac programs. It has 23 filter categories that make it easy to block dangerous websites or questionable content. How to manage your child's privacy with parental controls on the Mac Apps and games will sometimes ask for access to certain data, like location, photos, contacts, and more. Though access to this data is very helpful for grown-ups with productivity needs, it is not necessary, and better left hidden for some age groups.

Monitor Your Child's Devices

Long gone are the days when a single parental control utility on the family PC was sufficient for keeping your kids safe and productive. Modern kids use all kinds of internet-connected devices, and modern parental control systems must keep up.

Before settling on a particular parental control utility, you need to make sure that it supports all the device types in your household. While all the products in the chart above support Windows and Android, compatibility with macOS and iOS varies. That said, Apple has recently announced the new Screen Time feature for the upcoming iOS 12, a set of tools for monitoring and controlling app and device usage. Taken alongside iOS' existing Restrictions settings, when iOS 12 releases Apple will offer a free set of parental controls tools comparable to these paid alternatives, with the added benefit of first-party support.

Note that some parental control utilities leverage VPN technology on iOS devices, running internet connections through a local app to enable content filtering. You'll see the VPNicon when such a utility is active, but it doesn't mean the child's connection is secured by a full-scale virtual private network, nor that the device's IP address is masked.

Check, too, that any limits on the number of child profiles or devices won't be a problem. Large families, for example, will appreciate that Norton Family works on an unlimited number of devices. Most parental control software operates as a subscription service, so pricing tiers tend to align with device limits, though some offer free versions for basic protection on a limited number of devices. If your kids are strictly smartphone users, take a look at our roundup of mobile parental control apps.

If getting parental control coverage installed on each of your family's devices starts to seem too difficult, consider a whole-network solution, such as Circle With Disney or Open DNS. These systems perform content filtering at the router level, so your settings affect every device on the network. Naturally, you don't get the same fine level of control and detailed monitoring that you get with a local agent on each device, but this is a much broader solution.

Web Filters, Time Limits, and Apps

At the very least, a good parental control tool features content filtering—the ability to block access to websites matching categories such as hate, violence, and porn. This type of filtering only really works if it's browser-independent and works with secure (HTTPS) sites. With no HTTPS filtering, a smart teen could bypass the system using a secure anonymizing proxy website or even a different web browser in some cases. Most also have the option to permanently enable SafeSearch. Of course, the most capable solutions also keep a detailed log of your child's web activity.

Access scheduling is another very common feature. Some applications let parents set a weekly schedule for device usage, some control internet use in general, and others offer a combination of the two. A daily or weekly cap on internet usage can also be handy, especially if it applies to all your kids' devices.

The best services apply these two ideas to individual desktop and mobile applications as well. Qustodio, for example, can block apps entirely and set time usage limits. This is particularly useful for children who have a habit of playing games or using social media apps when they should be doing homework.

Messaging and Social Media

As kids get older, content filtering may start to seem pointless. Hey, you let them watch Game of Thrones, right? At some point, you start to worry more about their interaction with the wider world. Sure, if their friends come over in person, you can at least meet them, but what about friends on social media and other contacts your child never mentions? Who are they, really, and what are your kids discussing with them? Although some supervision is acceptable, you still need to respect your child's basic right to privacy and encourage open discussion, rather than using parental control software as spyware.

Many services let you monitor contacts and messages and keep an eye out for potentially dangerous or unsanctioned situations. You can even block new contacts or view message content with some parental control software. Keep in mind that this primarily applies to SMS texts; messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat typically do not fall under the same scope. Social media tracking can also provide a glimpse into your child's social life, though many services now only monitor Facebook. This kind of oversight usually requires that you either know your child's login credentials or convince them to log in and install the tracker's app. Disabling this kind of data collection is a snap for the child, so here, more than ever, you need to be on the same page.

Remote Notification and Management

Most kids are on mobile devices at least some of the time, and many are almost exclusively accessing the internet on their phones. Fortunately, many parental control services offer a companion app that lets you view your child's activity, set basic rules, and view notifications as they arrive—NetNanny is a particularly noteworthy example. This kind of companion app is particularly useful for responding to access or time-extension requests on the go. Otherwise, you manage everything online, where you have fine control over activity reports and restrictions. Any changes you make should propagate to your children's devices when they connect to the internet.

When your child tries to visit a blocked site, makes a post using iffy language, or otherwise bends the rules it sends you a notification to your preferred channel, such as via the app, web, email, text, or some combination of those options.

Advanced Features

When you get beyond the basics, parental control systems start to diverge, with many advanced features to help them stand out from the crowd. Among these standout features are the ability to track your child's YouTube and Hulu viewing history, check your child's location, or even remotely lock down a device to force them to divert their attention. You'll also find advanced versions of standard features. For example, the best content filters don't just use a database of categories. They analyze page content in real time so that, for example, they can allow access to a short-story site but block the erotica.

Best email program for mac 2018. In order to make an informed choice for your own family, check out our full reviews of these parental control solutions. If you have any suggestions for software to try or just want to sound off about a particularly positive or negative experience, please add your comments and join the discussion.

Best Parental Control Software Featured in This Roundup:

• Qustodio Review

  
  MSRP: $39.95
  

  Pros: Cross-platform support. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for internet, device, and application usage. Location tracking.

  

  Cons: Expensive. Social monitoring only tracks Facebook. Dated web portal. Some iOS limitations.

  Bottom Line: Parental control app Qustodio is a highly configurable, easy-to-manage tool for keeping track of your child's activity on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.

  Read Review

• Net Nanny Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99
  

  Pros: Supports Windows, Mac, Android. Web-based configuration and reporting. Powerful filtering. Cross-platform internet time allowance. App control for Android.

  Cons: No new updates. Expensive. No location tracking. Lacks advanced time management control. Limited iOS features.

  Bottom Line: Net Nanny's web-centric and multi-platform approach to parental control makes it a useful option for the modern world, but it hasn't been updated substantially in years.

  Read Review

• Symantec Norton Family Premier Review

  
  MSRP: $49.99
  

  Pros: Affordable. Excellent web dashboard. Settings apply across all devices. No limit on number of PC, phones, tablets, or children protected. Tracks child's location.

  Cons: Does not work on Macs. No Free version anymore. Does not block HTTPS sites on unsupported browsers. Web extension is easily disabled. Platform-dependent features. Lackluster social media tracking.

  Bottom Line: Norton Family's top-notch web interface and wealth of features make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across their many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.

  Read Review

• Kaspersky Safe Kids Review

  
  MSRP: $14.99
  

  Pros: Affordable. No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device and app usage. Robust web filtering. Geofencing. Extensive alert system.

  Cons: Several iOS limitations. Content filtering limited to specific browsers. Social monitoring only covers Facebook and VK. Sluggish web interface.

  Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids is a full-featured, affordable parental monitoring system for desktop and mobile platforms that doesn't impose limits on the number of devices you can monitor.

  Read Review

• Circle With Disney Review

  
  MSRP: $99.00
  

  Pros: Easy setup. Manages every device on your home network. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.

  Cons: Circle Go subscription surprisingly expensive. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Minimal reporting.

  Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance, controlled by a simple mobile app, provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network.

  Read Review

• Clean Router Review

  
  MSRP: $149.99
  

  Pros: Parental control and monitoring for every device on your network. Enforces Safe Search. Device-specific Internet time scheduling. Reports all sites visited and blocked. Optional daily activity email.

  Cons: Reports can't identify activity by specific users. Content filter missed some porn sites and secure anonymizing proxies. Performance as a router lags behind competing 802.11ac devices.

  Bottom Line: Have kids on the Web? Clean Router replaces your home router to apply parental control and monitoring to every device on your network.

  Read Review

• Mobicip Review

  
  MSRP: $39.99
  

  Pros: Online configuration and management. Can apply child profiles to multiple devices and user accounts. Powerful content filter. Weekly Internet schedule. App control on Android. Available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Kindle and Nook.

  Cons: Testing turned up some communication problems and delays between online console and local app. Initial configuration slightly awkward. No daily/weekly cap on Internet use. No real-time parental notifications.

  Bottom Line: You configure Mobicip's parental control options online, and a local agent enforces the rules on your children's devices. In testing, we hit a few communication problems, but overall it's a good choice for the modern multi-device family.

  Read Review

• SafeDNS Review

  
  MSRP: $19.95
  

  Pros: Filters dangerous and objectionable websites for all devices on your home network. Optional local agent for Windows PCs. Multiple profiles available, with time scheduling. Reports on sites visited and blocked.

  Cons: Using time-scheduler to actually limit Internet use is seriously awkward. Usage reports include every URL accessed, many of which aren't websites. Usage reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block phishing or malware-hosting URLs.

  Bottom Line: When you configure your router to use SafeDNS, you can filter out dangerous or objectionable content for every device that connects using your home network. Just don't expect a full range of parental control features.

  Read Review

• OpenDNS Home VIP Review

  
  MSRP: $19.95
  

  Pros: Filters Web content for all devices on the network. All essential features found in free edition, including dynamic IP handling. Report on sites visited and blocked. Can block or allow domains from within stats report.

  Cons: Stats reports include every URL accessed, even those that aren't websites. Stats reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block malware-hosting URLs and blocked few phishing URLs.

  Bottom Line: OpenDNS Home VIP applies parental control and monitoring at the network level, for all your devices, and its essential features are available for free. Consider using it in conjunction with a more conventional parental monitoring tool.

  Read Review

• uKnowKids Premier Review

  
  MSRP: $100.00
  

  Pros: Unusually comprehensive iOS support. Tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and mobile device use. Notifies parents of risky posts. Tracks child's location, with optional geofencing. Finds hidden social media accounts. Tracks calls and texts on mobile devices.

  Cons: No support for Android tablets, only smartphones. iOS tracking ineffective without regular iCloud backups. Geolocation proved unreliable in testing.

  Bottom Line: A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks.

  Read Review

Setting up a new computer is hard enough, but if you’re privacy minded, things are even more complicated. This is especially the case with a Mac, which keeps all kinds of stuff behind the scenes. Whether you’re setting up a new system or installing a new version of OS X, now’s a good time to check your privacy settings.

We all need to protect our private data. But when you’re working with sensitive files, pictures, and your passwords, you want to ensure other people can’t easily get to it. Beyond that, with a Mac, even simple things like your text messages can pop up in someone else’s face if you’re not careful. For some of us, this can feel like a huge privacy issue, but thankfully OS X has tons of settings you can tweak to lock down your data, search results, and more.

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Audit OS X’s System Settings

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By default, OS X is all about ease of use. This is great, except that it means your private data is general in the open, sitting around for anyone (or any app) to find. Much of the default behavior in OS X is meant to make things easier for you, but it also means that if someone sits down at your computer they can accidentally come across a ton of stuff you might not want them to. Here are a few general settings worth tweaking:

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• Tweak your privacy system preferences: OS X has a built-in privacy tool that’s worth customizing. Head to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select the Privacy tab. Here, you can set which applications have access to your location data, iCloud data, and what can access deep system stuff (this is listed under Accessibility, but mostly includes apps like application launchers and text expansion programs). You can disable app access in bulk here or on an application-by-application basis.
• Turn on FileVault: OS X comes with built-in encryption software called FileVault. When you turn it on, you’ll need a login password or recovery key to see any data on your computer. Head to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select the FileVault tab. Turn it on and it’ll encrypt your whole drive. This password protects everything, which makes it a lot harder for prying eyes to access your data without your password. It also means you need your password at all time, so don’t lose it!
• Don’t use Keychain: Keychain is Apple’s built-in password system. You have to use it for your login, but don’t use it for your browser data. With just your login password, someone can access all your other passwords, network drives, encrypted files, app passwords, and more stored on your computer. Instead, use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password that requires a master password (beyond your login password) to use.
• Manage your iCloud settings: iCloud is one of the big selling points with OS X is its integration with iOS. iCloud syncs all your photos, files, and everything else across your devices. If you’re on a shared computer, you might want to disable iCloud entirely. Just hop into System Preferences > iCloud and click the “Sign Out” button. It’ll stop syncing everything (which isn’t as convenient), but at least your data won’t be so easily accessible. That said, if you still really want to use iCloud, at least make sure you have two-factor authentication turned on.
• Disable iMessage and Facetime: “Continuity” is a big selling point for Apple. From your Mac, you can send and receive calls and texts that are synced with your iPhone. One potential problem comes when someone else is using your computer (or peeking over your shoulder) and you receive a text message you don’t want them to see. On top of seeing the notification with the message, they can also access entire conversations in Messages. If this is unsettling to you, you’ll want to disable Messages. Open up Messages, select Message > Preferences and sign out of your Apple ID. You can do the same with Facetime for phone calls.
• Disable Spotlight Web Search: In order for Spotlight to work, it needs to send your search data to Google, Apple, and Bing (whichever you’re using at the time.) That’s okay, but any time you search for something using Spotlight, Apple collects that data, too. While Apple claims this is anonymized, it still feels a bit creepy. To turn it off, head to System Preferences > Spotlight > Search Results and uncheck the boxes for Spotlight Suggestions and Bing Web Searches. If you still want the power of Spotlight without the creepiness, we recommend Alfred.
• Hide files from Spotlight: Speaking of Spotlight, you’ll also want to customize where it can search for files. If someone is sitting at your computer, they can tap Command+Space to search for any file on your computer (and search inside files as well). This is awesome when you’re looking for something yourself, but also makes it pretty easy for anyone snooping on you. Luckily, you can customize how this works. Head to System Preferences > Spotlight. Here, you can uncheck any boxes for search results you don’t want Spotlight to show. Spotlight will still index those files, but they won’t show in search results. You can also click the Privacy tab and add any folders that you don’t want Spotlight to index. This way, they won’t show up in search results at all.

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Once all of those settings are tweaked, OS X is pretty locked down. . You’ll lose some of the functionality that makes OS X convenient, but at least you won’t just be handing private data over to anyone (or any app) who sits down at your computer.

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Privacy Program Document

Protect Your Apps and Your Data

OS X doesn’t protect your data from apps you download, so you’ll need to do that yourself. Apple does try to make sure you don’t install anything without thinking about it, and has tools to restrict you from installing unsigned apps—but once they’re installed, OS X assumes you know what you’re doing. Caring about your privacy online is a big step to making sure you do, but you can do a few other things as well.

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• Download privacy-protecting browser extensions: You likely spend a lot of time online, so it’s worth locking down your browsing habits. Install browser extensions like AdBlock Plus, Disconnect, and other privacy-protecting extensions to keep your data safe.
• Use a VPN: Virtual private networks (VPNs) are helpful for protecting your privacy. Setting up a VPN ensures your browsing traffic is encrypted, which is especially important if you’re on a MacBook and working from coffee shops or other places with unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
• Only allow approved apps: The internet’s filled with billions of apps and some of them might come packed with malware, spyware, or other malicious code. Macs are no different. Apple does give the option to only install trustworthy apps that have been submitted, reviewed, and added to the Mac App Store, but if you turn that off you need to be especially careful. To enable this feature, head to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select the General tab. You’ll see an option for “Allow apps downloaded from.” Check the box next to Mac App Store. This means only approved and signed apps can be installed. If you fancy yourself a bit more savvy than that, you can go with the “Mac App Store and identified developers” option as well.

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Of course, that’s just the least you can do. Certain privacy-focused web browsers are also useful because Incognito mode isn’t really the best for privacy. You can also stray away from Google and change your default search engine to something like DuckDuckGo to help keep your browsing a little more private. Installing an anti-virus app is also a good idea. Though we’re all told Macs don’t have virus problems, you’re still at risk of cross-platform browser and web-based exploits (in Flash and Java, for example), and you don’t want to inadvertently spread Windows malware through shared files or attachments, so it’s better to be safe.

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Lock Down Physical Access to Your Computer

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Locking down the data on your computer is only half the battle. Apple’s most popular computers are laptops, and that means it’s crucial to lock down physical access to your computer as well.

• Enable your lock screen: Head into System Preferences > Security & Privacy and select the General tab. Check the boxes next to “Require password” and “Disable automatic login” to make sure that a password is required to access your computer.
• Hide user accounts: By default, when you get to the lock screen, you’ll see options for different user accounts on the system. Someone can theoretically sit there and guess your password over and over if they want. If you want another layer of security, you can hide that so you have to enter in both a username and password to login. Once you enable this, you’ll have to login with both every time. From the Terminal, type in: sudo dscl . create /Users/hiddenuser IsHidden 1
• Make a guest user account: When you do need to hand over your computer for a friend to use, it’s best to create a guest account so they don’t accidentally go snooping through your stuff. Head to System Preferences > Users & Groups and click on the Guest User option. Check the box next to “Allow guests to log in to this computer.” If you’ve enabled FileVault, guests can only access Safari, which is likely all they really need.
• Secure your Wi-Fi: Finally, you’ll also want to make sure your home Wi-Fi is secure so neighbors and passersby can’t snoop in on your data. Keeping your Wi-Fi secure is easy and once you’re set up you don’t really need to think about it again.

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With all that, your computer should be both secure and most of your data private. Of course, there’s no such thing as perfect security, but at the very least you’re making your data harder for people to access. Or, in the case of OS X, you’re making it so some random passerby or untrustworthy app doesn’t just accidentally eavesdrop on you.

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