Top Parental Control Apps for Windows 2021
The world today works in quite a different way than our grandparents remember and everybody is more connected than ever. The best thing about the Internet is the fact that all information has been made available to everybody out there and it is easier to get in touch with people from around the globe than ever. However, while this might be the best aspect of the Internet era, it is also the worst one.
With easier access to other people as well as to all kinds of content, one can never be careful enough when interacting with strangers. It is no wonder that parents across the world are growing more and more worried about their children accessing inappropriate websites or becoming the prey of online predators. Luckily, there are many ways to keep your children safe online, and today, we are going to take a look at the top parental control apps for Windows in 2021.
Ever since 2013, the team behind KidInspector has made it their goal to bring the security of children online to a new level with the help of an amazing all-comprehensive software for parental monitoring. KidInspector comes with all the features that you need for monitoring your child’s activity on a PC. From tracking keystrokes and running applications to monitoring the activity on social media and other websites, with KidInspector, you will get a full picture of your child’s online activities and interactions.
If you notice that your child is visiting inappropriate websites, you can easily block them with the Site Blocker feature that can be used for specific URLs or even for entire categories of sites. In addition to that, you can set up your own surveillance system on your child’s computer by using the Live Viewing feature that can record audio and video from the microphone and the camera on the PC or take snaps of the active windows. All recorded information will then be delivered to your secure account on the cloud server where you can view it anytime and from any device.
When it comes to keeping an eye on your kids’ online activities, Spyrix Personal Monitor comes into play. This cloud-based solution allows remote monitoring of all kids’ activities on the target device. The app is helpful when you need to track visited websites, search queries, or block some unwanted URLs and categories of websites (adult, shopping, gambling, etc). What I like about the app is the ease of use and ability to apply settings remotely. Spyrix is designed with parents in mind so you don’t need to be tech-savvy to use this app.
Additionally, Spyrix captures screenshots, records chats in WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social messengers letting you know what your kids are up to. What’s more, the parental control app can record live surroundings with the webcam and mic, which is very handy when you want to check what’s going on at home when you’re not present. You can also view the computer screen in live mode from any device and any place. The program is invisible to the user so your kids won’t remove the program from the computer. The app is suitable for all Windows versions.
Qustodio is one of the best free parental control apps available for Windows as well as for Mac, Android, iOS, Kindle, and Nook. The free version of this app enables you to set time schedules and rules, as well as to block an unwanted website with inappropriate content such as pornography.
If, on the other hand, opt for one of the premium plans, you will get access to a number of advanced features including social media features and per-app controls, and more. And while this app is complex in features and options, it is still easy to install and use. Additionally, since it is a cross-platform app, you can use it to monitor your child’s online activity not only on a PC but also on other devices to get a full picture of how much time your child spends online and what exactly they do.
OpenDNS FamilyShield allows you to block domains on your whole home network at the router level and you can simply apply it to your network router and filter everything that passes through it. FamilyShield is a free service brought to us by OpenDNS and it automatically blocks domains that have been flagged under the “tasteless, proxy/anonymizer, sexuality, or pornography” headings. However, keep in mind that setup might be a little bit tricky if you are not exactly a techie.
KidLogger is one of the top apps for monitoring your children’s activity online and it lets you know how much time your child spent on a PC, which apps were used, which websites were visited, with whom they communicated, what they wrote to people online, and what photos were made.
The most important features of this free and useful app include Web History Monitoring, Time Tracking, USB Drives/CD usage, Screenshots, Record Keystrokes, Used Files and Folders, Monitor Messages, Most Used Applications, and E-Mail Reports.
However, keep in mind that the free version of this app covers only one device and while it does not include some advanced features included in the premium version (the ability to listen to Skype calls and silent monitoring of WhatsApp conversations, for example), it is still a well-rounded tool for keeping your kids safe online.
Just like other keyloggers, Spyrix Free Keylogger hides in the background of your child’s PC and records every keystroke, screen image, and mouse click to give you a better idea of how your child spends their time online. The biggest pros of this app include remote monitoring, storing data for one week, and monitoring clipboard and printers. On the downside, however, there is no content blocking which means that it is not the best choice for young children because you cannot automatically block the type of content you don’t want them to have access to. However, Spyrix Free Keylogger has proven itself to be a great tool for detecting online bullying or similar issues.
Kiddle is a perfect search engine for children with hand-picked and safe results which makes it ideal for researching homework or just general internet browsing. Kiddle was developed by Google to help your children learn how to use internet browsers in the safest way possible. Content-wise, your children will be protected from unwanted search results and everything will be presented to them in a kid-friendly language that will help them better understand the subject they are researching. On the downside, Kiddle still includes ads and it is no substitute for parents’ supervision — although it can make it a lot easier.
SocialShield is a social monitoring service incorporated into Avira’s Free Security Products and it is perfect for monitoring the time your kids spend on social media platforms and all of their social networking activities. On top of having a recorded 360-degree view of all the recent activities, you can also get real-time updates remotely to react immediately if you notice your kid getting themselves in any kind of trouble.
Not only can Windows Life Family Safety help you keep your children safe online but it can actually also help you stay connected even when you are not together. You can monitor your kids’ activity online, set screen time limits and stop arguing about how much time your kids are allowed to spend online, filter content to make sure that your kids don’t have access to the websites that are not appropriate for their age, and avoid surprise spending by getting email notifications when your kids want to purchase something from the Microsoft Store.
This parental control software is supported on all Windows versions and you can access and download it from the Windows official website. On top of being extremely useful, this app is also easy to set up and use whenever you need it.
Norton Family is a prize-winning parental control software offering an impressive range of monitoring features for the children growing up in today’s hyper-connected internet era. You can try it for free for 30 days to ensure that it comes with all the tools, options, and features that you need to keep your children safe online at all times.
You can block unsuitable content and apps to ensure that your children will not have access to things you don’t want them to encounter online, you can set the time limits around the device usage to establish balanced and safe habits, and whenever Norton detects unsafe behavior, you will be automatically notified to take the necessary security measures to help your children stay out of trouble.
The most important product features include but are not limited to Web Supervision, Time Supervision, Search Supervision, Social Network Supervision, Personal Information Protection, Email Alerts, Access Requests, Activity History, Instant Lock, and many more.
MinorMonitor is one of the oldest parental control apps created to keep your children from visiting inappropriate websites. However, since nowadays a lot of online activity happens on social media, MinorMonitor has developed a set of tools specifically designed to track your kids’ activities on different social media platforms while the parents can access the dashboard from any device. This app is entirely free of charge, it includes email notifications and alerts, and it reports suspect words in posts and comments.
However, on the downside, it can be easily detected and disabled by the child in question which means that this particular tool will actually help you protect your child only for as long as they cooperate.
12. Family Shield from OpenDNS
OpenDNS is a popular security platform used by millions of users worldwide and one of their newest additions is their Family Shield designed specifically for monitoring your children's online activities and helping them stay safe online. You can get this addition for free if you are an OpenDNS user and it can be installed on almost any device in your household. One of the biggest plusses is the fact that the tool can automatically block websites or can filter content on a real-time basis which means that you don’t have to keep watch 24/7 and Family Shield will do the majority of the heavy lifting for you. Aside from blocking adult websites and similar inappropriate content, this tool also protects your family from phishing and malware.
Kurupira Web Filter is a free parental control solution with the purpose of filtering and blocking inappropriate websites and content of an adult nature that is not suitable for children’s eyes. Aside from blocking access to pornographic and similar websites, with Kurupira Web Filter, you can also limit the time spent on the Internet, block or allow access to specific apps and programs, and get reports and charts about the most used programs and most visited websites on your PC.
Net Nanny is one of the most popular parental control software trusted by millions of parents around the globe. The most important features of this useful app include Parental Controls, Internet Filter, Pornography Blocking, Time Management, Alerts and Reporting, Remote Administration, User Profiles and Settings, and more. Net Nanny provides one of the most effective content filtering systems to keep your kids away from the content that is not suited for their eyes, manage screen time to help your children develop a balanced daily routine, and have peace of mind when your children use their computers.
Kaspersky Safe Kids is an excellent tool for protecting your family online and it uses a single web interface for all platforms which means that you will be able not only to monitor your children’s activities on their PC but on all other devices in your household as well. The Windows version applies restrictions on specific Windows user accounts which means that you and your child can use the same PC yet have different settings and restrictions set up for different accounts.
The premium version of this app includes blocking of inappropriate content, time limits, app control, social network monitoring, mobile device location monitoring, and Android call and text-message monitoring. The installation process is super easy and all it takes is downloading the installer file and clicking Install. During the setup process, the setup wizard will note if parents and children are using different accounts and once the installation is over, you will be able to set multiple Windows accounts appropriately.
Witigo is a parental filter for Windows and even though it is a bit challenging to set it up, once you do, you will have a powerful parental control app that will keep your kids safe online. Witigo Parental Filter blocks chat and messenger programs, including those that are part of social media and online game networks, and it has both a local and cloud-based internet filter solution which means that you can use the online version for monitoring multiple devices or simply download the program onto a specific PC and monitor it.
Witigo comes with 27 filter categories that automatically prevent kids from accessing the websites tagged in the categories in question. These categories include but are not limited to pornography, social media, online games, and more, but you can customize the filters to your liking.
Although SpyAgent is commonly used for monitoring the online activity of adults, for example, the employees during their working hours, it can be used for keeping your teenage kids from accessing inappropriate content online as well. This award-winning computer spy software allows you to monitor basically everything that happens on a PC in question and it will help you better understand how exactly your child uses their computer in no time.
Some of the great computer monitoring features that SpyAgent comes with include website and application content filtering, real-time activity alerts, chat blocking, delivery of logs via email or FTP, etc. While there are many other great tools suitable for monitoring little children’s activities online, SpyAgent is one of the best choices to have a full picture of how your stubborn teenage kids spend time on their PC.
K9 Web Protection is a free tool for Internet filtering and parental control that comes with a number of features essential for keeping your kids safe online. It blocks websites in more than 70 categories that are deemed unsafe for children of different ages, allows you to set time restrictions and block web access at a specific time, offers reports to monitor and control your kids’ online activity, and more. K9 Web Protection is one of the top parental control apps for Windows and Mac and it will help you keep your children safe from adult content and risky interactions.
