Microsoft Family Safety - Protect Your Windows PC

Protecting Your Children Online with Microsoft Family Safety

As a parent, navigating the digital world with your children can be a source of worry. Ensuring their online safety shouldn't add to that stress. Today, we’ll demonstrate how to effectively manage your children’s online activity and gain control of your home network using Microsoft Family Safety.

Family Safety provides a comprehensive suite of monitoring and filtering tools integrated with your Windows account. These tools allow you to establish digital boundaries and oversee app, game, and web usage. Essentially, it empowers you to be in charge of your children’s online experiences.

A key requirement is the use of Windows, which is acceptable considering that Windows 7 and Windows 8.x are installed on a significant portion of personal computers. This means a large number of parents could benefit from utilizing these features to safeguard their children.

The Family Safety parental controls are remarkably thorough and function effectively due to Microsoft’s ongoing development and refinement. It addresses all essential aspects of parental control and, importantly, is available at no cost. It’s compatible with any computer running a supported version of Windows.

Microsoft Family Safety seamlessly integrates with the Parental Controls and Family Safety control panels found in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. By the end of this guide, parents using Windows-based PCs will likely wonder how they managed without it.

Capabilities of Family Safety

Family Safety significantly expands the functionality of the original parental controls introduced in Windows 7, as illustrated below.

Beyond blocking games and applications, and setting curfews, Family Safety offers robust activity monitoring and reporting, time limits, web filtering, restrictions for Windows Store apps (exclusive to Windows 8.1), and a system for handling special requests, such as extending computer access beyond curfew or granting permission to use a blocked application.

Installing Family Safety on Windows 7

While Windows 7 offers integrated parental controls, they are less extensive than those available in Windows 8.1.

Fortunately, you can download Windows Essentials from Microsoft and install the Family Safety package, which provides nearly all the advanced controls found in later versions.

When you launch the Windows Essentials installer, you can choose to install all components or select specific programs.

We will opt for a custom installation and select "Family Safety" from the list before clicking "Install."

Once Windows Essentials is installed, click "Close" and then open the Control Panel.

Accessing Parental Controls will now open the Windows Essentials end user license agreement. You can review it if desired, then click "Agree" to proceed.

You can now sign in to Family Safety with your Microsoft account.

If you don't have a Microsoft account, you'll need to create one by clicking "sign up."

The Importance of a Microsoft Account

A Microsoft account provides access to various Microsoft services, including Word, Excel, and OneDrive. While not essential for Windows operation, a Microsoft account is highly recommended to fully utilize Microsoft’s services. Furthermore, it is a prerequisite for using Family Safety.

Many Windows 8.1 users are already familiar with Microsoft accounts. If you already have one, you can sign in to Family Safety. Otherwise, creating one takes only a few minutes.

You can use any valid email address, whether it's from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, or a new Hotmail or Outlook.com account.

After signing in, you’ll be prompted to select the account(s) you want to monitor.

In this case, we’ll select an account previously configured with parental controls and click "Next."

The next step involves matching your Windows account with an existing Family Safety member or adding the account to the system. We’ve already established a Family Safety member named "Kid Geek" with a Microsoft account. Assigning our Windows 7 account "Matt" will override any previously set controls.

From this point forward, all changes made within the Family Safety website will apply to the Matt account on our Windows 7 computer. Remember that your local Windows 7 parental controls will no longer be in effect.

You are now ready to configure parental controls using Microsoft Family Safety. Click the link to access the Family Safety website and log in with your Microsoft account credentials.

You can access Family Safety directly through your browser or launch it from the Control Panel.

While Microsoft encourages the use of Internet Explorer, the Family Safety website is compatible with other popular browsers like Chrome, Opera, and Firefox.

Understanding User Accounts

Windows 7 distinguishes between two primary account types: administrator and standard accounts. This distinction was also relevant when we previously discussed Windows 7 parental controls.

Administrator and standard privileges remain important in Windows 8.1, but the system now supports Microsoft accounts, which can be synchronized across multiple Windows 8.1 computers, or local accounts, which are isolated to a single machine.

Furthermore, Windows 8.1 introduces a dedicated "child's account," essentially a standard account automatically linked to Family Safety. Child's accounts can be either local or Microsoft accounts, but they always have standard privileges and lack administrative rights, preventing users from altering settings or installing applications without administrator approval.

You can create a child's account with or without an email address (Microsoft or local). The screenshot below shows the account management screen in Windows 8.1's PC Settings. If you have existing accounts you want to convert, click "Edit."

Designating an account as a child's account automatically activates Family Safety for that account.

You can add multiple accounts for each child and link them under the same settings.

Exploring the Family Safety Website

Family Safety’s controls are initiated on your computer, but the central hub is the Family Safety website.

The Family Safety Home Screen

Upon logging in, the home screen divides users into parents and children on the left, and displays the devices managed by your Family Safety account. The primary parent account is linked to you, the administrator, granting you significant control over other users’ online activities.

However, be aware that anyone with administrative privileges can bypass your restrictions and monitoring.

You can remove devices by clicking the "Remove" link.

If you have children of varying ages, you can create individual accounts for each, allowing for separate monitoring. Alternatively, if your children are close in age, you can group them under a single account.

As demonstrated earlier, we added the Windows 7 user account "Matt" to the Family Safety account "Kid Geek." This means both accounts will adhere to the same rules you establish.

Adding Additional Parents

If you want to grant another parent access to monitor activity, attend to requests, and modify settings, you can add them using the "Add a Parent" link.

A pop-up window will appear. Enter the new parent’s email address and click "send request." The parent must confirm the request before being added to the list.

Xbox Settings

While not directly related to game restrictions, Xbox settings are relevant for gamers. You can add people to your "Xbox family" and adjust their privacy and safety settings.

This essentially mirrors the privacy and safety controls found on platforms like Facebook or Twitter. You can manage passwords, gamertags, contact preferences, and online safety settings.

Windows Phone Integration

Unfortunately, Family Safety does not support iPhone or Android devices. This is a significant limitation, as it doesn’t extend protection to the “mobile gap” when your children leave your home network. Consider using alternative monitoring solutions for phones and tablets, or checking with your mobile carrier for parental control options.

If your children use Windows Phones, you can easily add them to Family Safety. For other devices, explore options like OpenDNS to track and control their online activity at home.

Linking Family Members

If a child has multiple user accounts, you can consolidate them using the "link family members" feature. This is similar to how we linked the Windows 7 account "Matt" to the Family Safety account "Kid Geek."

A Detailed Look at the Family Safety Website

The core of Family Safety’s parental controls resides on its website.

The Family Safety Home Screen

The initial screen divides users into parents and children on the left, and lists the devices managed by your account. As the administrator, you have considerable power over what other users can do on their computers.

However, remember that anyone with administrative privileges can circumvent your restrictions and monitoring.

You can remove devices by clicking the "Remove" link underneath.

If you have children of varying ages, you can give them all their own accounts, which means you will have to create and monitor each account separately. On the other hand, if you have kids who're more or less in the same age range, you can combine them under one umbrella account.

Remember that account we added earlier to "Kid Geek" in Windows 7? In this example, you can see how this works. Not only is Kid Geek a member of this account but so is Matt, so both will adhere to the same rules you assign.

Activity Reporting

Activity reporting allows you to view the websites your children visit, the games they play, and the amount of time they spend on the computer.

Summary

The summary view provides a wealth of information.

You can see web activity for the most popular websites visited, suspicious and blocked pages, searches, PC activity (time spent on the computer), most used apps and games, Windows Store app usage (if applicable), and notifications.

This is just a summary; to delve deeper into the data and address potential issues, you need to examine web and PC activity.

Web Activity

The Web Activity summary lets you see what your kids are doing online. You’ll see a list of visited sites, the action taken, the website category, the last access time, the number of visits, and the ability to block or allow access.

You can narrow down the information by limiting the date range. Clicking the arrow next to a site reveals all its subdomains.

You can also filter results by clicking the filter icon at the top of a column.

This detailed interface allows you to view, monitor, and quickly address any concerns.

PC Activity

With PC Activity, you can view app usage, whether apps are allowed or blocked, how long they were used, and when they were last used.

You can also view app activity, file downloads, Windows Store downloads (if using Windows 8.1), and Family Safety Filter activity.

Restricting the date range helps you focus on specific timeframes.

Frequency Settings

Activity reports can be delivered to your email inbox (or not) to keep you informed about your Family Safety users. You can choose to receive reports for website requests immediately, daily, or only when you log in.

To configure these reporting functions, return to the initial screen after logging in. Select the parent account, and you’ll find the frequency options in the Overview.

Web Filtering

While activity reports show what your children are doing online, web filtering allows you to influence their online behavior.

Restriction Level

The Restriction Level settings let you choose from no filtering, warnings for adult websites, or allowing only specified websites.

You can also choose to allow or block file downloads. This is a powerful feature, as file downloads are a common source of malware. If you’re concerned about security or inappropriate content, consider blocking downloads.

You can set your filtering level to allow only specified sites using the "web filtering sites" option.

These lists require ongoing maintenance, as exceptions will inevitably arise. Regularly reviewing activity logs and responding to website requests is crucial.

Time Limits

Parents often worry about the amount of time their children spend on devices. Time limits can help redirect their attention.

Allowance

The allowance feature lets you allocate a specific amount of computer time to your children. Once their time is up, the computer locks them out.

This feature is only available on Windows 8 machines.

Curfew

Curfews allow you to specify the hours during which your children can use the computer. This is useful for ensuring they get enough sleep or for family time.

Windows 7 allows curfew settings in 1-hour intervals, while Windows 8.1 offers 30-minute intervals.

App Restrictions

You can control which applications your children can use with app restrictions.

You can search for specific apps to block them quickly.

Game Restrictions

Game restrictions are particularly relevant if your children play video games.

Rating

You can set a rating level to block games based on their ESRB rating.

It’s recommended to prevent unrated games from being played.

Games List

You can specifically allow or block individual games using the game list feature.

Requests

The requests feature allows your children to indirectly ask for permission to access blocked content or extend their computer time.

You can review these requests and either approve or ignore them.

Microsoft’s Family Safety is a comprehensive and user-friendly solution for parental control on Windows-based computers. It provides the tools you need to create a safe online environment for your children.

Consider supplementing Family Safety with additional security measures, such as router-level controls or services like OpenDNS, especially if your children use devices beyond Windows PCs. We’ll cover parental controls for macOS in a future article.

We encourage you to share your experiences and insights on our discussion forum.