Parental Controls
Parental Controls acts a bit like CCTV on the PC. You install it on your child's computer to keep them safe from Internet predators and other online dangers.
I know from experience that it's annoying to buy the wrong software, so on this site I'm going to try to give you unbiased information about Parental Controls so that you are in the best position to make an informed buying decision.
You might like to start with the Parental Controls reviews below and then maybe look at the Parental Control Comparison Table where you can see all the features of the various products side-by-side.
Top 6 Parental Controls Products
#1 WebWatcher Rating: 98% Price: $97.00
If you want a remote monitor then WebWatcher is the clear winner. Even if you don't, WebWatcher still edges the number 1 slot on grounds of features and quality, although maybe not by as much.
You can record all your child's online activities - email, web site visits, chat room conversations etc. - and view the logs of these activities from any computer in the world.
There is an excellent screenshot feature that takes 'pictures' of exactly what your child saw on their PC at the time and this makes it so much easier to get a feel for what your child was up to.
Professional, high-quality Parental Controls from a top vendor. You can buy without risk as it comes with a full, no-questions-asked 5-day money-back guarantee.
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#2 SpyAgent Rating: 87% Price: $69.95
SpyAgent is great Parental Controls with an extensive feature list, but it does have a reputation for being a little bit complicated.
The company has a number of Parental Controls solutions and it can be quite confusing to know which one to pick.
SpyAgent is the best software they offer though, covering all the basic needs and many more. You can even have remote monitoring for an additional $15.
Make no mistake, this pushes WebWatcher hard for the number 1 spot and should be seriously considered if you're looking for reliable, effective Parental Controls.
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#3 PC Pandora Rating: 79% Price: $49.95
PC Pandora is a fairly recent entry into the Parental Control Software market and it was released in a blaze of publicity with features in some of the main TV channels. It is without a doubt good Parental Control Software, but not as ground-breaking as some of the advertising would suggest. It is well put together software with an easy-to-use interface and it monitors all the essential stuff a child will do online. It reports all this back to you via email. Certainly worth considering, but it's a little way off the top 2. |
#4 Spector Pro Rating: 78% Price: $99.95
Spector Pro is a really tough product to rate. The quality of this software is superb and the user interface is the best around, but it's way overpriced. You could argue that you're paying for the quality and excellent vendor support, but it has no remote monitoring and not even email reporting, yet it costs as much as WebWatcher. If Spector Pro was $20-$30 cheaper or if it had email reporting it would certainly rate better than PC Pandora. With a remote monitor it could even be number 1. Whilst is pains me to place such great product to use outside of the top 3, it loses too much on value for money against features offered.
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#5 PC Tattletale Rating: 68% Price: $49.95
PC Tattletale has been around for a while now and - to be honest - it's beginning to look old. The software is fine and it does the job okay, but it hasn't advanced at all in the last year and is getting overtaken by other software. The price is, however, its saving grace because it includes a licence for 2 computers by default. This may be a serious consideration if you have more than one child to monitor. Verdict: reasonable software for those on a budget. |
#6 Guardian Monitor Pro Rating: 49% Price: $59.95
Guardian Monitor is good enough Parental Control Software but it lacks in one major respect - it doesn't do any blocking. I'll be honest here and say that I can't see why anyone would buy this software. So why, you might ask, have I included it in these reviews? Well I wanted to select 6 from the 12 or so products I looked at and this was the best of the products that don't do blocking. It's software that does the basic job without any frills. |