KidsWatch Time Control Reviewer's Comments

Stop the chatting, late night gaming and free–for–all surfing with KidsWatch Time Control. Our “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner can help you keep your kids on task and out of danger.

KidsWatch easily monitors computer use times and access, so kids can be limited to approved web sites and homework suitable applications instead of spending time playing addictive games or chatting in anonymous chat rooms.

KidsWatch offers two products, a standard edition and an advanced edition. We looked at the advanced edition that includes time control features as well as reporting, filtering and remote administration.

KidsWatch Time Control Screenshots. Click for more
       


Feature Set:  

KidsWatch has the ability to regulate multiple user’s time, internet usage and program access with report ability.

Time

Parents can set time limits by the day, week or by time length and time of day. Program and Internet time can be limited as well. All of these time limits can be combined into different scenarios. For example, a kid’s access could be restricted to Monday–Friday 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm, with 15 minutes allowed for their favorite game, 15 minutes to chat and 90 minutes for homework. It also has a “time–out” feature, which allows parents to “ground” a kid from their favorite game or Internet site for a specific duration. Temporary passwords can also be created for extra program time, like when a kid is in the middle of writing a paper and needs a little more time.

Internet Usage

Through the Website Filtering window, parents can limit time spent online, as well as which sites are allowed. You can also restrict key word searches, to prevent searches on particular words. You can even disable Internet browsing from Windows Explorer, restricting Internet use entirely.

Program Access

KidsWatch has the ability to lock your system down and prevent users from installing or running restricted programs. You can prevent your child or employee from using the Control Panel or changing/replacing existing programs. This means that other users cannot change important system properties like display, user accounts, network connections or date/time without approved access.

Reporting

The advanced version of KidsWatch includes a reporting feature that logs websites visited and programs used, including the time of day and duration. Reports can be scheduled by the day, week or month, and you can get a different report or report type for every user.

Ease of Use:  

We gave KidsWatch Time Control a less than perfect ease of use rating, because the instructions on the “Custom” screen are slightly confusing. Once we figured it out though, the rest of the program is user–friendly.

One handy feature we liked is the window that relates what restrictions are set. (See the second screen shot above for an example).

Ease of Installation/Setup:  

We had no problems downloading and installing the program – simply follow the instructions.

After installation, you can access KidsWatch Time Control through the Start button or from the Time Control icon. When installing KidsWatch Time Control the program automatically identifies all existing Windows accounts on your computer and allows you to setup up restrictions and passwords for each of these accounts.

Technical Support/Help:  

KidsWatch Time Control offers several ways to contact support, including telephone and email. There is also a user guide and an online help and FAQs section.

We had some questions for the manufacturer and sent them an email; we received a response in less than 24 hours with our questions adequately answered.

Time Control Effectiveness:  

To test the time control effectiveness, we set up several test accounts then rebooted our computer. We attempted to use the computer during restricted times and were blocked successfully. We then logged in as the administrator and changed some of the settings, and found that these adjusted restrictions were also upheld accurately.

Summary:  

Since computer use is practically a school requirement these days, efficient time and access control like KidsWatch is mandatory to keep kids on task and out of trouble. KidsWatch Time Control is competent, easy to use and an effective parental stress reducer.