How to Setup and Use Netgear Parental Controls
We know that the Internet can be a crazy, insane and dangerous place, not only for kids but for adults too. Therefore, it is understandable that many parents find the need to control what their kids and their friends can and cannot access through the Internet while they are in their house.
Most Netgear routers have basic controls to help parents filter content and specific keywords or websites including a free and easy solution: Netgear Live Parental Controls. It is basically a content filtering solution that enables you to protect your family from cyber predators and unwanted content.
Netgear Live Parental Controls is a free feature that you can easily set up on your Netgear router. You can even control it remotely when you are not around to constantly monitor what your household is searching, watching, communicating and playing on the internet. With an alarming number of cyber crimes and cyberbullying recorded these days among children, it is good to protect them wherever possible.
Part 1. Install and setup Netgear Live Parental Controls
Here is a guide to install and set up Netgear Parental Control using the Genie app. You will need a computer that is connected to the Netgear router.
1. Lauch the Netgear Genie app and click Parental Controls.
2. Login into the system by using the default username and password which are admin and password respectively. Of course, if you have changed the password, you will need to use your current password.
3. The Parental Controls window will pop up. Click the Next button.
4. You will then need to set up your Netgear Live Parental Controls screen display. Click “No, I need to create a free OpenDNS account”. Click the Next button.
5. Fill in all the required fields to create your new OpenDNS account and click the Next button.
6. Select the level of filtering you want. Most parents with curious children often opt for High to block access to adult-related sites, video sharing, social networking sites, and phishing attacks. Click the Next button.
To ensure that it was successfully set up, access content or website that you have blocked. You should be able to see the screen below.
Part 2. Customize Parental Controls Settings
If none of the filtering levels suits your needs, there is a way for you to customize your Netgear Parental Control settings. It is also a great way to teach your children boundaries of what they can and should be looking at on the internet as they grow older.
Some parents also use this as a trust test to see if their children have developed a sense of responsible and safe internet use.
1. On the Netgear Genie Status window, click on “Change Custom Settings”.
2. This will bring you to netgear.opendns.com where you will need to log into your OpenDNS account.
3. Click on the Custom option.
4. Check the boxes next to the categories that you want to block and uncheck those that you want to enable access (only selected content are blocked). Once you are done, click the Save Default Filtering Level button to save your selection.
Part 3. Set Internet Time Limites with Netgear Parental Control
Now that you created a firewall for your children, does it mean that you will not be able to access these sites as well? Of course not!
Other than customising the levels of filtering and types of content, you can also set the controls within a time limit. If you do not have multiple computers or simple find changing the settings everytime you want to use the computer, the time limit feature is a great tool that you can use to ensure that your children (or their babysitter) cannot access unwanted content while you are out.
Here is how you can create a bypass account so that you will not be restricted by the parental control settings.
1. On the Netgear Genie window, click on the Change Custom Settings link.
2. This will bring you to netgear.opendns.com where you need to click on the Add a bypass account link.
Do note that you will need to install Netgear Genie on each PC and mobile devices that you want to use the Bypass account.
3. Create the username and password for each bypass account that you want to create. Click the Add account button.
4. Choose the filtering level associated to the account and click on Save Filtering Level once you are happy with your selection.
5. To start adding the time block, open the Add a time block tab to start setting the time and the filtering level. Click the Add Time Block button.
6. Return to the Netgear Genie window and click on Bypass Login.
7. Double-click on the bypass account you want to log into. Enter the password and click Login.
You can now access the internet without any restriction outside this time with this Netgear Live Parental Controls feature.
The internet is one of the greatest inventions of our time. Sadly, as much good as it benefits us, it is also a platform filled with negative content that could adversely affect the development of our children. While it may be a paranoid move to some, restricting what your children see and absorb from the internet is one of the ways to protect them from physical and mental harm. Services and tools like Netgear Parental Controls are great in monitoring your children while you are out of your home. It even protects them while you are home because, after all, the internet is a boundless teritory. They are also great tools to teach your children to be responsible and safe while using the internet.
There is no better time to invest your effort and time when it comes to cyber security for your children---and to some extent you and your partner----because anyone can be a victim of a predator these days. Precaution is better than cure.
Part 4. Msafely-The Best Parental Control App You Need
If you want to monitor your child's phone for longer, Msafely is your best choice. As a professional mobile phone tracking software, Msafely can provide you with an unprecedented user experience, simple operation, sincere customer service, and timely technical support. You can access children’s phone and view all activities without being caught.
Key Features of Msafely
You can view all messages stored in the box on the Msafely dashboard. This makes it easy for you to check the private messages stored in the target phone.
With Msafely, you can view all kinds of text messages, including sent and received messages, even deleted messages. That means you will not miss out any messages.
You can get to know the content of every text message. Thus you are clear what they talk about, and check whether there is anything inappropriate.
Except for text message content, you can also view the send and receiver of each text message. What more, you can view the attachment of text messages, such as photos, files.
Msafely allows you to know when a message was sent or received. You can know the exact time of every activity. This also makes the Msafely the best iPhone monitoring app for parental control.
You must be interested in children’s social media and want to find out who they contact with and what they talk about. You can access social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat.
Msafely can track GPS location, including the previously visited places. If you want to know where your child is right now or where he has been before, you can find those information on the Msafely panel.
Msafely can track all keystrokes your child typed on the phone. And you will know what he searches on the internet.
It is easy for Msafely to track call history with details, such as date and time, call duration. You know who your children have a call with frequently.
If you choose Msafely for parental control, you never worry about be caught. Because it is totally undetectable and hidden. Your kid will not suspect that you are monitoring him.
You can monitor child’s phone from Msafely dashboard. Once you finish setup and bind the target phone with Msafely, you don’t need to physically access the target iPhone to monitor it.
Msafely is end-to-end encrypted. Only you have right to view all data on your child’s phone. You never worry about the data leakage.
Msafely is compatible with all iOS devices. You can login to your Msafely account with any effective browser on computer/ iOS devices/android devices.
How to Use Msafely in 3 Simple Steps?
- Step 1. Register A Free Account
Click the "Sign Up Free" button to sign up for free for a Msafely account. Use your email as the username.
- Step 2. Add iCloud Details
Select iOS as the target platform, then follow the guide on the screen to finish setting up Msafely. Enter Apple ID and password for target phone in the required area.
- Step 3. Start Tracking Children's Phone
Login to your Msafely account. Start monitoring your kid from the Msafely dashboard.
Conclusion
You can install and setup Netgear live parental controls. For continuous and remote monitoring, I recommend you Msafely cell phone tracker. It comes with robust phone tracking features. You can keep an eye on your children’s phone without them knowing.