The Best Parental Control Software for 2019 - PCMag UK " /> Skip to main content Neil J. Rubenking Pros: Each child's settings apply to multiple devices. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for Internet, device use, applications. Powerful social monitoring. Impressive online configuration and reporting. Location, call blocking, panic button for Android.Cons: iOS edition limited in features. No gaming control. Parental notification only by email, not text.Bottom Line: With Qustodio Parental Control 2015, you can keep track of your children's online activity on PC, Mac, iOS, Android, or Kindle devices. Its rich feature set and clever social media tracking make it a new Editors' Choice for parental control.Read Review Pros: Offers a deep catalog of content, including full seasons and full series worth of episodes. Works beautifully on mobile devices. Offers 720p HD quality video. Commercial-free option.Cons: Netflix offers a better variety of films and original content. Amazon and iTunes HD offer 1080p-resolution content.Bottom Line: Hulu's subscription service is a worthy investment for those eager to watch full seasons of their favorite shows on a variety of devices, especially now that it offers a commercial-free premium tier.Read Review Pros: No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device usage time. Content filter can block bad sites or just warn. Geofencing for mobile devices. Extensive alert system. Social network monitoring. Can block or time-limit apps. Inexpensive.Cons: Call and text monitoring is Android-only. No application control under iOS.Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids offers well-rounded, very affordable parental control and monitoring, and it doesn't limit the number of child profiles or devices you can cover. It's an excellent choice.Read Review Pros: Can manage every device on your home network. Easy setup. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.Cons: Powerless when kids aren't home. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Managed only through iOS app. Minimal reporting.Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network, but it's powerless if the kids aren't at home.Read ReviewParenting in the Digital Age Modern kids have never known a time when they couldn't connect to the entire world via the internet. In fact, they probably spend more time online than anyone else—certainly more than their parents. If you are a parent, this presents a problem, as there are explicit, disturbing, and illegal sites on the web that you don't want your kids to encounter. Furthermore, with the ever-increasing number of devices that kids use to connect, you simply can't supervise every moment they're online on your own. That's where parental control services can help. This software gives you the ability to block unwanted web content, limit screen time, restrict the use of risky applications, and more. Basically, these services are a way to help keep your kids safer on their computers and mobile devices. That said, parental control software is no substitute for good communication. If you don't want your kids to visit unsafe, unsavory, or inappropriate sites, talk to them about your concerns. We recommend that you also take the time to convince your older kids that you'll respect their privacy while still monitoring their online actions, a promise you should strive to uphold. We prefer software that embraces this kind of collaborative approach, rather than apps that covertly spy on kids. If your kids see you as big brother, it's a safe bet that they'll find ways to outsmart you and evade even the most sophisticated systems. As tech addiction increasingly becomes a problem, it's important to instill the value of good device habits on to your children as well. Monitor Your Child's Devices Long gone are the days when a single parental control utility on the family PC was sufficient for keeping your kids safe and productive. Modern kids use all kinds of internet-connected devices, and modern parental control systems must keep up. Before settling on a particular parental control utility, you need to make sure that it supports all the device types in your household. While all the products in the chart above support Windows and Android, compatibility with macOS and iOS varies. That said, Apple has recently announced the new Screen Time feature for the upcoming iOS 12, a set of tools for monitoring and controlling app and device usage. Taken alongside iOS' existing Restrictions settings, when iOS 12 releases Apple will offer a free set of parental controls tools comparable to these paid alternatives, with the added benefit of first-party support. Note that some parental control utilities leverage VPN technology on iOS devices, running internet connections through a local app to enable content filtering. You'll see the VPN icon when such a utility is active, but it doesn't mean the child's connection is secured by a full-scale virtual private network, nor that the device's IP address is masked. Check, too, that any limits on the number of child profiles or devices won't be a problem. Large families, for example, will appreciate that Norton Family works on an unlimited number of devices. Most parental control software operates as a subscription service, so pricing tiers tend to align with device limits, though some offer free versions for basic protection on a limited number of devices. If your kids are strictly smartphone users, take a look at our roundup of mobile parental control apps. If getting parental control coverage installed on each of your family's devices starts to seem too difficult, consider a whole-network solution, such as Circle With Disney or Open DNS. These systems perform content filtering at the router level, so your settings affect every device on the network. Naturally, you don't get the same fine level of control and detailed monitoring that you get with a local agent on each device, but this is a much broader solution. Web Filters, Time Limits, and Apps At the very least, a good parental control tool features content filtering—the ability to block access to websites matching categories such as hate, violence, and porn. This type of filtering only really works if it's browser-independent and works with secure (HTTPS) sites. With no HTTPS filtering, a smart teen could bypass the system using a secure anonymizing proxy website or even a different web browser in some cases. Most also have the option to permanently enable SafeSearch. Of course, the most capable solutions also keep a detailed log of your child's web activity. Access scheduling is another very common feature. Some applications let parents set a weekly schedule for device usage, some control internet use in general, and others offer a combination of the two. A daily or weekly cap on internet usage can also be handy, especially if it applies to all your kids' devices. The best services apply these two ideas to individual desktop and mobile applications as well. Qustodio, for example, can block apps entirely and set time usage limits. This is particularly useful for children who have a habit of playing games or using social media apps when they should be doing homework. Messaging and Social Media As kids get older, content filtering may start to seem pointless. Hey, you let them watch Game of Thrones, right? At some point, you start to worry more about their interaction with the wider world. Sure, if their friends come over in person, you can at least meet them, but what about friends on social media and other contacts your child never mentions? Who are they, really, and what are your kids discussing with them? Although some supervision is acceptable, you still need to respect your child's basic right to privacy and encourage open discussion, rather than using parental control software as spyware. Many services let you monitor contacts and messages and keep an eye out for potentially dangerous or unsanctioned situations. You can even block new contacts or view message content with some parental control software. Keep in mind that this primarily applies to SMS texts; messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat typically do not fall under the same scope. Social media tracking can also provide a glimpse into your child's social life, though many services now only monitor Facebook. This kind of oversight usually requires that you either know your child's login credentials or convince them to log in and install the tracker's app. Disabling this kind of data collection is a snap for the child, so here, more than ever, you need to be on the same page. Remote Notification and Management Most kids are on mobile devices at least some of the time, and many are almost exclusively accessing the internet on their phones. Fortunately, many parental control services offer a companion app that lets you view your child's activity, set basic rules, and view notifications as they arrive—NetNanny is a particularly noteworthy example. This kind of companion app is particularly useful for responding to access or time-extension requests on the go. Otherwise, you manage everything online, where you have fine control over activity reports and restrictions. Any changes you make should propagate to your children's devices when they connect to the internet. When your child tries to visit a blocked site, makes a post using iffy language, or otherwise bends the rules it sends you a notification to your preferred channel, such as via the app, web, email, text, or some combination of those options. Advanced Features When you get beyond the basics, parental control systems start to diverge, with many advanced features to help them stand out from the crowd. Among these standout features are the ability to track your child's YouTube and Hulu viewing history, check your child's location, or even remotely lock down a device to force them to divert their attention. You'll also find advanced versions of standard features. For example, the best content filters don't just use a database of categories. They analyze page content in real time so that, for example, they can allow access to a short-story site but block the erotica. In order to make an informed choice for your own family, check out our full reviews of these parental control solutions. If you have any suggestions for software to try or just want to sound off about a particularly positive or negative experience, please add your comments and join the discussion. Qustodio Review MSRP: $39.95 at Pros: Cross-platform support. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for internet, device, and application usage. Location tracking.Cons: Expensive. Social monitoring only tracks Facebook. Dated web portal. Some iOS limitations.Bottom Line: Parental control app Qustodio is a highly configurable, easy-to-manage tool for keeping track of your child's activity on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.Read Review Pros: Supports Windows, Mac, Android. Web-based configuration and reporting. Powerful filtering. Cross-platform internet time allowance. App control for Android.Cons: No new updates. Expensive. No location tracking. Lacks advanced time management control. Limited iOS features.Bottom Line: Net Nanny's web-centric and multi-platform approach to parental control makes it a useful option for the modern world, but it hasn't been updated substantially in years. Read Review Pros: Affordable. Excellent web dashboard. Settings apply across all devices. No limit on number of PC, phones, tablets, or children protected. Tracks child's location.Cons: Does not work on Macs. No Free version anymore. Does not block HTTPS sites on unsupported browsers. Web extension is easily disabled. Platform-dependent features. Lackluster social media tracking.Bottom Line: Norton Family's top-notch web interface and wealth of features make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across their many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.Read Review Pros: Affordable. No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device and app usage. Robust web filtering. Geofencing. Extensive alert system. Cons: Several iOS limitations. Content filtering limited to specific browsers. Social monitoring only covers Facebook and VK. Sluggish web interface.Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids is a full-featured, affordable parental monitoring system for desktop and mobile platforms that doesn't impose limits on the number of devices you can monitor.Read Review Pros: Easy setup. Manages every device on your home network. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.Cons: Circle Go subscription surprisingly expensive. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Minimal reporting.Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance, controlled by a simple mobile app, provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network.Read Review Pros: Parental control and monitoring for every device on your network. Enforces Safe Search. Device-specific Internet time scheduling. Reports all sites visited and blocked. Optional daily activity email.Cons: Reports can't identify activity by specific users. Content filter missed some porn sites and secure anonymizing proxies. Performance as a router lags behind competing 802.11ac devices.Bottom Line: Have kids on the Web? Clean Router replaces your home router to apply parental control and monitoring to every device on your network. Read Review Pros: Online configuration and management. Can apply child profiles to multiple devices and user accounts. Powerful content filter. Weekly Internet schedule. App control on Android. Available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Kindle and Nook.Cons: Testing turned up some communication problems and delays between online console and local app. Initial configuration slightly awkward. No daily/weekly cap on Internet use. No real-time parental notifications.Bottom Line: You configure Mobicip's parental control options online, and a local agent enforces the rules on your children's devices. In testing, we hit a few communication problems, but overall it's a good choice for the modern multi-device family.Read Review Pros: Filters dangerous and objectionable websites for all devices on your home network. Optional local agent for Windows PCs. Multiple profiles available, with time scheduling. Reports on sites visited and blocked.Cons: Using time-scheduler to actually limit Internet use is seriously awkward. Usage reports include every URL accessed, many of which aren't websites. Usage reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block phishing or malware-hosting URLs.Bottom Line: When you configure your router to use SafeDNS, you can filter out dangerous or objectionable content for every device that connects using your home network. Just don't expect a full range of parental control features.Read Review Pros: Filters Web content for all devices on the network. All essential features found in free edition, including dynamic IP handling. Report on sites visited and blocked. Can block or allow domains from within stats report. Cons: Stats reports include every URL accessed, even those that aren't websites. Stats reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block malware-hosting URLs and blocked few phishing URLs.Bottom Line: OpenDNS Home VIP applies parental control and monitoring at the network level, for all your devices, and its essential features are available for free. Consider using it in conjunction with a more conventional parental monitoring tool.Read Review Pros: Unusually comprehensive iOS support. Tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and mobile device use. Notifies parents of risky posts. Tracks child's location, with optional geofencing. Finds hidden social media accounts. Tracks calls and texts on mobile devices.Cons: No support for Android tablets, only smartphones. iOS tracking ineffective without regular iCloud backups. Geolocation proved unreliable in testing.Bottom Line: A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks. Read Review More Inside PCMag.com About the Author Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His "User to User" column supplied readers with tips and solutions on using DOS and Windows, his technical columns clarified fine points in programming and operating systems, and his utility articles (over forty of ... See Full Bio More From Neil J. Rubenking Please enable JavaScript to view the comments. Ad That said, parental control software is no substitute for good communication. If you don't want your kids to visit unsafe, unsavory, or inappropriate sites, talk to them about your concerns. We recommend that you also take the time to convince your older kids that you'll respect their privacy while still monitoring their online actions, a promise you should strive to uphold. We prefer software that embraces this kind of collaborative approach, rather than apps that covertly spy on kids. If your kids see you as big brother, it's a safe bet that they'll find ways to outsmart you and evade even the most sophisticated systems. As tech addiction increasingly becomes a problem, it's important to instill the value of good device habits on to your children as well.\nMonitor Your Child's Devices\nLong gone are the days when a single parental control utility on the family PC was sufficient for keeping your kids safe and productive. Modern kids use all kinds of internet-connected devices, and modern parental control systems must keep up.\nBefore settling on a particular parental control utility, you need to make sure that it supports all the device types in your household. While all the products in the chart above support Windows and Android, compatibility with macOS and iOS varies. That said, Apple has recently announced the new Screen Time feature for the upcoming iOS 12, a set of tools for monitoring and controlling app and device usage. Taken alongside iOS' existing Restrictions settings, when iOS 12 releases Apple will offer a free set of parental controls tools comparable to these paid alternatives, with the added benefit of first-party support.\nNote that some parental control utilities leverage VPN technology on iOS devices, running internet connections through a local app to enable content filtering. You'll see the VPN icon when such a utility is active, but it doesn't mean the child's connection is secured by a full-scale virtual private network, nor that the device's IP address is masked.\nCheck, too, that any limits on the number of child profiles or devices won't be a problem. Large families, for example, will appreciate that Norton Family works on an unlimited number of devices. Most parental control software operates as a subscription service, so pricing tiers tend to align with device limits, though some offer free versions for basic protection on a limited number of devices. If your kids are strictly smartphone users, take a look at our roundup of mobile parental control apps.\nIf getting parental control coverage installed on each of your family's devices starts to seem too difficult, consider a whole-network solution, such as Circle With Disney or Open DNS. These systems perform content filtering at the router level, so your settings affect every device on the network. Naturally, you don't get the same fine level of control and detailed monitoring that you get with a local agent on each device, but this is a much broader solution.\n\nWeb Filters, Time Limits, and Apps\nAt the very least, a good parental control tool features content filtering\u2014the ability to block access to websites matching categories such as hate, violence, and porn. This type of filtering only really works if it's browser-independent and works with secure (HTTPS) sites. With no HTTPS filtering, a smart teen could bypass the system using a secure anonymizing proxy website or even a different web browser in some cases. Most also have the option to permanently enable SafeSearch. Of course, the most capable solutions also keep a detailed log of your child's web activity.\nAccess scheduling is another very common feature. Some applications let parents set a weekly schedule for device usage, some control internet use in general, and others offer a combination of the two. A daily or weekly cap on internet usage can also be handy, especially if it applies to all your kids' devices.\nThe best services apply these two ideas to individual desktop and mobile applications as well. Qustodio, for example, can block apps entirely and set time usage limits. This is particularly useful for children who have a habit of playing games or using social media apps when they should be doing homework.\nMessaging and Social Media\nAs kids get older, content filtering may start to seem pointless. Hey, you let them watch Game of Thrones, right? At some point, you start to worry more about their interaction with the wider world. Sure, if their friends come over in person, you can at least meet them, but what about friends on social media and other contacts your child never mentions? Who are they, really, and what are your kids discussing with them? Although some supervision is acceptable, you still need to respect your child's basic right to privacy and encourage open discussion, rather than using parental control software as spyware.\nMany services let you monitor contacts and messages and keep an eye out for potentially dangerous or unsanctioned situations. You can even block new contacts or view message content with some parental control software. Keep in mind that this primarily applies to SMS texts; messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat typically do not fall under the same scope. Social media tracking can also provide a glimpse into your child's social life, though many services now only monitor Facebook. This kind of oversight usually requires that you either know your child's login credentials or convince them to log in and install the tracker's app. Disabling this kind of data collection is a snap for the child, so here, more than ever, you need to be on the same page.\nRemote Notification and Management\nMost kids are on mobile devices at least some of the time, and many are almost exclusively accessing the internet on their phones. Fortunately, many parental control services offer a companion app that lets you view your child's activity, set basic rules, and view notifications as they arrive\u2014NetNanny is a particularly noteworthy example. This kind of companion app is particularly useful for responding to access or time-extension requests on the go. Otherwise, you manage everything online, where you have fine control over activity reports and restrictions. Any changes you make should propagate to your children's devices when they connect to the internet.\nWhen your child tries to visit a blocked site, makes a post using iffy language, or otherwise bends the rules it sends you a notification to your preferred channel, such as via the app, web, email, text, or some combination of those options.\nAdvanced Features\nWhen you get beyond the basics, parental control systems start to diverge, with many advanced features to help them stand out from the crowd. Among these standout features are the ability to track your child's YouTube and Hulu viewing history, check your child's location, or even remotely lock down a device to force them to divert their attention. You'll also find advanced versions of standard features. For example, the best content filters don't just use a database of categories. They analyze page content in real time so that, for example, they can allow access to a short-story site but block the erotica.\nIn order to make an informed choice for your own family, check out our full reviews of these parental control solutions. If you have any suggestions for software to try or just want to sound off about a particularly positive or negative experience, please add your comments and join the discussion.\n\n\n \n\nQustodio Review\n \nMSRP: $39.95\n at \n\n\nPros: Cross-platform support. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for internet, device, and application usage. Location tracking.Cons: Expensive. Social monitoring only tracks Facebook. Dated web portal. Some iOS limitations.Bottom Line: Parental control app Qustodio is a highly configurable, easy-to-manage tool for keeping track of your child's activity on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Supports Windows, Mac, Android. Web-based configuration and reporting. Powerful filtering. Cross-platform internet time allowance. App control for Android.Cons: No new updates. Expensive. No location tracking. Lacks advanced time management control. Limited iOS features.Bottom Line: Net Nanny's web-centric and multi-platform approach to parental control makes it a useful option for the modern world, but it hasn't been updated substantially in years. Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Affordable. Excellent web dashboard. Settings apply across all devices. No limit on number of PC, phones, tablets, or children protected. Tracks child's location.Cons: Does not work on Macs. No Free version anymore. Does not block HTTPS sites on unsupported browsers. Web extension is easily disabled. Platform-dependent features. Lackluster social media tracking.Bottom Line: Norton Family's top-notch web interface and wealth of features make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across their many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Affordable. No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device and app usage. Robust web filtering. Geofencing. Extensive alert system. Cons: Several iOS limitations. Content filtering limited to specific browsers. Social monitoring only covers Facebook and VK. Sluggish web interface.Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids is a full-featured, affordable parental monitoring system for desktop and mobile platforms that doesn't impose limits on the number of devices you can monitor.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Easy setup. Manages every device on your home network. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.Cons: Circle Go subscription surprisingly expensive. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Minimal reporting.Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance, controlled by a simple mobile app, provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Parental control and monitoring for every device on your network. Enforces Safe Search. Device-specific Internet time scheduling. Reports all sites visited and blocked. Optional daily activity email.Cons: Reports can't identify activity by specific users. Content filter missed some porn sites and secure anonymizing proxies. Performance as a router lags behind competing 802.11ac devices.Bottom Line: Have kids on the Web? Clean Router replaces your home router to apply parental control and monitoring to every device on your network. Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Online configuration and management. Can apply child profiles to multiple devices and user accounts. Powerful content filter. Weekly Internet schedule. App control on Android. Available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Kindle and Nook.Cons: Testing turned up some communication problems and delays between online console and local app. Initial configuration slightly awkward. No daily/weekly cap on Internet use. No real-time parental notifications.Bottom Line: You configure Mobicip's parental control options online, and a local agent enforces the rules on your children's devices. In testing, we hit a few communication problems, but overall it's a good choice for the modern multi-device family.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Filters dangerous and objectionable websites for all devices on your home network. Optional local agent for Windows PCs. Multiple profiles available, with time scheduling. Reports on sites visited and blocked.Cons: Using time-scheduler to actually limit Internet use is seriously awkward. Usage reports include every URL accessed, many of which aren't websites. Usage reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block phishing or malware-hosting URLs.Bottom Line: When you configure your router to use SafeDNS, you can filter out dangerous or objectionable content for every device that connects using your home network. Just don't expect a full range of parental control features.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Filters Web content for all devices on the network. All essential features found in free edition, including dynamic IP handling. Report on sites visited and blocked. Can block or allow domains from within stats report. Cons: Stats reports include every URL accessed, even those that aren't websites. Stats reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block malware-hosting URLs and blocked few phishing URLs.Bottom Line: OpenDNS Home VIP applies parental control and monitoring at the network level, for all your devices, and its essential features are available for free. Consider using it in conjunction with a more conventional parental monitoring tool.Read Review\n\n\n \nPros: Unusually comprehensive iOS support. Tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and mobile device use. Notifies parents of risky posts. Tracks child's location, with optional geofencing. Finds hidden social media accounts. Tracks calls and texts on mobile devices.Cons: No support for Android tablets, only smartphones. iOS tracking ineffective without regular iCloud backups. Geolocation proved unreliable in testing.Bottom Line: A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks.\nRead Review\n\n\n\n", "image": [{"url": "https://sm.pcmag.com/pcmag_uk/guide/t/the-best-p/the-best-parental-control-software-for-2019_y82w.jpg", "width": 1920, "caption": "The Best Parental Control Software for 2019", "@type": "ImageObject", "height": 1080}], "datePublished": "2019-07-03 10:30:00+00:00", "publisher": {"url": "https://uk.pcmag.com", "logo": {"url": "('https://uk.pcmag.com/s/',)pcmag/pcmag_logo_micro.png", "width": 245, "@type": "ImageObject", "height": 60}, "@type": "Organization", "name": "PCMag UK"}, "about": {"description": "PC Magazine provides up-to-date coverage and product reviews of Parental Control & Monitoring", "@type": "Thing", "name": "Parental Control & Monitoring"}, "author": {"jobTitle": "Lead Analyst for Security", "description": "Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His \"User to User\" column supplied readers with tips and solutions on using DOS and Windows, his technical columns clarified fine points in programming and operating systems, and his utility articles (over forty of them) provided both useful programs and examples of programming in Pascal, Visual Basic, and Delphi. \n\tMr. Rubenking has also written seven books on DOS, Windows, and Pascal/Delphi programming, including PC Magazine DOS Batch File Lab Notes and the popular Delphi Programming for Dummies. In his current position as a PC Magazine Lead Analyst he evaluates and reports on client-side operating systems and security solutions such as firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and full security suites. Mr. Rubenking is an Advisory Board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, an international non-profit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.", "@type": "Person", "image": "https://assets.pcmag.com/media/images/248873-neil-rubenking.jpg?thumb=y&width=85&height=85", "name": "Neil J. Rubenking"}, "headline": "The Best Parental Control Software for 2019", "@type": "NewsArticle", "mainEntityOfPage": {"@id": "https://uk.pcmag.com/parental-control-monitoring/67305/the-best-parental-control-software", "@type": "WebPage"}, "@context": "https://schema.org", "dateModified": "2019-07-03 10:36:56+00:00"} The Best Parental Control Software for 2019 - PCMag UK " /> Skip to main content Neil J. Rubenking Pros: Each child's settings apply to multiple devices. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for Internet, device use, applications. Powerful social monitoring. Impressive online configuration and reporting. Location, call blocking, panic button for Android.Cons: iOS edition limited in features. No gaming control. Parental notification only by email, not text.Bottom Line: With Qustodio Parental Control 2015, you can keep track of your children's online activity on PC, Mac, iOS, Android, or Kindle devices. Its rich feature set and clever social media tracking make it a new Editors' Choice for parental control.Read Review Pros: Offers a deep catalog of content, including full seasons and full series worth of episodes. Works beautifully on mobile devices. Offers 720p HD quality video. Commercial-free option.Cons: Netflix offers a better variety of films and original content. Amazon and iTunes HD offer 1080p-resolution content.Bottom Line: Hulu's subscription service is a worthy investment for those eager to watch full seasons of their favorite shows on a variety of devices, especially now that it offers a commercial-free premium tier.Read Review Pros: No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device usage time. Content filter can block bad sites or just warn. Geofencing for mobile devices. Extensive alert system. Social network monitoring. Can block or time-limit apps. Inexpensive.Cons: Call and text monitoring is Android-only. No application control under iOS.Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids offers well-rounded, very affordable parental control and monitoring, and it doesn't limit the number of child profiles or devices you can cover. It's an excellent choice.Read Review Pros: Can manage every device on your home network. Easy setup. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.Cons: Powerless when kids aren't home. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Managed only through iOS app. Minimal reporting.Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network, but it's powerless if the kids aren't at home.Read ReviewParenting in the Digital Age Modern kids have never known a time when they couldn't connect to the entire world via the internet. In fact, they probably spend more time online than anyone else—certainly more than their parents. If you are a parent, this presents a problem, as there are explicit, disturbing, and illegal sites on the web that you don't want your kids to encounter. Furthermore, with the ever-increasing number of devices that kids use to connect, you simply can't supervise every moment they're online on your own. That's where parental control services can help. This software gives you the ability to block unwanted web content, limit screen time, restrict the use of risky applications, and more. Basically, these services are a way to help keep your kids safer on their computers and mobile devices. That said, parental control software is no substitute for good communication. If you don't want your kids to visit unsafe, unsavory, or inappropriate sites, talk to them about your concerns. We recommend that you also take the time to convince your older kids that you'll respect their privacy while still monitoring their online actions, a promise you should strive to uphold. We prefer software that embraces this kind of collaborative approach, rather than apps that covertly spy on kids. If your kids see you as big brother, it's a safe bet that they'll find ways to outsmart you and evade even the most sophisticated systems. As tech addiction increasingly becomes a problem, it's important to instill the value of good device habits on to your children as well. Monitor Your Child's Devices Long gone are the days when a single parental control utility on the family PC was sufficient for keeping your kids safe and productive. Modern kids use all kinds of internet-connected devices, and modern parental control systems must keep up. Before settling on a particular parental control utility, you need to make sure that it supports all the device types in your household. While all the products in the chart above support Windows and Android, compatibility with macOS and iOS varies. That said, Apple has recently announced the new Screen Time feature for the upcoming iOS 12, a set of tools for monitoring and controlling app and device usage. Taken alongside iOS' existing Restrictions settings, when iOS 12 releases Apple will offer a free set of parental controls tools comparable to these paid alternatives, with the added benefit of first-party support. Note that some parental control utilities leverage VPN technology on iOS devices, running internet connections through a local app to enable content filtering. You'll see the VPN icon when such a utility is active, but it doesn't mean the child's connection is secured by a full-scale virtual private network, nor that the device's IP address is masked. Check, too, that any limits on the number of child profiles or devices won't be a problem. Large families, for example, will appreciate that Norton Family works on an unlimited number of devices. Most parental control software operates as a subscription service, so pricing tiers tend to align with device limits, though some offer free versions for basic protection on a limited number of devices. If your kids are strictly smartphone users, take a look at our roundup of mobile parental control apps. If getting parental control coverage installed on each of your family's devices starts to seem too difficult, consider a whole-network solution, such as Circle With Disney or Open DNS. These systems perform content filtering at the router level, so your settings affect every device on the network. Naturally, you don't get the same fine level of control and detailed monitoring that you get with a local agent on each device, but this is a much broader solution. Web Filters, Time Limits, and Apps At the very least, a good parental control tool features content filtering—the ability to block access to websites matching categories such as hate, violence, and porn. This type of filtering only really works if it's browser-independent and works with secure (HTTPS) sites. With no HTTPS filtering, a smart teen could bypass the system using a secure anonymizing proxy website or even a different web browser in some cases. Most also have the option to permanently enable SafeSearch. Of course, the most capable solutions also keep a detailed log of your child's web activity. Access scheduling is another very common feature. Some applications let parents set a weekly schedule for device usage, some control internet use in general, and others offer a combination of the two. A daily or weekly cap on internet usage can also be handy, especially if it applies to all your kids' devices. The best services apply these two ideas to individual desktop and mobile applications as well. Qustodio, for example, can block apps entirely and set time usage limits. This is particularly useful for children who have a habit of playing games or using social media apps when they should be doing homework. Messaging and Social Media As kids get older, content filtering may start to seem pointless. Hey, you let them watch Game of Thrones, right? At some point, you start to worry more about their interaction with the wider world. Sure, if their friends come over in person, you can at least meet them, but what about friends on social media and other contacts your child never mentions? Who are they, really, and what are your kids discussing with them? Although some supervision is acceptable, you still need to respect your child's basic right to privacy and encourage open discussion, rather than using parental control software as spyware. Many services let you monitor contacts and messages and keep an eye out for potentially dangerous or unsanctioned situations. You can even block new contacts or view message content with some parental control software. Keep in mind that this primarily applies to SMS texts; messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat typically do not fall under the same scope. Social media tracking can also provide a glimpse into your child's social life, though many services now only monitor Facebook. This kind of oversight usually requires that you either know your child's login credentials or convince them to log in and install the tracker's app. Disabling this kind of data collection is a snap for the child, so here, more than ever, you need to be on the same page. Remote Notification and Management Most kids are on mobile devices at least some of the time, and many are almost exclusively accessing the internet on their phones. Fortunately, many parental control services offer a companion app that lets you view your child's activity, set basic rules, and view notifications as they arrive—NetNanny is a particularly noteworthy example. This kind of companion app is particularly useful for responding to access or time-extension requests on the go. Otherwise, you manage everything online, where you have fine control over activity reports and restrictions. Any changes you make should propagate to your children's devices when they connect to the internet. When your child tries to visit a blocked site, makes a post using iffy language, or otherwise bends the rules it sends you a notification to your preferred channel, such as via the app, web, email, text, or some combination of those options. Advanced Features When you get beyond the basics, parental control systems start to diverge, with many advanced features to help them stand out from the crowd. Among these standout features are the ability to track your child's YouTube and Hulu viewing history, check your child's location, or even remotely lock down a device to force them to divert their attention. You'll also find advanced versions of standard features. For example, the best content filters don't just use a database of categories. They analyze page content in real time so that, for example, they can allow access to a short-story site but block the erotica. In order to make an informed choice for your own family, check out our full reviews of these parental control solutions. If you have any suggestions for software to try or just want to sound off about a particularly positive or negative experience, please add your comments and join the discussion. Qustodio Review MSRP: $39.95 at Pros: Cross-platform support. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for internet, device, and application usage. Location tracking.Cons: Expensive. Social monitoring only tracks Facebook. Dated web portal. Some iOS limitations.Bottom Line: Parental control app Qustodio is a highly configurable, easy-to-manage tool for keeping track of your child's activity on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.Read Review Pros: Supports Windows, Mac, Android. Web-based configuration and reporting. Powerful filtering. Cross-platform internet time allowance. App control for Android.Cons: No new updates. Expensive. No location tracking. Lacks advanced time management control. Limited iOS features.Bottom Line: Net Nanny's web-centric and multi-platform approach to parental control makes it a useful option for the modern world, but it hasn't been updated substantially in years. Read Review Pros: Affordable. Excellent web dashboard. Settings apply across all devices. No limit on number of PC, phones, tablets, or children protected. Tracks child's location.Cons: Does not work on Macs. No Free version anymore. Does not block HTTPS sites on unsupported browsers. Web extension is easily disabled. Platform-dependent features. Lackluster social media tracking.Bottom Line: Norton Family's top-notch web interface and wealth of features make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across their many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.Read Review Pros: Affordable. No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device and app usage. Robust web filtering. Geofencing. Extensive alert system. Cons: Several iOS limitations. Content filtering limited to specific browsers. Social monitoring only covers Facebook and VK. Sluggish web interface.Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids is a full-featured, affordable parental monitoring system for desktop and mobile platforms that doesn't impose limits on the number of devices you can monitor.Read Review Pros: Easy setup. Manages every device on your home network. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.Cons: Circle Go subscription surprisingly expensive. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Minimal reporting.Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance, controlled by a simple mobile app, provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network.Read Review Pros: Parental control and monitoring for every device on your network. Enforces Safe Search. Device-specific Internet time scheduling. Reports all sites visited and blocked. Optional daily activity email.Cons: Reports can't identify activity by specific users. Content filter missed some porn sites and secure anonymizing proxies. Performance as a router lags behind competing 802.11ac devices.Bottom Line: Have kids on the Web? Clean Router replaces your home router to apply parental control and monitoring to every device on your network. Read Review Pros: Online configuration and management. Can apply child profiles to multiple devices and user accounts. Powerful content filter. Weekly Internet schedule. App control on Android. Available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Kindle and Nook.Cons: Testing turned up some communication problems and delays between online console and local app. Initial configuration slightly awkward. No daily/weekly cap on Internet use. No real-time parental notifications.Bottom Line: You configure Mobicip's parental control options online, and a local agent enforces the rules on your children's devices. In testing, we hit a few communication problems, but overall it's a good choice for the modern multi-device family.Read Review Pros: Filters dangerous and objectionable websites for all devices on your home network. Optional local agent for Windows PCs. Multiple profiles available, with time scheduling. Reports on sites visited and blocked.Cons: Using time-scheduler to actually limit Internet use is seriously awkward. Usage reports include every URL accessed, many of which aren't websites. Usage reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block phishing or malware-hosting URLs.Bottom Line: When you configure your router to use SafeDNS, you can filter out dangerous or objectionable content for every device that connects using your home network. Just don't expect a full range of parental control features.Read Review Pros: Filters Web content for all devices on the network. All essential features found in free edition, including dynamic IP handling. Report on sites visited and blocked. Can block or allow domains from within stats report. Cons: Stats reports include every URL accessed, even those that aren't websites. Stats reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block malware-hosting URLs and blocked few phishing URLs.Bottom Line: OpenDNS Home VIP applies parental control and monitoring at the network level, for all your devices, and its essential features are available for free. Consider using it in conjunction with a more conventional parental monitoring tool.Read Review Pros: Unusually comprehensive iOS support. Tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and mobile device use. Notifies parents of risky posts. Tracks child's location, with optional geofencing. Finds hidden social media accounts. Tracks calls and texts on mobile devices.Cons: No support for Android tablets, only smartphones. iOS tracking ineffective without regular iCloud backups. Geolocation proved unreliable in testing.Bottom Line: A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks. Read Review More Inside PCMag.com About the Author Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His "User to User" column supplied readers with tips and solutions on using DOS and Windows, his technical columns clarified fine points in programming and operating systems, and his utility articles (over forty of ... See Full Bio More From Neil J. Rubenking Please enable JavaScript to view the comments. Ad That said, parental control software is no substitute for good communication. If you don't want your kids to visit unsafe, unsavory, or inappropriate sites, talk to them about your concerns. We recommend that you also take the time to convince your older kids that you'll respect their privacy while still monitoring their online actions, a promise you should strive to uphold. We prefer software that embraces this kind of collaborative approach, rather than apps that covertly spy on kids. If your kids see you as big brother, it's a safe bet that they'll find ways to outsmart you and evade even the most sophisticated systems. As tech addiction increasingly becomes a problem, it's important to instill the value of good device habits on to your children as well.\nMonitor Your Child's Devices\nLong gone are the days when a single parental control utility on the family PC was sufficient for keeping your kids safe and productive. Modern kids use all kinds of internet-connected devices, and modern parental control systems must keep up.\nBefore settling on a particular parental control utility, you need to make sure that it supports all the device types in your household. While all the products in the chart above support Windows and Android, compatibility with macOS and iOS varies. That said, Apple has recently announced the new Screen Time feature for the upcoming iOS 12, a set of tools for monitoring and controlling app and device usage. Taken alongside iOS' existing Restrictions settings, when iOS 12 releases Apple will offer a free set of parental controls tools comparable to these paid alternatives, with the added benefit of first-party support.\nNote that some parental control utilities leverage VPN technology on iOS devices, running internet connections through a local app to enable content filtering. You'll see the VPN icon when such a utility is active, but it doesn't mean the child's connection is secured by a full-scale virtual private network, nor that the device's IP address is masked.\nCheck, too, that any limits on the number of child profiles or devices won't be a problem. Large families, for example, will appreciate that Norton Family works on an unlimited number of devices. Most parental control software operates as a subscription service, so pricing tiers tend to align with device limits, though some offer free versions for basic protection on a limited number of devices. If your kids are strictly smartphone users, take a look at our roundup of mobile parental control apps.\nIf getting parental control coverage installed on each of your family's devices starts to seem too difficult, consider a whole-network solution, such as Circle With Disney or Open DNS. These systems perform content filtering at the router level, so your settings affect every device on the network. Naturally, you don't get the same fine level of control and detailed monitoring that you get with a local agent on each device, but this is a much broader solution.\n\nWeb Filters, Time Limits, and Apps\nAt the very least, a good parental control tool features content filtering\u2014the ability to block access to websites matching categories such as hate, violence, and porn. This type of filtering only really works if it's browser-independent and works with secure (HTTPS) sites. With no HTTPS filtering, a smart teen could bypass the system using a secure anonymizing proxy website or even a different web browser in some cases. Most also have the option to permanently enable SafeSearch. Of course, the most capable solutions also keep a detailed log of your child's web activity.\nAccess scheduling is another very common feature. Some applications let parents set a weekly schedule for device usage, some control internet use in general, and others offer a combination of the two. A daily or weekly cap on internet usage can also be handy, especially if it applies to all your kids' devices.\nThe best services apply these two ideas to individual desktop and mobile applications as well. Qustodio, for example, can block apps entirely and set time usage limits. This is particularly useful for children who have a habit of playing games or using social media apps when they should be doing homework.\nMessaging and Social Media\nAs kids get older, content filtering may start to seem pointless. Hey, you let them watch Game of Thrones, right? At some point, you start to worry more about their interaction with the wider world. Sure, if their friends come over in person, you can at least meet them, but what about friends on social media and other contacts your child never mentions? Who are they, really, and what are your kids discussing with them? Although some supervision is acceptable, you still need to respect your child's basic right to privacy and encourage open discussion, rather than using parental control software as spyware.\nMany services let you monitor contacts and messages and keep an eye out for potentially dangerous or unsanctioned situations. You can even block new contacts or view message content with some parental control software. Keep in mind that this primarily applies to SMS texts; messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Snapchat typically do not fall under the same scope. Social media tracking can also provide a glimpse into your child's social life, though many services now only monitor Facebook. This kind of oversight usually requires that you either know your child's login credentials or convince them to log in and install the tracker's app. Disabling this kind of data collection is a snap for the child, so here, more than ever, you need to be on the same page.\nRemote Notification and Management\nMost kids are on mobile devices at least some of the time, and many are almost exclusively accessing the internet on their phones. Fortunately, many parental control services offer a companion app that lets you view your child's activity, set basic rules, and view notifications as they arrive\u2014NetNanny is a particularly noteworthy example. This kind of companion app is particularly useful for responding to access or time-extension requests on the go. Otherwise, you manage everything online, where you have fine control over activity reports and restrictions. Any changes you make should propagate to your children's devices when they connect to the internet.\nWhen your child tries to visit a blocked site, makes a post using iffy language, or otherwise bends the rules it sends you a notification to your preferred channel, such as via the app, web, email, text, or some combination of those options.\nAdvanced Features\nWhen you get beyond the basics, parental control systems start to diverge, with many advanced features to help them stand out from the crowd. Among these standout features are the ability to track your child's YouTube and Hulu viewing history, check your child's location, or even remotely lock down a device to force them to divert their attention. You'll also find advanced versions of standard features. For example, the best content filters don't just use a database of categories. They analyze page content in real time so that, for example, they can allow access to a short-story site but block the erotica.\nIn order to make an informed choice for your own family, check out our full reviews of these parental control solutions. If you have any suggestions for software to try or just want to sound off about a particularly positive or negative experience, please add your comments and join the discussion.\n\n\n\n\nQustodio Review\n\nMSRP: $39.95\n at \n\n\nPros: Cross-platform support. Browser-independent content filter handles HTTPS traffic. Time scheduler for internet, device, and application usage. Location tracking.Cons: Expensive. Social monitoring only tracks Facebook. Dated web portal. Some iOS limitations.Bottom Line: Parental control app Qustodio is a highly configurable, easy-to-manage tool for keeping track of your child's activity on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Supports Windows, Mac, Android. Web-based configuration and reporting. Powerful filtering. Cross-platform internet time allowance. App control for Android.Cons: No new updates. Expensive. No location tracking. Lacks advanced time management control. Limited iOS features.Bottom Line: Net Nanny's web-centric and multi-platform approach to parental control makes it a useful option for the modern world, but it hasn't been updated substantially in years. Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Affordable. Excellent web dashboard. Settings apply across all devices. No limit on number of PC, phones, tablets, or children protected. Tracks child's location.Cons: Does not work on Macs. No Free version anymore. Does not block HTTPS sites on unsupported browsers. Web extension is easily disabled. Platform-dependent features. Lackluster social media tracking.Bottom Line: Norton Family's top-notch web interface and wealth of features make it easy for parents to track and manage their children's activity across their many devices, though it doesn't work on Macs.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Affordable. No limit on devices or child profiles. Flexible control of device and app usage. Robust web filtering. Geofencing. Extensive alert system. Cons: Several iOS limitations. Content filtering limited to specific browsers. Social monitoring only covers Facebook and VK. Sluggish web interface.Bottom Line: Kaspersky Safe Kids is a full-featured, affordable parental monitoring system for desktop and mobile platforms that doesn't impose limits on the number of devices you can monitor.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Easy setup. Manages every device on your home network. Category-based content filtering. Can cut off Internet access at bedtime. Pause button for the Internet.Cons: Circle Go subscription surprisingly expensive. Matching names to devices can be difficult. Can cause alarming error messages in the browser. Minimal reporting.Bottom Line: The Circle with Disney security appliance, controlled by a simple mobile app, provides parental content filtering and time limits for every device in your home network.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Parental control and monitoring for every device on your network. Enforces Safe Search. Device-specific Internet time scheduling. Reports all sites visited and blocked. Optional daily activity email.Cons: Reports can't identify activity by specific users. Content filter missed some porn sites and secure anonymizing proxies. Performance as a router lags behind competing 802.11ac devices.Bottom Line: Have kids on the Web? Clean Router replaces your home router to apply parental control and monitoring to every device on your network. Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Online configuration and management. Can apply child profiles to multiple devices and user accounts. Powerful content filter. Weekly Internet schedule. App control on Android. Available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook, Kindle and Nook.Cons: Testing turned up some communication problems and delays between online console and local app. Initial configuration slightly awkward. No daily/weekly cap on Internet use. No real-time parental notifications.Bottom Line: You configure Mobicip's parental control options online, and a local agent enforces the rules on your children's devices. In testing, we hit a few communication problems, but overall it's a good choice for the modern multi-device family.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Filters dangerous and objectionable websites for all devices on your home network. Optional local agent for Windows PCs. Multiple profiles available, with time scheduling. Reports on sites visited and blocked.Cons: Using time-scheduler to actually limit Internet use is seriously awkward. Usage reports include every URL accessed, many of which aren't websites. Usage reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block phishing or malware-hosting URLs.Bottom Line: When you configure your router to use SafeDNS, you can filter out dangerous or objectionable content for every device that connects using your home network. Just don't expect a full range of parental control features.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Filters Web content for all devices on the network. All essential features found in free edition, including dynamic IP handling. Report on sites visited and blocked. Can block or allow domains from within stats report. Cons: Stats reports include every URL accessed, even those that aren't websites. Stats reports can't match sites accessed with device or user. In testing, did not block malware-hosting URLs and blocked few phishing URLs.Bottom Line: OpenDNS Home VIP applies parental control and monitoring at the network level, for all your devices, and its essential features are available for free. Consider using it in conjunction with a more conventional parental monitoring tool.Read Review\n\n\n\nPros: Unusually comprehensive iOS support. Tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and mobile device use. Notifies parents of risky posts. Tracks child's location, with optional geofencing. Finds hidden social media accounts. Tracks calls and texts on mobile devices.Cons: No support for Android tablets, only smartphones. iOS tracking ineffective without regular iCloud backups. Geolocation proved unreliable in testing.Bottom Line: A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks.\nRead Review\n\n\n\n", "image": [{"url": "https://sm.pcmag.com/pcmag_uk/guide/t/the-best-p/the-best-parental-control-software-for-2019_y82w.jpg", "width": 1920, "caption": "The Best Parental Control Software for 2019", "@type": "ImageObject", "height": 1080}], "datePublished": "2019-07-03 10:30:00+00:00", "publisher": {"url": "https://uk.pcmag.com", "logo": {"url": "('https://uk.pcmag.com/s/',)pcmag/pcmag_logo_micro.png", "width": 245, "@type": "ImageObject", "height": 60}, "@type": "Organization", "name": "PCMag UK"}, "about": {"description": "PC Magazine provides up-to-date coverage and product reviews of Parental Control & Monitoring", "@type": "Thing", "name": "Parental Control & Monitoring"}, "author": {"jobTitle": "Lead Analyst for Security", "description": "Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His \"User to User\" column supplied readers with tips and solutions on using DOS and Windows, his technical columns clarified fine points in programming and operating systems, and his utility articles (over forty of them) provided both useful programs and examples of programming in Pascal, Visual Basic, and Delphi. \n\tMr. Rubenking has also written seven books on DOS, Windows, and Pascal/Delphi programming, including PC Magazine DOS Batch File Lab Notes and the popular Delphi Programming for Dummies. In his current position as a PC Magazine Lead Analyst he evaluates and reports on client-side operating systems and security solutions such as firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and full security suites. Mr. Rubenking is an Advisory Board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization, an international non-profit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.", "@type": "Person", "image": "https://assets.pcmag.com/media/images/248873-neil-rubenking.jpg?thumb=y&width=85&height=85", "name": "Neil J. Rubenking"}, "headline": "The Best Parental Control Software for 2019", "@type": "NewsArticle", "mainEntityOfPage": {"@id": "https://uk.pcmag.com/parental-control-monitoring/67305/the-best-parental-control-software", "@type": "WebPage"}, "@context": "https://schema.org", "dateModified": "2019-07-03 10:36:56+00:00"}

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