Overview
Norton is one of the most recognizable names when it comes to online security. Norton Family is the company’s offering for parental control software to help keep children safe online while they grow and explore. Any parent can tell you that keeping children safe online is a constant challenge, and Norton Family provides a good way to ensure your children aren’t exposed to inappropriate content or harmful websites while they use the internet.
Pros
One of the best things about Norton Family is the number of filtering and blocking features the program comes with. This gives users a tremendous amount of control over the customization and content that different users have access to. Therefore, you can set an appropriate level control for each of your children based on their age and maturity level.
Another benefit that Norton Family offers is that you can remotely access information about your child’s browsing an internet use from any computer in the world. That means that the software works on your schedule, instead of you having to make time in your busy day to look in on your child’s internet use, you can do it whenever you find yourself with a bit of free time.
Moreover, Norton Family allows you to limit or monitor your children’s social media activity. This is a vital component in the effort to keep children safe from cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a serious issue for today’s children, and studies have shown that it can dramatically impact your children’s psychological and academic development. As a result, this kind of monitoring ability is an essential part of any top-notch parental control software.
Cons
Norton Family is not without its problems. It doesn’t have any way to monitor chat activity through applications like games. This is a bit of a problem as lots of children’s interaction takes place through online games, so this creates a blind spot for the program.
Additionally, Norton doesn’t take any screenshots of your child’s activity. This isn’t as big of a deal as the lack of application-based chat monitoring, but it does reflect poorly on Norton given the company’s huge presence and experience with internet security programs.
Verdict
Norton Family is an effective parental control program. It offers more than the standard allotment of monitoring and restriction services that you expect from the best parental control software on the net. It’s worth giving a look, even if you ultimately settle on another internet monitoring and filtering program.