- Quick specs
- Price: Free
- Operating system: Windows 2000/XP
- Date added: May 23, 2005
- Total Downloads: 23,736
- Downloads last week: 66
- See full specifications
- CNET editors' rating: stars
- Average user rating: stars out of 9 votes
See all user reviews
CNET editors' review
Reviewed by: CNET Staff
This tool for controlling your child's PC usage offers some nice tools for a free product but isn't quite perfect. Before you can use Parental Lock Guard, you'll have to restart your machine; since the program lacks help files, it took us a while to figure this out. The application lets parents specify the amount of time the PC can be used per day but won't let you configure usage rules for more than one day at a time. You can have the program display a timer showing the user how much time she or he has left, but this isn't mandatory. If your child tries to restart the machine after Parental Lock Guard has turned it off, she or he will need to enter the correct password within 10 seconds or the PC will again shut down. The concise interface features well-labeled icons for easy configuration, and the utility operates stealthily behind the scenes; not only must you call it out of hiding with a hot-key combination, but you also can obscure the Task Manager so young computer geniuses can't use it to disable the program. In addition, Parental Lock Guard can restrict access to certain files and folders. You will find a tool for monitoring Web sites visited and for blocking specified URLs, but this feature appears to work only with Internet Explorer. Parents who are short on cash and don't need a full-blown monitoring suite are likely to find some value in this program.Publisher's description
From RIA Software :PC control software for guarding your PC. It can not be stopped in any usual way (without administrator's password) known to the large people population. Protect your PC from entire-day working, Internet not suitable materials, your folders viewing, renaming, deleting, and from starting certain applications. Administrator has all rights to control the PC. Others are second-class users. All mistakes will result in computer's shutting down.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 1.8 stars out of 9 votes
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
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Showing 5 of 9 user reviewsSee all 9 user reviews
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Parental Lock Guard 1.2
"NOT USER FRIENDLY WHATSOEVER"
Pros: Free
Cons: Like most parents, we have a separate User ID for our child - but this program only works for the USER ID under which you install it... or, wait. Maybe we can enable to toolbar... ah there it is! But now our kid can disable the tool bar - oh, wait, that's it -- if temporarily make the kid's USER ID an administrative ID, and THEN unlock the tool bar, and THEN switch to "child mode," and THEN switch the USER ID back to . ..
By this point we figured the programmers were too narrow to consider multiple USER IDs, and agreed someone this obtuse probably didn't write all that spectacular program to start with.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Version: Parental Lock Guard 1.2
Cons: click on p+L+G ro bring up main window and nothing happens got rid of it within 15 mins of downloading even rebooted as suggested but still nothing dont waste your time with this program
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0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Parental Lock Guard 1.2
Pros: It is good for prying on what your kids have been looking at
Cons: I don't get it when I press the secret buttonsto get into the interface I can only get into it once. when I close the interface I can't get back into it.
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
Version: Parental Lock Guard 1.2
"Great if you like user-unfriendly programs!!"
Pros: If you like challenges, this is for you!
Cons: First - it has 3 different on/off switches: start/stop timer, main switch, and start/stop countdown. To figure out the working combination of on and offs you have to rely on trial and error, and even if you figure it out, you have to explain the complexities to other adults for them to be able to control. The lack of usefulness is baffling!
Second - entering the password when prompted won't stop the timer from counting down! This is simply incredibly idiotic - if you enter the correct password, you are by definition not a person to be controlled, but a controller. For painfully appearent reasons, entering the correct password should stop the timer, but here you also have to manually switch the timer off. Then you have to remember to switch it on again...
Third - if you have multiple user accounts on your computer, this application goes bananas outside the administrator's account and has to be shut down.
Fourth - if your child is smart enough to know how to uninstall programs from the computer's control panel, this program is gone in a minute: it will happily uninstall without requiring a password.
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Version: Parental Lock Guard 1.2
"Not bad for controlling a daily allotment of computer play time"
Pros: The program does what it was programmed to do, controlling the number of hours your kid can play on the computer each day (clocking downward). There are also other features, but I haven't tried them.
Cons: 1. The 10 second window to stop the timer can be nerve wrecking at times. Once you use up all your time and you fail to stop the timer, you will have to restart the computer for another try at the 10 second window.
2. This program does not control the time of day your kid can use the computer, which means he/she can stay up late at night playing the computer.
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