Parental Controls- Buy Software or Download Free?

There is no argument that Parental Control Software should be used children’s computers.  A question often asked is, why buy parental control software when you can download parental control for free or use the windows parental control xp or the mac OS X parental controls version that comes with your computer operating system?  Unless you are extremely computer savvy, then free or cheap parental control solutions will cost you a lot more than just money.

Parental control programs can be obtained from a number of sources.  Through buying quality software from reputable companies, download parental control shareware (cheaper cost), parental control freeware (free), or using Mac or windows parental control xp that comes with the computers operating system.

So why buy parental control software when you can get it free?  It is pretty much like asking why would you buy a computer or camera without the instructions, support or guarantee…

Here are 7 reasons NOT to use free or cheap parental control programs

1. Set Up

All Parental Controls need some initial set up, and often anti-security or anti-viral applications needs to be disabled prior to install then reactivated.  Parental control software comes with very good start up instructions and generally make it very easy to do.  Parental control freeware and shareware do not come with any startup instructions.  If set up is not done correctly it can completely seize your hard drive or cause access problems to certain sites/programs, or worse.  The cost of fixing a computer hard drive is significant compared to the minimal cost of parental control software, not to mention wasted hours and potential downtime.  You only need to go online and you will find a lot of complaints regarding shareware and freeware type programs.

2. Configuring an Operating System is Hard

Some parents are given some elements of internet filtering on their operating system. Windows parental control xp and Mac os x parental controls are the main ones. In some cases, if it is only minimal filtering and blocking features then the operating system parental control may give them all the protection they need.  However they still take some expertise and time to configure correctly. They are limited in features, difficult to set, and easy to get around if kids are computer savvy. There is generally support from the company the operating system is from, however it is very general and often hard to find someone knowledgeable in the specific area of parental control.

3. Support

One of the main reasons most people buy parental control software is that it comes with 24/7 ongoing support.  This can be by way of online support line, phone, email, online resource centre and more.  Parental control shareware and freeware products do not come with ongoing support so if you run into trouble you will likely have to pay for someone to fix it anyway hence costing a lot more than quality software would cost.

4. Free Trial Period

Before you buy parental control software, most quality software comes with a free trial period.  A five day trial period should be enough to see if the software suits your needs.  If it doesn’t offer a trial period then what does it have to hide?  Parental control freeware and shareware generally don’t come with free trial periods.

5. Quality Parental Control Software is Harder to Manipulate

Parental control software has huge amounts of money and man hours go into creating and developing constant updates of the software hence keeping abreast of new problems making it a lot harder to bypass or manipulate. Parents only have one chance to get it right. If the first computer spy program is detected or goes wrong, the chances of the parents ever catching questionable activity will greatly diminish.

6. Parental Control Software has More Features and Options

This software comes with a lot more features and options than shareware, freeware or operating system programs so you are more likely to find one to suit all your computer monitoring and filtering needs with ease of use and better reporting capabilities.

7. Parental Control Software Doesn’t Have to be Expensive

Parents can still buy parental control software for under $50.00.

If you only need minimal filtering features then windows parental control xp or mac OS x parental controls may suit your needs.  If you are computer literate and know your way around a hard drive then you may be o.k with parental control freeware or shareware.  Otherwise when you buy Parental Control software, it’s best to pick best breed over price and remember you get what you pay for.