In a time when online privacy is a highly debated topic, those of you who have children are likely thinking about how to protect them from inappropriate websites, games and all kinds of information that's not suitable for them. That's why many security companies offer parental control features, including Bitdefender. In today's article we will take an in-depth look at the Parental Control features included in Bitdefender security products, explain what they do and how they work. Let's get started:

What is Bitdefender Parental Control?

Parental Control allows you to restrict your children's access to specific applications, websites or even the Internet altogether. You can use this tool to safeguard your children from viewing inappropriate content when they are left alone in front of the computer.

Parental Control is included in Bitdefender Total Security 2015 and Bitdefender Internet Security 2015. It also available as a separate product: Bitdefender Parental Control.

You can access and configure Bitdefender Parental Control via a web interface, also known as the MyBitdefender account. Aside from Parental Control, this account also grants you access to a series of other tools and settings, such as Safebox, Facebook Safego, Tech Assist and Anti-Theft.

What Are The Benefits of Using Bitdefender Parental Control?

Using Bitdefender Parental Control gives you access to a wide range of features that allow you to protect your child from inappropriate content, online scammers, dangerous or sensitive applications and so on. Through these features you can restrict your child's access to specific websites or block his Internet access completely. You can also set some time intervals when you allow him to access certain websites or applications. Moreover, the Bitdefender Parental Control dashboard also gives you detailed reports regarding your child's online activity, what applications he has used or whom he talked to via instant messaging clients.

This level of protection is highly recommended especially since online threats are growing and targeting a higher and more divers number of users. Considering the limited technical knowledge of children, Bitdefender Parental Control allows you to avoid having to deal with complicated and unwanted situations like online pornography, scammers, pedophiles or identity theft.

How Do I Access & Configure Bitdefender's Parental Control?

To access Bitdefender Parental Control, first launch the Bitdefender security product you are using. Then, go to Privacy.

Next, click the Configure link in the Parental Control section.

Your default browser is opened and it takes you to the MyBitdefender website. If you don't have a MyBitdefender account, you can either create one at this step or log in using your Facebook, Google or Microsoft accounts.

After you log in, you can see the Bitdefender Parental Control interface. As soon as it is displayed, it will guide you through setting up the profile for your child. Click the "Get Started" button.

The system will now ask for certain details about your child's profile, such as name, age and gender. An interesting fact is that the age determines the level of online protection the profile will have by default.

Here you can also choose the computer or device on which you want this profile to be active on. In order for a computer or device to be listed here, it needs to have either a Bitdefender Total Security 2015, Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 or the separate Bitdefender Parental Control application installed. If you want to install the application on a different device, you can click the dedicated button and download it.

Once installed, the separate Bitdefender Parental Control application works as a monitoring tool for that computer or device. Keep in mind that it doesn't provide any malware or firewall protection. You can identify the Parental Control application by the icon displayed in the system tray area.

The application also has a context menu that gives you the option to manage the Parental Control profiles. Clicking the Manage accounts contextual option will open the MyBitdefender account interface.

How Can I Block My Child's Access To a Specific Website?

To restrict a certain website from being visited by your child, log into your MyBitdefender account and go to the Parental Control section.

Then, select your child's profile from the left sidebar of the dashboard.

Click the arrow icon on the Web panel to go to the Web Activity section.

You can now see the Web Activity report for your child's profile. Click the Blacklist/Whitelist button.

Type the URL of the website that you want to block in the Website field and click the Block button. Once you do this, the website will be shown in the table below and you will have the option of changing the permission directly from the table.

Click OK when you're done. Whenever your child will visit the blocked website, he will see a notification saying that the page has been blocked by his parents.

How Do I Control When My Child is Allowed on the Internet?

To restrict Internet access, log into your MyBitdefender account and go to the Parental Control section.

Then, select your child's profile from the left sidebar of the dashboard.

Click the arrow icon on the Web panel to access the Web Activity section.

You can now see the Web Activity report for your child's profile. Click the Schedule button.

Next, use the grid to select the time intervals during which you want to block Internet access. You can click and drag over longer periods or click specific cells. You also have the option to either block or allow Internet access at all times. Click Save when you're done.

How Do I Restrict My Child from Playing Inappropriate Games?

Bitdefender Parental Control also allows you to control what kind of content your child is able to access on the local computer or device. For example, you may want to restrict his access to a certain video game or an application.

To do this, log into your MyBitdefender account and go to the Parental Control section.

Then, select your child's profile from the left sidebar of the dashboard.

Click the arrow icon on the Applications panel to launch the Application Activity section.

Next, click the Blacklist button.

Type or copy and paste the exact path to the game's or application's executable file in the dedicated field and click Block. If the rule doesn't apply instantly, restart the computer or device in order for the application to synchronize.

The next time your child tries to access the blocked application, he will see a notification informing him about the restricted access.

If you want to unblock a certain application, click Allow after adding it to the list.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Parental Control tool offered by Bitdefender can be very useful in managing your child's access to the Internet and all kinds of inappropriate games and applications. More than that, this product is relatively easy to use and configure.

Have you tried the Parental Control from Bitdefender? How well did it work for you?