When you are working as a trader, you want a lean and mean working computer. But when you are a parent, you want something that is easy-to-use and safe.
Microsoft has been in the personal computer business for a long time. They understand the importance of family. To better serve their family-minded customers, Microsoft has packed Windows 10 with a bunch of great out-of-the-box features to make your home computer safe for even the youngest user.
Here’s how to take advantage of these built-in family-friendly features.
1. Create Segregated Accounts
In large corporations, part of the IT department’s job is to set up an individual account for each user. Even if you’re just working from home on your trading computer, you know you need to provide your username and password to access your software.
This functionality, whether on a large network or a single computer, keeps users separated and allows for setting individual permissions.
You can use the same idea for the computer your kids use at home. Windows 10 gives you the power to create accounts for each of your kids and to set up special permissions.
By setting up your kids’ computer with separate accounts, you can differentiate between what your teenager can do and what your kindergartner can do.
To
set up a special age-appropriate account, follow the steps below:
- Login with your credentials on your kids’ machine.
- Go to Settings > Accounts > Family and other users.
- Click on Add a family member.
- Click on Add a child.
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
Microsoft will ask for credit card verification to ensure that you are an adult. There is a small charge associated with the verification. You can use the newly created account to set up parental control parameters appropriate for that child.
If your child already has a user account on your computer, you can
add them to your family at
account.microsoft.com/family. This site is also where you’ll manage the parental controls.
2. Apply Microsoft Family Settings
Here are some of the options you’ll want to check out on the
account.microsoft.com/family site.
Recent Activity: You can see what websites, apps, and games your children are using. It also gives you statistics of the time spent on different devices. It’s a good starting point to make sure your kids are following your computer usage guidelines.
Web Browsing: This gives you the option to restrict the websites your children can visit.
Apps and Games: There are a lot of apps and games that are inappropriate for children. You can
block those individually. As your children grow up, you can unblock some as you deem appropriate.
Screen Time: Microsoft allows you to
control the amount of time your children can spend on the computer. If a child attempts to continue past the time limit, Microsoft will automatically send you an alarm and lock the system.
3. Be a Responsible Digital Parent
Even with Microsoft’s help, restricting access to digital devices is not an easy task. You shouldn’t rely on technology alone to communicate your parental rules and regulations.
Before you set up any account restrictions, make sure you
talk with your kids and tell them the reasons. It will create a more cooperative relationship and build trust.
Also, the Microsoft solution isn’t a one-time thing. You can’t just set it and forget it. You will have to
regularly check the Activity Logs to make sure your children are safe.
Conclusion
If you haven’t yet looked at any of these recommendations for keeping your children safe in cyberspace, now is a good time to take action. Microsoft Windows 10 offers some great ways to take control. Be sure you take advantage of them, but do it in a way that builds a relationship of trust with your children.
There are more trading computer tips like this in our buyers guide. Check out our "How To Buy a Trading Computer" e-book.
We hope today's Quick Tip helped you. If you found this helpful, you'll want to check out the other computer How-To's I've created
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