How to Add Parental Controls on XP

Protect your child's safety on Windows XP.

Setting parental controls on your computer allows you to monitor what your children view, watch and listen to when they are on the computer. Although Windows 7 and Vista allows you to set system-wide parental controls on your computer, Windows XP does not offer this option. Besides purchasing additional third-party software, the only way to add parental controls on Windows XP is by using the Content Advisor in Internet Explorer and enabling parental controls in Windows Media Player.

Instructions

Using Internet Explorer

1. Launch the Internet Explorer browser on your computer.

2. Click the "Tools" tab, then select "Internet Options" from the drop-down menu.

3. Choose the "Content" tab when the Internet Options dialog box opens.

4. Press the "Enable" button under "Content Advisor" to open the Content Advisor properties window.

5. Select the "Ratings" tab. Select each of the four categories and drag the slider to the right to set the level of protection you desire.

6. Choose the "Approved Sites" tab. Enter any websites that you want to allow or block in the "Allow this web site" box. Click the website and select "Always" to allow a site or "Never" to block it.

7. Click the "General" tab and scroll down to the "Supervisor password" section. Click "Create Password" to open the password dialog box. Enter your desired password and password hint in the box. This prevents anyone without the password from disabling or editing the parental controls.

8. Press "Apply," then "OK" at the bottom of the Content Advisor properties window to save your changes and close the window.

Using Windows Media Player

1. Launch Windows Media Player on your computer.

2. Click the "Tools" tab, and then select "Internet Options" from the drop-down menu.

3. Click the "DVD" tab in the Options dialog window.

4. Choose the box next to "Parental Control" to change the rating restriction.

5. Select a rating from the list, then click the "OK" button.

6. Click "Apply," then "OK" at the bottom of the Options dialog window to save your changes and close the window.

References

• Windows Help Central: Parental controls in Windows XP
• Microsoft Support: Use the Internet Explorer 6 Content Advisor to Control Access to Web Sites in Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Support: How to Enable Parental Control in Windows Media Player for Windows XP

Resources

• Microsoft Internet Explorer TechCenter: Chapter 5 - Content Advisor