Enterprise Nation

At the heart of most home businesses is a personal computer. And now, for families too, computers are beginning to replace television sets as a hub of information and entertainment. If you're a home business owner with children how can you manage the time they spend on their computers? And how can you be sure they're having a safe and happy experience?

On a PC

Parental controls are built into Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system. They're designed to help parents determine which games their children play, which programmes they can use, and which websites they can visit - and when.

You can restrict computer use to specific times, which Windows Vista will enforce, even when you're away from home, and review reports that show how your children have been using your computer.

You can find the controls in the Control Panel, under the User Accounts and Family Safety applet, which draws together all parental controls from across Windows Vista, including Internet Explorer.

• Parental Controls - [Windows Vista]

On a Mac

On a Mac, parental controls are a little bit easier to find and use. Under the section, System, in System Preferences, you'll find a big Parental Control button.

A content filter uses the same technology that keeps your inbox free of junk mail. It takes a quick peek at websites before they load and tries to determine if they're suitable for kids. If not, Leopard, the Apple's latest operating system, blocks them from view. Of course, you can override this filter by creating lists of specific websites you want — or don’t want — your children to see.

Whereas Windows Vista allows computer use at certain times, Leopard lets you to set bedtimes and time limits, for school nights and weekends, meaning children can use the computer when the wish, but not for too long.

Parental controls in Leopard also log your kids' activities and the conversations they might have with people online. You can even access parental controls and monitor logs remotely, from another Mac.

• Parental Controls - [Mac OS X Leopard]

With freeware

You can extend these parental controls, if you wish, with free software from Blue Coat. K9 Web Protection is available for both Macs and PCs and filters content based on a constantly growing database of 'safe' and 'unsafe' websites.

• K9 Web Protection - [for Mac OS X]
• K9 Web Protection - [for Windows]

Photo credit: Flickr user, Tanya Ryno.

San Sharma is a creative thinker, blogger and designer, as well as a writer on popular culture, technology and business.

• www.sansharma.com