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By setting up parental controls, you gain more control over what your children (colleagues, friends etc) can and can’t do on your computer. Parental controls are very useful as there is so much inappropriate content out there – whether it be on the internet, in games, or even in some software. You may also want to protect your computer from unauthorized changes. This guide will help you set up a user account with parental controls, or add parental controls to an existing account.

This guide is included as part of the Windows Guides Vista User Accounts and Parental Controls Series. Please visit the main page if you would like to learn why this guide may be useful.

Please Note: If you already have an account set up, read Adding Parental Controls to a Current Vista User Account

Setting up a Vista User Account with Parental Controls

To set up a Vista user account with Parental Controls, do the following:

1. Make sure you are logged in as the administrator of the computer
2. Press the Start button and select Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user
4. If prompted, (type your password and) select Continue
5. Click create a new user account
6. Enter and account name and decide whether or not the account needs a password.
7. Click Create Account

You are now ready to move on to the next guide (Collect Information About Computer Usage in Vista [How To])

Adding Parental Controls to a Current Vista User Account

If you already have an account set up, do the following:

1. Make sure you are logged in as the administrator of the computer
2. Press the Start button and select Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts and Family Safety, click Set up parental controls for any user
4. If prompted, (type your password and) select Continue
5. Click the account you want to add parental controls to
6. Under Parental Controls:, select On, enforce current settings
7. Press OK

You are now ready to move on to the next guide (Collect Information About Computer Usage in Vista [How To])