Microsoft lists parental controls to keep your kids safe online

In its bid to protect kids from cyber bullying and harassment, Microsoft on Tuesday listed options for families and parents to ensure children are protected when they are online with Windows 10.

According to Microsoft's "Digital Civility Index", it has been observed that 64 percent Indian youth are at risk to online cyber bullying and harassment and 75 percent are aware of a friend or family member who has faced to online harassment.

Nearly 44 percent have met the perpetrator of the risk but only 50 percent are knowledgeable about where to get help if needed.

"I often wonder what I need do as a parent, or as Microsoft, how we can educate our consumers about the simple things that that they can do to keep children safe in the cyber world," Alok Lall, Partner Technology Lead at Microsoft India, wrote in a blog post.

To turn on parental controls for your child, go to the Windows search bar, and type 'family options' and click on that options under settings.

Create an account for your child and enable parental controls, Microsoft said.

"Once parental controls are enabled, two features are turned on by default. Firstly, Internet browsing on Microsoft Edge browser becomes strict, ensuring that no adult content will be displayed in any of the search results," the company said.

"Secondly, 'InPrivate' browsing is blocked, disabling incognito browsing by the child," it added.

Turning on parental controls on Windows 10 provides a collaborative way to keep kids safer on Windows 10 and Xbox One devices, without resorting to a "big brother attitude".

"It's not just me deciding which sites she should go to, it's more of a collaborative effort," said Lall.

The parental controls enable four different settings for parents to not only ensure a safe online experience for their child but also healthy digital habits.

The four settings are "Check specifics of the child's Internet browsing," "Gain access to activity reporting," "Track the apps, games, and media kids use on Windows 10 and Xbox" and "Determine exactly how much screen time children have access to on the PC and Xbox".

Another feature that parents can use to ensure their child's online safety is enabling ‘reading view' on Microsoft Edge browser.

Reading view removes all ads, sidebars and comments and transforms a web page into a very simple format that reads like an open book.

"First, don't make your child an administrator of the device, second, turn on Windows defender, and third, enable parental controls," Lall emphasised.