Windows Live Family Safety is a free program offered to parents who want to ensure their children are using the Internet safely. The program can be downloaded directly from Windows Live and must be installed on each computer you use so as to get the best overall protection.
With Windows Live Family Safety, you can control who your children speak to on the Windows Live Messenger, control the number of web searches they can conduct, choose which websites to block or allow access to, and review the websites they choose to visit.
Detailed reports will show you a list of sites your children have visited or attempted to visit, enabling you validate if they are pushing the limitations of guidelines you may have set for them or if they are following said guidelines. You can set different protection levels for each child (Windows Live user) in the home, so as to keep their access limited appropriately by age. Contact management allows control over the email addresses the children can contact with, the blogs they can read, and who they can instant message.
The best thing about this, besides the fact that it is free, is that it can be accessed from anywhere so you can make adjustments and track use at work, when your children believe they aren't being watched.
You must have a Windows Live account in order to use this service. If you do not have a Windows Live account, you can create one for free. All you need to do is go to the Windows Live (Hotmail) home page and sign up (or sign in if you already have an account). After you sign in, click the “More” button and choose “Family Safety.” This will bring you to an overview page where you can download the program to your computer and then follow the on-screen instructions to install it. It is important to note that the program must be installed on all of the computers in the home and profiles must be created for each child using the computer for comprehensive protection.
Find out more at the Family Safety - Windows Live home page.