How best to setup additional user account in Win 10 for kids' homework?

Stu

Stu

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My son has started secondary school and needs to use the family computer for homework now, however, the temptation of playing games is a bit too strong for him!

Currently I have Win 10 Pro with a single account (that we all use) that is password protected to first sign in, but no password when wake from sleep. This means he can't just turn on the PC and use it when he wants (like at 6:30am), but we can leave the PC sleeping so he can use it for homework when he gets home from school at 4pm, before we get home later... however, not enough homework is getting done.

My current thinking is to create an additional standard user account, no Microsoft account login, and then use Local Group Policy to restrict that account. I think setting the list of allowed programs will be easier than managing a very long black list.

I've read that there are parental controls baked into Win 10... from what I understand, I need to setup the new user account using a Microsoft login (my son, and daughter, have Office360 accounts at school); however, it appears I can only use parental controls to restrict MS Store programs (i.e. not Fortnite) and restrict web access using Edge, which is rather limited.

Are there other advantages to setting up an account for my son and one for my daughter using their school issued Office360 accounts, or should I just setup a single local account that they can both use for homework?
 
My son has started secondary school and needs to use the family computer for homework now, however, the temptation of playing games is a bit too strong for him!

Currently I have Win 10 Pro with a single account (that we all use) that is password protected to first sign in, but no password when wake from sleep. This means he can't just turn on the PC and use it when he wants (like at 6:30am), but we can leave the PC sleeping so he can use it for homework when he gets home from school at 4pm, before we get home later... however, not enough homework is getting done.

My current thinking is to create an additional standard user account, no Microsoft account login, and then use Local Group Policy to restrict that account. I think setting the list of allowed programs will be easier than managing a very long black list.

I've read that there are parental controls baked into Win 10... from what I understand, I need to setup the new user account using a Microsoft login (my son, and daughter, have Office360 accounts at school); however, it appears I can only use parental controls to restrict MS Store programs (i.e. not Fortnite) and restrict web access using Edge, which is rather limited.

Are there other advantages to setting up an account for my son and one for my daughter using their school issued Office360 accounts, or should I just setup a single local account that they can both use for homework?


group policy only works nicely on Windows 10 Pro (just for reference) alternatively you could run a program in the background to kill any processes you don't want to run.

a rough example

:loop

taskkill /IM fortnite.exe
timeout /t 60

goto loop

every 60 seconds it would kill fortnite.exe
 
If you set him up with a Windows 10 account, and set his age correctly - there's some really great built in stuff that helps you monitor his use. You have to approve new applications etc.

I get a weekly email telling me exactly how long my son's been online each day, what sites hes visited and what apps he's running.
 
If you set him up with a Windows 10 account, and set his age correctly - there's some really great built in stuff that helps you monitor his use. You have to approve new applications etc.

I get a weekly email telling me exactly how long my son's been online each day, what sites hes visited and what apps he's running.

I thought that only works with using Edge browser and apps from the Windows Store? Does it offer more than I think?
 
I thought that only works with using Edge browser and apps from the Windows Store? Does it offer more than I think?
You definitely get to see what's running. I've got some things on there that show up (eg Mumble VOIP client) - not things through the store.

You might be right about the web pages though. He's only 7 and watches Dude Perfect on Youtube and plays Minecraft - so for me it's more about monitoring his screen time than anything more in depth.
 
Is that Minecraft through the Windows Store or the stand alone installer? Will help me understand what works and what doesn't.
 
Are there other advantages to setting up an account for my son and one for my daughter using their school issued Office360 accounts, or should I just setup a single local account that they can both use for homework?

I can't say I use it, but Kaspersky (like Internet Security and their higher products) have some pretty extensive parental controls built in. Pretty much everything can be controlled for a user account, including limits on applications, games, internet, enforced breaks, etc.

Edit: They even do a product called "Safe Kids" that is pretty much the parental control part spun off into a separate, cheaper product. They have trial versions if you want to test it out.
 
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