[infoshare] Control days and times computer is off limits
- From: "Luis Guerra" <blindsingle@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "InfoShare" <InfoShare@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:37:10 -0400
Control days and times computer is off limits
2/28/2006
Q. I have a teenager who wants to be on the computer all night. Can I lock
her out at a given hour or schedule the computer to run a certain number of
hours
a day? Any help would be greatly appreciated. We have Windows XP.
A. Windows XP includes a basic but effective tool to limit computer use.
This tool, which makes a good parental control feature, is accessed via the
command
line.
I'm assuming that your daughter is using her own Windows limited account.
Otherwise, you would have to limit the whole family's computer usage. You
can
learn how to set up a limited account through a column on my Web site.
To open the Windows command line, click Start>>All
Programs>>Accessories>>Command Prompt. At the prompt, you'll use the
following command:
net user Name /times:
To make this command work, replace "Name" with your child's Windows account
name. Then include which days and hours the computer can be used. This may
not
be intuitive, so be deliberate. List OK times rather than forbidden times.
Here's an example:
net user Ian /times:M-Su,6AM-9PM
In the example, my son Ian is allowed to use the computer Monday through
Sunday (every day) from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Any other hours, such as the middle
of
the night, are off limits. (Note that there is a space after Ian's name.)
To indicate days, use M, T, W, Th, F, Sa and Su. To indicate hours, use only
whole hours. To blend different daily schedules, separate each with a
semicolon.
Here's an example:
net user Ian /times:Su-Th,6AM-9PM;F-Sa,6AM-11PM
In this example, Ian can use the computer later on Fridays and Saturdays.
If you make a mistake, you can lift all restrictions and start from scratch
by using "ALL:"
net user Ian /times:ALL
And that's about all there is too it. You can also search online for
parental control programs that can do the same job. Most are compatible with
older
versions of Windows. But they're not free.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim Komando
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