Even though the internet is great, there are a lot of bad things that could happen at any time. This is especially true when the kids are old enough to use the Internet independently. A child who doesn’t know what’s going on could be hurt by malicious websites, and other dangers. That’s why you should make sure at least your home network is safe for surfing. You can do this by setting up a good network router with Netgear parental control. Netgear is one of the best in the business. The NETGEAR genie app can help keep your family safe while online, and it helps you if you are wondering how to set up parental controls on the NetGear router.
Putting the NETGEAR Genie App on a device
With a Netgear router, you can set limits for each device on your home network and how it can surf the web. You will need to install the NETGEAR genie app before you can start setting up parental controls on your kids’ devices. The desktop app is the best way to go if you want to make things easier on yourself.
Just make sure you’ve linked your computer to the home network before you go any further (on the Netgear router). Visit www.netgear.com/lpc and choose either the Windows or macOS version to get the app. Once the download is done, just follow the steps in the setup wizard to set up the app. Now that you have NETGEAR genie installed, you need to getting parental controls setup on Netgear for your whole network.
Putting filters in place for the whole network
Setting up Parental Controls is the first thing you should do to protect your family from online threats. This feature is made possible with the help of OpenDNS, which in this case, acts as a third-party provider.
- Launch the NETGEAR genie application that’s installed on your PC. Launch the NETGEAR genie application that’s installed on your PC.
- Click the “Parental Controls” switch on the menu on the left.
- You’ll see a message that OpenDNS power this feature in the “Parental Controls” setup menu. To move on, click “Next.”
- You’ll see another message that says this feature isn’t foolproof. To keep your family’s online safety at its best, it’s important to keep an eye on what your kids do on the web. To move on, click “Next.”
- If you don’t have an OpenDNS account, choose “No, I need to make a free OpenDNS account.” If not, select “Yes, use my current OpenDNS account.” To move on, click “Next.”
- You must first make a username to make a new account on OpenDNS. Type in the username you want to use and click the “Check availability” button next to it. This will check to see if that username is free. Or you’ll have to try a different username and check again.
- Once you’ve made the username, type in the OpenDNS password that you want to use.
- Last, type in your email address and then type it again in the field below to make sure it’s correct.
- Click “Next” when you’re done.
- The last step is to set the level of filtering. Note that the restrictions will affect your whole network and all the devices that connect to it. You can set it to “None,” “Minimal,” or “Low,” and then set some devices to a higher level of filtering. To finish setting up, click “Next.”
Filtering on a per-device basis
Now that you’ve set up Netgear nighthawk parental controls for your network, you need to filter each device. This should be about what your kids use to protect themselves from danger.
- Open the NETGEAR genie app.
- Click the “Home” button on the left-hand menu.
- On the main screen, click the “Network Map” icon.
- Now, the app will ask for the Netgear router login details for the router. First, choose “At home” from the drop-down menu next to “Login as.”
- Now, type in your login name and password. If you haven’t changed these settings before, “admin” is the default username, and “password” is the default password. Also, after logging in the first time, you might want to change these.
- For your convenience, you can check the “Remember password” box.
- Make sure the “Enter router’s IP address manually” box is not checked.
- Tap “OK.”
- Now, you should be able to see a map of your home network with all connected devices. Click the right mouse button on the device where you want parental controls to be turned on.
- Click on “Details.”
- Click “Modify.”
- You can choose “Parental Control Filtering:” at the bottom of the pop-up menu. Click the drop-down menu next to it and select the level of filtering you want this device to use.
- The last step is to click the “Apply” button to ensure your changes.
When you have completed those steps, you will have successfully configured the filtering system for parental control on that device. Now you can do the same thing for any other connected devices that need it.
Please keep in mind that if you choose “Bypass Login for Parental Control Filtering,” you’ll have to do one more thing. You must also install Netgear’s Genie app on that device if you want to use the bypassing option. After that, the device will have the global filtering you chose for your network. After that, the only way to get full access to that device is to use the Bypass Login.
Netgear keeps you safe
You should have set up parental controls for your network. With advanced software like NETGEAR Genie, you can set NetGear genie parental control limits for each device individually. Knowing that your kids will be much safer this way may give you a lot more peace of mind.