How to Do Parental Controls on Firefox

by Joe Friedman
Lock out harmful content on Firefox with third-party add-on software.

Lock out harmful content on Firefox with third-party add-on software.

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The Mozilla Firefox Web browser works with parents to ensure their children are kept safe from explicit content while browsing the Internet. It operates according to the parental controls settings of the computer's Windows operating system. Those settings include three things: time limits on the computer, blocking undesired games and blocking unwanted programs. For blocking specific websites and/or creating a family-friendly Internet surfing environment for children, Firefox works with several free third-party, add-on software programs.

Set Up Windows Parental Controls

Step 1

Click the Windows "Start" button and type "Parental." Click on "Set up parental controls for any user."

Step 2

Click on the child's standard user account for which you want parental controls. If your child doesn't have one, click on "Create a new user account" to make one first.

Step 3

Select "On, enforce current settings" to turn on the controls.

Step 4

Click on "Time Limits," "Games" or "Allow and block specific programs" to modify the parental control settings for those areas.

Firefox Add-On Parental Controls

Step 1

Go to Firefox's "Add-Ons" search website to find the current list of parental control add-ons.

Step 2

Set up add-ons that filter out websites with explicit content with any of these programs: ProCon Latte, FoxFilter, CensureBlock and Suricate.

Step 3

Set up add-ons that create a kid-friendly homepage with only safe content by choosing among "Kid Mode - Firefox for Kids," brOOzi and Glubble.

Step 4

Set up an add-on that blocks a user-defined list of specific websites with the program BlockSite.

Step 5

Set up an add-on that ranks websites' safety according to eight online sources with the LinkExtend program.

Tip

  • Windows controls must be set from the computer's administrator account. Setting a password for the administrator account will prevent children from later bypassing or disabling the controls.

About the Author

Joe Friedman began writing in 2008 while in the U.S. Air Force as a KC-10 tanker pilot. He is now an equipment engineer in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Friedman holds a Bachelor of Science in engineering physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Drexel University.

Photo Credits

  • Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images