How To Use Windows Live Family Safety On Windows 7 (32 Bit) And Windows Live Safety (64 Bit) On A Pc Or Mac Or Ipad (32)

Transcription

1 NAME Windows Live Family Safety Company Microsoft Version 2012 Type of product Devices supported Operating systems Price* Client Computer Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit edition) Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Free, with OS (or freely downloadable) Language of interface All EU and other countries 12 years old users: 9/21 (points 1,80 out of 4) GLOBAL RANKING 13 years old users: 12/21 (points 1,94 out of 4) *Prices might change according to the latest company offers User's voice Comprehensibility: Look and Feel: Time to install and configure: Easy to use. Test user placed in: Poland Test user s degree of Internet literacy: 30 minutes

2 FUNCTIONALITY In Windows 7, web restrictions and activity reports are not included in Parental Controls. The tool Windows Live Family Safety is indicated by the provider for the activation of the filtering tasks. In order to customize the protection, the Parent needs to create Hotmail account. Since the filter is based on Windows OS, it is important to protect all Windows accounts by a password (especially the admin). The parent is provided with a list of filtering levels but websites categories are not transparent. There is no specific category dedicated to web streaming or web mail blocking and it is possible to block them only if the parents choose the "white list" only browsing mode. Social Networking is blocked since it is included in the filtering levels provided. FUNCTIONALITY SCORE: 2,8 OUT OF 4 POINTS EFFECTIVENESS The overall effectiveness score is good on adult content and very weak on other harmful content. There is no major difference in effectiveness between teenagers and children. There is no major difference in effectiveness between web and web 2.0. The tool performs better on English and French than on other languages. Effectiveness score with adult content filtering for 12 years old user: 3,2 Effectiveness score with other harmful content filtering for 12 years old user: 0,0 Effectiveness score with adult content filtering for 13 years old user: 3,4 Effectiveness score with other harmful content filtering for 13 years old user: 0,0 OVERALL SCORE FOR EFFECTIVENESS FOR 12 YEARS OLD USER: 1,6 OUT OF 4 POINTS OVERALL SCORE FOR EFFECTIVENESS FOR 13 YEARS OLD USER: 1,7 OUT OF 4 POINTS

3 USABILITY Installation of the tool: The tool can be downloaded by Windows 7 users as an external application. Installation of the application works nearly automatically, therefore the installation has not been tested with regard to usability. Configuration of the tool: The configuration process is mostly comprehensible and how to find and start the configuration is rather difficult to learn. The process contains some inconsistencies and does not always meet users' expectations. There are barely any options to individualise or influence the process except for the language. The design could be optimised a little. Usage of the tool: The tool supports a dialogue between children and parents, when a website has been blocked. The alert message cannot be customised, but it is worded with respect to children's capability of understanding. The reporting is well comprehensible. Usability of the installation process: / Usability of the configuration process: 2,64 Usability of the usage of the product: 2,76 OVERALL SCORE FOR USABILITY: 2,68 OUT OF 4 POINTS SECURITY It is important to set the filtering level on child safe in order to block by-passing attacks through proxies or Google Translate. The password protection is managed by Windows OS, but in this case it is acceptable since the tool is a Windows suite. It was possible to view a blocked site accessing it through the Google cache. It is also possible to launch a blocked application when renaming it. OVERALL SCORE FOR SECURITY: 1 OUT OF 4 POINTS

4 DETAILED FUNCTIONALITY FICHE AREA OF NEED FUNCTIONALITY SPECIFIC ISSUE ASSESSMENT MGMNT FILTERING CUSTOMIZATION Management of users profile Monitoring Topics Urls White lists Create several profiles Remote access Customisation of filtering topics Restrict browsing to a white list Default white list Modification OR Creation Modification Creation Urls Black lists Creation of user s own black list Default black list KEYWORDS Keywords Default white list Creation of a user s black list Creation of a user s white list TIME BLOCKING MESSAGE Time limit settings Type Set a specific timeframe or web access duration Ask for unblocking Redirect to safe resources Web Block access Monitor access Safe Search Availability Social Networks Block access Monitor usage duration Personal data provision Block Block the access Application - USAGE RESTRICTION Streaming P2P application Monitor the access to the application Block the application Monitor downloads Web - Block (chat, VoIP, Video-chat) Skype application Monitor the access Prevent from new contact Block the application Windows Live Messenger Monitor the access Prevent from new contact Block Client and/or web (Client)

5 DETAILED SECURITY FINDINGS The Tool prevents the user from by-passing the filter by: / Using the IP address instead of the URL Using an alternative browser Changing time and date settings* Disabling or uninstalling the software without a password* Closing the filtering tool trough the Task Manager Using a proxy instead of a direct connection to the Internet Accessing the web-pages through the Google Cache Reaching a website through translation sites Renaming a blocked application Using Safe Mode Changing the port of Peer-to-Peer application N/A *As managed directly by the tool and not by the device. DETAILED USABILITY FINDINGS / I: installation in 3 steps or less I: choice of installation for beginners or advanced users C: different degrees of strength for the filtering C: different content criteria for the filtering No (games only) C: option to transfer filter configurations between target users C: option to transfer filter configurations between devices C: altogether comprehensible configuration C: altogether in conformity with user expectations C: altogether easy to learn U: alert message in a child friendly language U: option to customise the reaction in case of blocking U: altogether easily operable and comprehensible reporting