Norton Parental Controls Versus Circle with Disney
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- The Good
- Automatically track Internet activity
- Help balance online and offline time
- Limit website access to safe and approved sites
- The Bad
- Social media support is limited
Norton Family Premier Parental Controls let you add a layer of security to all of your children’s online activities. From a single platform, you can monitor what they do on a home computer, tablet, smartphone or other portable devices. You can sign up for Norton here.
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- The Good
- No subscription fee
- Individual filter options
- Limit time on specific sites, not just the entire web
- Pause Internet access for the whole house
- The Bad
- Hardware could require regular upgrades
- Only works around the house without a Circle Go subscription
Circle with Disney is a new take on parental controls. Instead of the software solution that is more common, Circle offers a hardware solution that controls internet access directly from the router. It intercepts data as it travels between devices and the router, so it can monitor and deny traffic that should be blocked.
Other Parental Control Reviews
- Price
- $49.99 per year
For an affordable price, you can add award-winning parental controls to virtually every internet-capable device with Norton Family Premier Parental Controls. This web-based service monitors and controls access remotely, so you don’t need to be in the room to monitor your children’s browsing habits.
- Price
- $99
Some parental controls cost upwards of $100 per year. Others are much more moderate on an annual basis, but Circle offers a one-time cost of $99 for a solution that could last for years. This puts it solidly in the middle of the shelf for pricing, though there is a Circle Go option that extends the service to 4G LTE devices for an additional $9.95 per month.
- Features
- Browser history tracking
- Automatic alerts
- Personal information protection
- Easy setup for restricted browsing
- Time monitoring and limitations
Norton Family Premier Parental Controls bring all of the features you want into a single platform. You can see what your kids are doing and when. Set limitations for what sites they can visit and limit their total daily time spent online.
- Features
- Create individual usage profiles for every user
- Program daily time limits for specific apps and sites
- Set filter levels by age
- Set a BedTime that shuts off the Internet at a preset time
- Pause the Internet for one family member or the whole house
With Circle, you can set the house internet rules and leave Circle to enforce them. If you want the kids to spend less time watching videos, limit them to 90 minutes of videos on YouTube, Netflix, Hulu or other similar sites. Tired of fighting about bedtime? Let Circle shut down the internet on time, every time. Plus, you can add some time if the kids are nearly done with a film or you want to reward good behavior. You have nearly total control over internet access and how it is used.
- Remote Access
- Remote management
- Remote setting changes
- Remote abuse alerts
Anything you can do from your home computer, you can access through the online Norton Family Premier Parental Controls dashboard. The service is web-based, so as long as you have internet access, you can use all of the features remotely. If you notice a problem site, you can add it to the block list. If you see that your child has spent too much time playing online games and not enough on homework, you can remove access to game sites, all from anywhere and on the go.
- Remote Access
- Remote management
Circle only functions around the home. This means you don’t need remote access to make changes when you can connect wirelessly and update settings. If you want remote access, you’ll want a service like Circle Go, which extends all of your device settings onto 4G LTE networks, so the same settings apply at home and on the go. You can manage setting changes remotely, but this only applies to devices connected to your home Wi-Fi.
- Supported Devices
- Windows
- Android 4 or later
- iOS 9 or later
Norton Family Premier Parental Controls work with any device that runs on a compatible operating system. Since this security solution runs on the most common Windows, Android and iOS versions, it is compatible with most computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Be aware that it is not MAC compatible, so you will need to look for an alternate solution if you’re a MAC household.
- Supported Devices
- iOS
- Android
Circle is compatible with virtually any router, but the control mechanism is through an app-based interface. That means you will need a device that can run on Android or iOS to change the settings and set up user profiles. Both the Android and iOS apps offer the same functionality, and you can even use a PC if you have an emulator that allows you to run Android apps.
- Social Media Monitoring
- No
Social media is one of the digital avenues where children are most at risk. Unfortunately, Norton Family Premier does not currently include social media monitoring as part of the suite of security tools at your disposal. Hulu and YouTube monitoring are available, but there are many other social networks that could slip by.
- Social Media Monitoring
- No
Circle offers incredibly granular control over web browsing and internet usage, but it does not monitor social media activity. If you want to see what your kids are doing on Facebook or make sure no one is harassing them on Instagram, you’ll need to monitor those platforms manually.
Norton Parental Controls: User Reviews
Circle with Disney: User Reviews
Norton Parental Controls: Comments
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How Does Norton Family Premier Work?
Every device has the option to allow different logins. When your children use the computer, they can set their own login and password information. Using that distinct profile, you can employ Norton Family Premier to add external protections and controls. As the administrator of the parental controls, you can:
- Control when your children can use a device
- Monitor and block certain browsing habits
- Automatically set up age appropriate browsing restrictions
- Get automatic notifications whenever a child attempts to visit a blocked site
With all of the control available, Norton still encourages parental controls be used as a part of communication. Instead of installing parental controls like spyware, Norton sets up house rules surrounding internet use and involves both parents and children in the discussion about what is and is not allowed.
What Makes Norton Family Premier Stand Out?
One of the reasons why Norton Family Premier so consistently wins awards and praise from users is simple — it works. It is not browser dependent, so add-ons and plugins do not allow your children to circumvent your control settings, unlike some of the competition. After logging in to your Norton Family account, the software will handle all of the setup when you download the app to the local device.
There’s no need to dive into your router settings, figure out which software version you need to install or even set up custom restrictions. Norton Family Premier has automated the setup process, so all you need to do is tell Norton which of your children own which devices and their respective ages. You do the same with any profiles on home computers. Norton has existing age-based settings already in place, so you can start implementing house rules and restricted sites from the first day. Over time, you can tweak and customize your settings to allow specific sites or schedule availability.
Common Reviews of Norton Family Premier
PC Mag, Tom’s Guide and other industry publications routinely give Norton Family Premier a top rating. These industry experts look under the hood and compare the parental controls offered by Norton to other services available on the market today, and Norton often tops the list.
On user-based sites like the Google Play Store, Norton grabs an average rating of 2.8-stars. Normally, a rating like that would be a big red flag, but in this case, it may be one of the best pieces of advertising you can get. A large portion of the one-star reviews on the app store come from children who are upset about the restrictions the app imposes. If the app didn’t work, there would be no need for kids to complain. Of course, these complaints do highlight the importance of communication about parental controls and how they will be used. Remind your kids that nothing online is really private and that house rules don’t stop at the front door with parental controls.
Is Norton Family Premier Controls for Me?
If your children spend large portions of their day online or using a device, Norton Family Premier could be a good solution to the problems that can crop up with unfettered access. You might tell your children no video games until their homework is done, but that can be hard to enforce given the sheer number of devices that allow gaming access. With Norton, you can set the rule and make it stick.
You can also gradually introduce your children to the realities of online usage and monitoring. Many children assume their digital footprint is essentially anonymous. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Every activity you or your children take online can be monitored and tracked. Responsive advertising is just one way that sites and ISPs use your browsing history. By using parental controls to track their online activity, you can show them how much information they are giving away every time they use Google or log in to a favorite site.
When you have children accessing the internet, it’s important to have conversations about safety and security. Norton Family Premier is a good place to start the discussion and explain the rules. Norton Family Premier Controls could be a parental control solution that works for your family.
How Does Circle with Disney Work?
Most parental control solutions you see are software-based. They act as a kind of firewall, denying access to inappropriate content. Circle is different. Using a method more commonly found among hacking tool boxes, Circle intercepts traffic as it moves between the router and the device, denying access to any content that is not allowed.
By using this method, Circle inspects all of the data passing through the router, limiting the utility of workarounds. Whereas other parental control solutions might fail due to a browser plug-in or add-on, Circle avoids the issue with a hardware solution.
What Makes Circle Stand Out?
All decent parental control solutions enable internet filtering and individual user profiles, but many stop there. With Circle, you not only get the great filtering that blocks pornography and profanity, but you also gain direct control over individual browsing activity.
Remember when parents would take the remote control and set the TV channel? Circle works a lot like that, giving you the ability to pause the internet or shut it off, without any discussion at all. Circle puts an internet remote on your mobile device.
Along with the ability to filter out content, you also get the chance to set time restrictions for specific sites. You can say “no more Facebook tonight,” or “you’ve watched enough YouTube” and really make it stick with Circle filtering enabled.
Scheduled OffTime and BedTime also take the internet off the table when you want the kids to focus on homework or go outside and play. Turn the internet off during dinner or special events. This will help kids find a better balance between online and offline life.
Game systems are another big plus to the Circle system. When using Circle, you can limit internet access through gaming consoles the same way you do through computers or mobile devices. You don’t need to see what games your kids play or directly monitor their play time – Circle does it for you.
Common Reviews of Circle with Disney
Circle with Disney brings in an average rating of 3.8-stars, which is not bad for a new device. However, there are a few issues that deserve a mention. You’ll want to make sure your router is compatible with Circle before you install it. If there is a compatibility issue, it will not work and may interfere with connectivity. If it is compatible, installation is quick and easy. Most users have no trouble starting it up right out of the box.
Once it’s installed, it works as advertised, though some of the functions may require a bit more management than is ideal. For example, if you extend bedtime on Monday, you’ll need to remember to reset it for Tuesday. You’ll also want to give the kids a heads-up before bedtime. When the preset time is reached, there’s no notice before the internet shuts off.
Is Circle with Disney Right for Me?
The bedtime, pause and time limits offered by Circle with Disney make it an ideal solution for parents with children old enough to experiment with workarounds. After all, a parental control solution only works when it’s installed on the device, right? Not with Circle. With Circle, even if your kids bring in a new device, you can set it to deny access until the device has a matching profile.
So, if your kids are old enough to be creative about their attempts to circumvent your parental controls, Circle might be what you need. Not only does it control access to inappropriate sites, but it can also limit game time by cutting off the internet connection to gaming consoles. That’s something that virtually no other parental control systems offer. By directly controlling access to the internet, you avoid a lot of potential problems, like plug-ins that ignore access restrictions or guest accounts with no limitations on them.
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