Section 1 - Choosing Parental Control Software / PIC-PC features explained.

1.1. I've heard downloading software from the Internet is dangerous -is this safe?
1.2. My kids are pretty smart - can they get around PIC-PC controls?
1.3. Can I use this software to restrict access to web sites?
1.4 How does 'Roaming' work?

Section 2 - Problems using PIC-PC

2.1 Error Messages

2.1. I get pop-ups saying 'counts file unavailable' when child logs on, and no time limits work.
2.1 2 Home network: I  get 'file open' errors or claims that there are no users on a remote PC.

2.1.3 I get 'no users found on this PC' message when I try to set rules. Can hang if continue..

2.2 My child is having problems with PIC-PC
2.2.1 My child's Firefox / Opera browser is closes immediately every time they start it (Problem solved in  Version 2.70).

2.3 I think my child is getting round PIC-PC
2.3 General.
2.3.1 My child can close PIC-PC using task manager 
2.3.2 PIC-PC Doesn't seem to be doing anything - no rules are imposed
2.3.3 My child seems to have unlimited access to Facebook or another web site I am trying to limit.

2.4  Problems Installing / Updating PIC-PC

2.4.1 I'm having trouble installing a new version of PIC-PC. I get errors during the install process.
2.4.2 I reformatted my hard drive, now my licence key is invalid

2.5 General PIC-PC queries and problems, how do I...
2.5.1 How do I Un-Install PIC-PC?
2.5.2  The web page  categorisation doesn't seem to work.
2.5.3 I have some problems using V2.28 under Vista,
2.5.4  I am using Windows Accounts - If I want to run Task Manager, or install software under child's account, how do I override PIC-PC?
2.5.5  How does Roaming work (jumps to Answer 1.4)
2.5.6 How can my child 'pause' his time.

Answers - (click on the question links above to jump to the answer you need)

 Section 1 Answers: Choosing Parental Control Software

1.1. I've heard downloading software from the Internet is dangerous -is this safe?
When you download the software, you will see that Windows will tell you it is from us (Luckyhop Ltd T/A parents-in-control.com). This is because it has a digital certificate from an international certification authority guaranteeing its origin and the fact it has not been tampered with.   
Downloaded (esp. free) software often contains a deliberate payload of spyware and adware. Not every 'free' offering is dangerous, but the phrase 'if something is too good to be true, it probably is' is one to bear in mind.
We guarantee that, to the best of our knowledge, our software contains no adware, spyware or trojans.  We are a UK-based company subject to UK law. Never download software from obscure sites located on obscure servers (esp. in Eastern Europe / Far East / Africa).  Never install software without a digital certificate.
We scan the install file with antivirus software (updated daily) before uploading to our web host. Because our software is signed digitally, even if a virus infected the host computers, our software cannot be infected without you being alerted when you run the install.  

When you first log on using your child's account, if you have ZoneALarm or similar firewall software, it will probably notify you about a few things PIC-PC is doing.
Tell the firewall that these things are OK (there is probably a check box to say 'remember this decision' or 'always apply to ppcrules.exe' or somesuch). It shouldn't flag them again.
I'm afraid we need to use some techniques used by spyware programs in order to monitor your childrens' activities, so we are bound to trip some alarms if you have anti-spyware software,  
 PIC-PC  will never attempt to make an internet connection (except when registering, doing on-line purchase, from a 'help' screen, or when reporting an error condition to us)
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We always recommend that you have up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software installed. Just visiting a website or reading an email can be enough to compromise your PC!  If you are worried, save our download and run an anti-virus scan on our install file before running it.

1.2. My kids are pretty smart - can they get around PIC-PC controls?

Starting with V2.55, we have added a 'lockdown' feature that with one click will set system policies (ONLY to your children's account) that will make this extremely hard.  If they have a 'restricted rights'/ 'limited'  account we know of no way than can do so.
Note that  with an administrator password and sufficient knowledge it is ALWAYS possible to remove any software (including any parental control software).   We don't want to go into detail, but examples of the precautions we take are: If they delete any vital PIC-PC files, they will be logged off until PIC-PC is repaired. Changing the clock can be disabled by PIC-PC setting 'Windows Policies' . Passwords are encrypted. Deleting the log file will be reported next time you inspect it. Ctrl-Alt-Delete (task manager), 'Control Panel' and 'Registry Editor' are banned by default when children are logged in (parents can still use these with 'parental override', unless they have chosen the 'lockdown' option which means they will have to log in to their own Windows account to use them). Control files contain binary data making them hard to edit by text editors.  If your children do find a way to evade any controls, please let us know so we can fix it!  

  If your children have access to an account with 'administrator' privileges, they can, in theory, do anything. For example, if they are capable of cleaning a virus from a PC without using any anti-virus tools other than on the XP/Vista/W7 install disk, they could remove PIC-PC or any other parental control software too.

1.3. Can I use this software to control  access to undesirable Internet sites?
Yes, although it isn't primarily an internet filter program, You can categorise web pages with certain words in the title to be put in the 'always banned' category. Unlike other programs, you can put time limits on some sites instead of just banning them.. For more detail on the drawbacks of Internet Filters, and how PIC-PC can help, click  here.


1.4 How does 'Roaming' work?

If you have a home network, you can keep track of total PC use by children who may use more than one PC. Instead of holding rules and time records  on each PC (and each child only given access to that PC), the time records are held on one 'master' PC or -better still -  a NAS device if you have one. The 'master PC' or NAS  must be on whenever a child logs on to any PC on the network.  Any child can use any PC (including the 'master PC'.). All time limits are now 'total' time on any and all PCs (ie, a one hour limit is used up if he spends 20 minutes on PC A, 30m on PC B, and 10m on PC C.).
 Rule setting, voucher creation, etc., can be done from any PC on the network as before.  We suggest that the 'master PC' be chosen as the most 'desirable' PC in the house - in this way it will probably be already on and in use before any other.
 If the master PC is accidentally turned off, or offline,  any logged on controlled user will have a few seconds  to enter a 'parent override' password before their screen is locked (as in Windows-L).  Once the situation is corrected, they can unlock the screen and carry on.

If you prefer, you can  choose to allocate each child to only one PC, and keep records on each PC so you never  have to have  a PC turned on just for PIC-PC to use.

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Section 2 Answers - Problems using PIC-PC

2.1 Error Messages


2.1.1  Counters Unavailable Error.

A few  users have reported this problem. We think it is fixed in V2.52.2, ( we have trouble reproducing it so we cannot be 100% sure). If you have an earlier version you should upgrade after reading these upgrade notes.
As a fix, you can go here  and download a small batch file that will set the correct permissions. This only works for XP, if you have a Vista PC with this problem and V2.52.2 does not solve it,  please  Contact   us.


2.1.2 Network problems
When you can see the PC name in a drop-down, often these problems are being caused by the remote PC denying access to files.
Please see our network help page

2.1.3 'No users found on this PC' message followed by PIC-PC hanging.

While this message can be caused by problems such as the remote PC being turned off (but this will not cause a hang, only a small delay), if you get it on the local PC then read on.....

Have you just installed or updated antivirus software? A major culpit is AVG anti-virus 2011. You may also get the error message (not from PIC-PC)

" Not enough server storage is available to process this command. " when trying to access shared drives.

Solution: See the Microsoft knowledge base article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177078/

NB the article does not make it clear, but you need to reboot after making the registry change.

This failure of Windows to recognised named shares can cause PIC-PC to hang in addition to the 'no user found' message. We are making a fix urgently so that the hang does not occur, however you need to apply the WIndows fix in the Microsoft article if you want to use the network features of PIC-PC (or use named shares for any other purpose). Alternatively you can turn off PIC-PC network features.

We will be uploading a .reg file to increase the relevent registry value shortly, and will link to it here.

2.2 My child is having problems with PIC-PC
2.2.1 My child's Firefox / Opera browser is closes immediately every time they start it.
From  version 2.70.x we only close the offending tab, not the browser, so the following will not apply. We recommend you upgrade to the latest version to avoid this.
These browsers allow you to set an option to reload previous tabs on start-up. If one tab title contained a word/phrase causing the browser to be closed ( could be a banned keyword, or a keyword implying an activity not allowed at that time of day etc.) the browser will be closed by PIC-PC next time it starts too!
We recommend you turn off this option in FIrefox and Opera for your childrens' accounts.
If this has already happened you can use 'Parental Override' to close the offending tab. See here.

2.3 I think my child is getting round PIC-PC

If they can get around ANY PIC-PC feaure, ninety-nine percent of the time this is reported, it turns out the child has guessed the parent's password (or looked over their shoulder)! Try changing your password and see if that solves the problem.  If you have given him/her an administrator password, and they have enough knowledge, (or know someone who has!) they can disable ANY parental control software.
If only some features seem not to work, please see other FAQs.

2.3.1 My child can close PIC-PC using task manager (Only applies to old versions pre 2.54.0)

Download the latest release, and click the 'max anti-tamper' check box on the main dialog.
This will prevent task manager being run using 'Windows system policies', so  they cannot use it no matter how fast-fingered they are (a few kids could close PIC-PC before PIC-PC closed task manager!). "Max. anti-tamper" sets several other system polices (ONLY ON THE CHILD'S ACCOUNT) that will cause much frustration to any budding hacker. The only downside is that these policies are not subject to 'parental override' - you would have to switch user to your account, run rule setting, un-tick anti-tamper, then switch back.

2.3.2 PIC-PC Doesn't seem to be doing anything - no rules are imposed

Have you accidentally ticked the 'stealth mode' box on the main dialog? This will cause all rules to be ignored - only the monitoring (activity logging ) functions are active.  
We'll put a trouble-shooting list here soon - but for now, if stealth mode isn't the cause,  please  Contact   us, we'll be happy to help you sort it out.

2.3.3 My child seems to have unlimited access to Facebook or another web site I am trying to limit.

Check that the browser your child uses (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera etc.) is classified as a 'web browser' in the program classification dialog. Sometimes parents mark these as 'Always OK' because they don't want to limit general web browsing - but if PIC-PC doesn't know it is a browser, it cannot enforce web-based rules. Instead, you should leave it categorised as a 'web browser' an set the web browsing rules to have no special time limit or time-of-day restricton.
Also, please note that we currently allow the child to have Facebook or an IM application , running in the background without clocking up time on it so they can look out for friends coming online. When they actively use it, the time is 'charged'.  We may well review this and make it parent-controlled option.

Windows 7 64 bit. We are working on a 64-but version now. In the interim, PIC-PC works fine with the 32 bit Internet Explorer that comes with W7. Remove the shortcut to the 64bit version for now, and contact us to ask to be reminded when we have a new version available.

2.4  Problems Installing / Updating PIC-PC
2.4.1 Install problems

Since moving to Windows Installer, we are not aware of any. Please contact us if you have a problem.

2.4.2 I reformatted my hard drive, now my licence key is invalid

Don't panic. We will send you a (free) new key, as long as it is the same PC you bought a licence for.   Please  Contact   us, we'll be happy to help you sort it out. Soon we will provide an automated method for getting a new key.

2.5 General PIC-PC queries and problems, how do I...

2.5.1 How do I Un-Install PIC-PC?

If you just wish to upgrade to the next version, there is no need to un-install.

Always remove the anti-tamper settings before uninstalling PIC-PC.

If you have decided PIC-PC isn't for you: follow these instructions.
First, please consider using our Contact  page if you had a problem with PIC-PC.
If you are still on your free trial. we recommend you use the Purchase/Uninstall button on the PIC-PC main dialog, followed by the 'remove PIC-PC button on the next dialog.
If you are a licenced user, this button will not be there so: go to the Windows  Start Menu and open the Control Panel. Select 'Add and Remove Programs'.   You will not be able to do this under a child's account if you have set 'max anti-tamper'.  If you have ignored our strong advice to have access to a non PIC-PC controlled account, you must remove the 'max anti-tamper' setting first.
Scroll down until you find PIC-PC., click on 'Remove'.   That's it.

2.5.2  The web page  categorisation doesn't seem to work

Check that you set the rule under the 'Web Browsing' category to say 'Categorise web use by page title'. Also check that  the 'program categorisation' dialog  shows your child's brower (IE, Firefox, etc) as marked as 'Web Browsing'.

2.5.3 I have some problems using PIC-PC under Vista, W7

Before V2.85, Logging keystrokes was not possible within Internet Explorer if running in  protected mode, but screen snapshots did work Upgrade to V2.85 or later..


2.5.4 If I want to run Task Manager, or install software under childs account, how do I override PIC-PC ?

Click on the PIC-PC icon in the tasktray, and select 'Parental overrride'. Enter the parent password in the dialog that appears.
This suspends the PIC-PC controls. You can re-enable them by clicking the icon again and choosing  the  'Return to NORMAL Mode' option.  

Note - if you have set 'Max Anti-Tamper, you will have to 'switch user' to an uncontrolled user with administrator rights. You can run Task Manager from there (tick 'show processes from all users'). You will not be able to turn off  'max anti-tamper'. on the child's account while they are still logged on  - it requires a change to their hive, which WIndows locks until they log off.
You can of course log off the child, log on and run PIC-PC rules, un-tick the 'max anti-tamper' box. When you have finished, set the anti-tamper box again.

2.5.5  How does Roaming work? go to answer 1.4)

2.5.6 How can my child 'pause' his time.

By one of:
a) Using the 'lock screen Windows command (Hold 'Windows key and press L). (Version 2.64 onwards)

b) Use  a screensaver - when it starts, PIC-PC time counting will stop. Useful if child
 keeps wandering away from PC without locking or logging off.  Note that if the monitor is set to power off after a set time of inactivity, Windows turns off the screensaver at that point, and so we start counting time again.  We are seeking a green solution!

c) Fast User Switching now stops time counters when user is switched away from.(Version 2.64 onwards)

d) Log off.