Parental Controls

The parental controls feature in the FRITZ!Box allows you to specify for all network devices and Windows users in the home network:

  • how long and when Internet access is allowed on individual days of the week.
  • which web pages are blocked or which are the only web pages that can be opened.
  • which network applications may access the Internet.

For instance, you can ensure that your children can use the Internet for no more than three hours a day on weekdays, cannot access web pages that are offensive or harmful to minors, and cannot use file-sharing programs (e.g. BitTorrent).

Note:The "Internet / Filters" menu is available only when the internet connection has been set up in the FRITZ!Box and the FRITZ!Box is configured as a router. The "Internet / Filters" menu is not available if the FRITZ!Box is configured as an IP client.

Configuring Child Protection for Network Devices

  • Parental controls can be cunfigured for network devices like computers and smartphones, regardless of the operating system they use.
  • The child protection feature in the FRITZ!Box can not be used to restrict the Internet access of network devices connected to the FRITZ!Box via WLAN guest access.
  1. Select from the table the network device for which you would like to configure child protection, and then click the "Edit" button.
  2. On the page that opens now, define the access rules for the network device. For instructions, see: Configuring Access Rules

Configuring Child Protection for Windows Users

In the Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP (32-bit and 64-bit in each case), parental controls can be configured for each user individually. To do this you must install the "FRITZ!Box Parental Controls" software on the computer. This program ensures that the FRITZ!Box recognizes the Windows user accounts. The program can be downloaded free of charge from the AVM website.

  1. Install the "AVM FRITZ!Box Parental Controls" software on the computer on which you would like to configure parental controls for windows users. Click here for instructions: Downloading and Installing FRITZ!Box Parental Controls" Software.

    Once you have installed the program on the computer, the Windows users are displayed in the table in the "Internet / Filters" menu.

  2. Select from the table a Windows user for whom you would like to configure child protection, and then click the "Edit" button.
  3. On the page that opens now, define the access rules for the Windows user. For instructions, see: Configuring Access Rules

Here is how the parental controls settings for computers and windows users interact: Interaction of Parental Control Settings for Computers and Windows Users.

Note: Protect the FRITZ!Box user interface with a password to ensure that the parental controls settings cannot be changed by unauthorized users. Password protection for the FRITZ!Box can be configured using the "System / FRITZ!Box Password" menu command.

Network Devices and Windows Users

Computer Displays the computers with their computer names and users with the names of their user accounts. If the computer name is not known to FRITZ!Box, the IP address of the computer is displayed instead.
Internet Use Shows how long the Internet is allowed to be used.
Online Time

Shows the amount of online time already used. The time listed is always given with reference to the current date.

When the FRITZ!Box determined an attempt to circumvent the configured child protection, the entry "Child protection blocked" appears. The FRITZ!Box reacts by blocking the child protection or the computer. Click the button in the "Edit" column to override the block. The FRITZ!Box can recognize an attempt to circumvent child protection only if the setting "Computers for which no access rules are enabled: have no Internet access" is enabled.

Here is how the online time is counted for the child protection settings Online Time for Child Protection.
Filter Lists Displays the lists of filters switched on for child protection.
Blocked Applications Shows the network applications that were blocked in the child protection settings.
"Edit" Click this button to open a page in which you can configure child protection for the computer or the Windows user.

Computers for which no access rules are enabled:

Network devices with child protection switched off have either unrestricted Internet access or no access at all. The two settings options look like this:

have unrestricted Internet access

With this setting Internet access is not allowed for network devices with child protection disabled. This is the factory setting.

Important:
You should enable this setting only if users in the FRITZ!Box home network are not authorized to change network settings on network devices. The users should thus have no administrator rights for the network devices. With administrator rights they would be able to circumvent the child protection settings configured in the FRITZ!Box.
do not have Internet access

With this setting Internet access is not allowed for network devices with child protection disabled.

Important:
If you enable this function and have child protection configured for certain Windows users, Internet access must be permitted for the network device itself so that Windows updates and updates of virus protection software can be performed.