TOS Crew Review - PG Key

PG Key is an internet security device designed to assist parents in assuring that their children are safe while online. As opposed to other internet monitoring services, which often require a monthly fee, for PG Key, you pay $49.99 once, and you receive a USB plug-in that you can use for any number of users on your computer!

I'll admit, I was a little unsure about the PG Key before trying it. First, I am not technologically savvy, so I was nervous about whether or not I'd be able to set it up easily and figure out how to use it correctly. Second, my computer is "ancient" in the computer world (over 8 years old!) and doesn't have the "get-up-and-go" that it used to, and I was worried about how having a USB key plugged in all the time would affect it.

Thankfully, none of my concerns were a problem. The PG Key was super easy to install - I just plugged it into my USB port, and it took care of the downloading. I had to register it with a password and restart my computer, and ta-da! It worked instantly. What a relief! It also hasn't been a drain on my system at all - the computer has been running the same as ever, which is another huge relief.

Some features included with PG Key include limiting time access for each user, restricting which websites can be accessed, restricting words that can be used in searches, a Safe Search engine, as well as being able to go back and view the activity on the computer, almost like a movie! (Too see all of the features offered through PG Key, be sure to check out their Features page on their website!)

I really liked several of these features, and others I thought could use improvement, so I'll touch on each.

My favorite aspects of the PG Key were:

• Being able to restrict which websites are accessed. This could be done in two ways - specific websites can be blocked, OR the settings can be set so that only specific websites can be accessed. So if I were to set one of the children up with one of their online learning websites, to ensure that they don't accidentally "click" and wind up somewhere else, I can establish the settings to only allow access to that one online learning website. If another website is attempted to be accessed, a blank screen opens letting the user know the website has been restricted. If I had older children who had more free reign on the internet, but I didn't want them to be wasting time on social networks or computer games, the feature that allows you to block certain websites would come in quite handy!


• The time limit feature is another one I appreciate a lot - not just for the children, but for myself, as well! I've mentioned before that sometimes the internet can be a time vortex for me, and establishing a time limit for myself is a good thing! When the time limit for a user is reached, a pop-up window opens letting the user know their time is up. There's an option to enter in the PG Key password to adjust the time limit, or to switch users, but if none of those things are chosen, the user can no longer use the computer until the next day.


• My favorite is the "replay" feature, which is basically a recording of ALL activity on the computer in a day - no matter which user is logged in. For example, if your child accesses chat or networking sites, it is easy to go back and view all content of chats or messages sent or received, even private messages. Not only is this feature good for safety monitoring, but it is also an excellent feature for homeschooling parents whose children do alot of online or computer work. It helps the parent to go back and make sure the child stayed on task, or view areas of their work they may have had trouble in. I can also see this feature being helpful for adults - if a person has had trouble with temptation online in the past, having this monitoring system in place can help hold them accountable to an accountability partner if needed.
  


• Since this is a USB device, my first question was, "Can't the child just remove it to eliminate the safety restrictions?" But one of the cool things about PG Key is that if a protected user removes the Key from the USB port... the computer won't work. Plain and simple. Brilliant!
  

The few aspects that I felt needed improvement were:

• The "restricted search" feature - it requires you to enter in words/phrases that are not allowed to be searched for. Honestly, I have no idea what words (other than the basic, obvious ones) that kids might use to search for inappropriate material, so I think it would be difficult to list out each individual word/phrase that should be restricted.


• Not being able to assign different levels of accessibility to different users. You can choose which users are monitored and which are not, but if the user is monitored, it has the same across-the-board settings as all of the other monitored users, there's no way to be specific about it. For example, if I wanted Joel (5) to be able to use the computer to play one of his online reading games, I could establish a restriction that only allowed access to that one game site, to avoid accidental opening of other windows. However, under Isaac's (9) user, he would have the same restriction, which is pointless. So I'd either have to broaden Joel's restrictions to include things Isaac needed access to, or let Isaac use the computer unmonitored, which defeats the purpose on both ends, in my opinion.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the PG Key. Honestly, we have never used an internet safety device, because, frankly, my kids just don't use the computer without me nearby. However, I know that as they get older, this will be changing to fit their schooling needs, so it is good to know that there is an effective, affordable security system available that will help me in protecting my children! I appreciated this quote from their website, and felt it really summed up well the purpose of PG Key:

Strong and effective parenting is the most critical part of any strategy to deal with these challenges. They have designed PG Key to be the all in one technical product for this purpose.

Simply plugging PG Key into a child’s or teen’s computer allows parents to follow the advice so often given by law enforcement and parenting experts: 1) Control when and how long the computer is used, 2) Properly setup your system with filters and web site blocking, 3) Create the “over their shoulder” environment that encourages kids to act the same way “on line” as they do in every other part of their life.

Simply put - PG Key does NOT replace parenting with technology - It ENABLES parenting with technology.

PG Key is so easy to install, that any Parent or Grandparent, – no matter how “technically challenged” can plug it in, and within a few seconds have everything they need to apply their parenting skills and strategies, to their kid’s “online” world.

Be sure to check out what other members of the TOS Crew thought about PG Key by checking out the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog!

Disclaimer: I was given this product specifically for the purpose of reviewing here on my blog as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation in regards to this review.