5 Ways Your Children Might Bypass Parental Control Software

Parental duties used to be much simpler before technology evolved so much. But these days, parents must have enhanced vigilance. The internet is vast and as advantageous as it is, it can be just as dangerous. So, protecting your child from the dangers of the internet is an added responsibility for the parent.

Many parents take precautions such as parental restrictions so that their children can enjoy a safe and appropriate experience. 

But kids these days have an inherent advantage in their understanding of technology. They know how to use the best VPN services and other tools to their advantage to break or bypass these restrictions completely.

So, how do you stay one step ahead of them to ensure their protection? In this blog, we will outline five ways that your children might try to bypass the restrictions you place and how you can stay aware of them.

5 Ways To Bypass Parental Control Software

Please take a look at these five methods to bypass parental control software that your children might use to evade the restrictions you put on them.

1. Proxy Sites

Proxy sites work by using a “proxy” server instead of the server your ISP has designated for your connection and requesting the website for you instead of said ISP server. These proxy servers are placed strategically and are designed to be free of restrictions.

Proxy sites aren’t as popular as they were once before, but they can still be found. Hide.me is one of the biggest examples of a proxy server. So, if you have placed parental controls/restrictions on their PC or phone, they might use sites such as the one mentioned above to remove those restrictions.

Even if they don’t know about proxy sites, it isn’t hard to find them. They might not be as popular, but they are still quite prevalent. And it takes only a few clicks before they access an inappropriate site.

2. Changing Passwords

Passwords are what keep the restrictions in place without letting them be changed easily. But these days, with Wi-Fi technology and whatnot, passwords are shared in a family quite often. So there is a chance that your child might know the passwords to your accounts and even the restrictions you place on their device.

They can then use these passwords to log in and access the settings and modify them accordingly while you are none the wiser. In any case, all you need to do is ensure that all your passwords are protected and you don’t share them with your children. If you have already shared them, then change them before enforcing any restrictions.

There is also a chance that they might brute-force your password by using certain software. Though this method is unlikely, it is still possible. It is best avoided by having a strong password. Don’t use simple passwords like simple numbers or alphabets.

3. Different Wi-Fi

Are you quite neighborly with your neighbors? Do you have a good relationship with them? Do you live in close proximity to them? If you’re saying yes to these questions, then chances are that your child might be using their Wi-Fi to avoid the restrictions on their device.

Restrictions such as parental control are usually placed by blacklisting certain websites or apps. This blacklisting activates when anyone tries to access such content through the Wi-Fi and, therefore, IP address that you put the block on.

But if your child is using a different Wi-Fi and, therefore IP address, then the blacklisting is useless, since the Wi-Fi is different. If you suspect that this is happening, then all you need to do is ask them to change their Wi-Fi password.

4. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

VPNs are the ultimate method to get rid of such restrictions. They have multiple features, such as encryption, server obfuscation, IP spoofing, DNS spoofing, and more. These features are enough to bypass geographical restrictions put on by streaming services such as Netflix, so parental controls aren’t too big of a deal for them to bypass.

There are many brilliant VPNs in the market, like ExpressVPN, Surfshark VPN, and more, that are more than capable of such activity, so keep an eye out for those.

5. Private Browsing

Browsers like Opera come with a VPN built into them, and browsers like Firefox and Chrome are advanced enough that you can easily install VPN plugins and use them quietly. Not only that, but TOR Browser is quite advanced in this regard. It comes with integrated multi-level routing and server obfuscation.

TOR Browser is quite powerful and every parent should be mindful of its use.

Wrapping Up

Keeping your children safe is your responsibility. But healthy boundaries are also important. That’s why you need to ensure that you keep aware of every method or way they might be using to get past the boundaries you’ve set for them. But it would help if you also remember that you can’t protect them from everything.

With that being said, these five factors will help you prevent all that you can.