FAQ Windows

Not working (anymore)?

If the program no longer works properly and/or limits are not met, please proceed as follows: 1.) Make sure, all available Windows updates are installed correctly. Some customers reported, Child Control has stopped working due to an outstanding or running Windows update. 2.) Restart the child PC manually once.

Then check if the Child Control icon is available in the lower right corner of the taskbar. When you click on the icon, the current limits and the time that has elapsed should be displayed. The whole thing should then look something like this:

Check in the status windows picture whether the elapsed time and the displayed limits correspond to what you see in the Web Portal or what you have set. Check if the PC-Tag counter really counts up every minute. You should also check if the synchronization works correctly. You can find the date of the last sync directly on the child PC in the above info area under (left side) "Details" and then at the bottom of the screen. If the icon is not displayed in the taskbar (maybe you have hidden it intentionally) try the key combination SHIFT + CTRL + F6.

If no info window appears here either, you should download the parental control again from our homepage and install it over your existing version. You will always find the download on our download page. If all this does not help, you can reset the parental control once. For more information on resetting, see the chapter Reset Parental Control. Another cause for malfunctioning of the parental control could be an installed antivirus program. Please refer to the chapter Setting up antivirus.

Suspicion of manipulation? If you suspect that children are manipulating the program, you should ensure that the child user accounts do not have administrative rights before reinstalling the program. Also make sure that other admin users (e.g. you as a parent) have secured the Windows user account with a password.

Windows 11 compatible?

Yes. The current version of Child Control works also with all Windows 11 versions.

Antivirus settings

If Child Control does not (no longer) work properly or synchronizations fail, this may well be due to the installed antivirus or security solution. Please keep in mind that both antivirus programs and our parental control automatically receive updates, i.e. it is quite possible that it will not work from one day to the next. Find below a list antivirus programs causing sometimes issues:

Bitdefender

Comodo

Eset/Nod32

G-DATA

Malware bytes

No problems are known to us (at present!) with the following programs: Avira, Avast, Kaspersky, McAffee

If your antivirus has blocked parts of Child Control, this should usually somehow appear in the reports of the antivirus program. Check such reports for the file names below. With most antivirus programs it is not only necessary to create a firewall rule for Child Control, but also to ensure that parental control is not mistakenly detected as malware or potential danger. You can usually achieve this by including the following files as exceptions in your antivirus program:

c:\windows\cc\ctlsysui.exe

c:\windows\cc\ctlsysmgr.exe

c:\windows\cc\winctlsvc.exe

No settings are necessary for Windows' own Antivirus Defender or the Windows Firewall. If there are already problems with an antivirus program during the installation of Child Control, a simple deactivation of the antivirus is normally not sufficient (drivers are still loaded). Many customers have solved this problem by uninstalling their antivirus, restarting the PC, installing the Child Control and then installing the antivirus program again. If you have set internet restrictions via a router, make sure that contact to the following servers is allowed: salfeld.net, sse.salfeld.net, portal.salfeld.net, sync.salfeld.net. The used ports are 80 (http) and 443 (https).

Tip: If you have made your settings and everything works correctly, set a password (if possible) in your firewall/internet security program. This prevents third parties from possibly resetting these settings. Restart your PC once after all changes.

Strange display of a website?

A website does not work properly when web filter is turned on in Child Control? If you use the whitelist mode, only pages that are explicitly listed under "Allowed" are allowed. However, it is possible (and this happens quite often) that the given website still does not work or is displayed correctly. This is due to the fact that many websites uses within their websites other domains (which might be blocked). Example: You, as parents, are the ones who release the children's site tivi.de. Nevertheless, the child cannot watch the videos there (only a strange error message appears). The reason is that the videos are located on the (other) domain zdf.de, which must be unlocked as well. If a page is not displayed correctly, the following procedure almost always helps:

Use Web Portal -> Usage Logs and check the period under History Blocked. Unlock all blocked entries there and try to call the website again. If it should not succeed despite these hints, contact us with indication of the unlocked domain ,we will be glad to help you!

Web filter does not work?

If Child Control's web filter does not work at all, this could be due to an installed antivirus program. If you are using another antivirus program than the (built-in) Microsoft Defender, you can find some initial information in the FAQ Antivirus settings. Please also check the following requirements: Are the used browsers (e.g. chrome.exe, firefox.exe, microsoftedge.exe) registered under Web Portal -> Programs -> Internet group? The web filter is only applied to programs in the Internet group. If all this fits, please go to http://blocktest.salfeld.net in your browser to check the actual functioning of the web filter. Please also remember that Child Control only filters active connections. If a web page is already completely in the browser cache, it will not be checked again. In this case, delete the browser cache manually. If a keyword is not correctly filtered, please remember that this filter does not work on pages that you have explicitly entered under Web Filter -> Allowed. In rare cases, even pending Windows updates have caused the web filter to malfunction. Therefore, make sure that you are using the latest Windows version and restart the child PC once.

Settings only on the Internet?

You install Child Control once on the child's PC. A database is created directly on the PC and the limits you set (e.g. time limits or web filter) are monitored directly on the device. It is also possible to (temporarily) switch off Child Control as well as to set extensions (by password or TAN) directly on the respective child's PC without an Internet connection. All other settings can be made on the Internet in our Web Portal. The advantage for you is that you can access the settings from any location and any Internet device without disturbing the child on the child's PC. For us, this has the advantage that we can implement improvements much faster than before (we no longer have to adapt two different user interfaces).

The settings in the Web Portal synchronize with the settings directly on the child's PC at regular short intervals (<3 minutes). Both in the Web Portal (on the start page) and on the child PC (click on the icon, then on the left on Details) you can see the time of the last successful synchronization.

Update notification in Web Portal

Child Control is updated by us regularly, i.e. new versions are released several times a year. Here we correct errors or add new functions. It is important that the latest version is always installed on the children's PCs. Normally, you do not need to do anything else for this.

Child Control loads and installs current versions in the background. If the warning message is still displayed in the Web Portal, you can always install the current version from our homepage over your existing version. All data will be preserved. You can always find the download here: https://salfeld.com/en/download/

Black screenshot

If a black image appears instead of the screenshot, this may have the following reason: In this case a program on the child PC (e.g. video player or 3D game) directly addresses the graphics card and does not use Windows standard graphics routines. Under these conditions, Child Control unfortunately cannot take a screenshot (or only a black screen is displayed). You can disable graphics hardware acceleration in the Windows system settings (not recommended). Then you will get a screenshot, but videos and 3D games may be displayed very "jerky" or slowed down.

Also suitable for Windows Admins?

Yes, even for administrator accounts you can set various settings and restrictions in Child Control. Some restrictions also apply to admin accounts with Child Control installed: For example, it is not possible for administrative users to simply stop the software processes (not even with alternative task managers). Despite all these measures, the attack surface for manipulation is much higher for an admin account. We therefore recommend to use a standard Windows account and not to grant administrative rights to the child. Make sure that existing admin accounts are password protected in Windows.

Manage multiple PCs

You can control multiple PCs with one and the same Web Portal login. It is important that you have entered exactly the same data (user name and password) on all PCs. If you are running multiple PCs with Child Control and you want to manage them all online with the same user account, make sure that the same user name (email) is entered on each of the child PCs. A change of the user name is only possible by reinstalling and resetting the settings. Before this step, we recommend that you save any existing settings. See also Import and Export of Settings.

System time incorrect notification

Child Control depends on the date, time and time zone being set correctly on the child device. This is necessary to ensure that time limits function correctly and that lockout periods are observed. Manipulating the date is a popular trick for kids to circumvent the software. If Child Control detects a "wrong" system date or time, a corresponding warning message is displayed in the Web Portal. Even if 90% of changes to the date are due to the kids: bad batteries and defective hardware can also cause the system time to malfunction in individual cases.

On Windows PCs only administrative users can make changes to the system time. So if the child only has a standard account, you do not need to take any further protective measures. For children with admin user rights, you can prevent changes to the date and time via the Web Portal -> Security -> Windows Security -> No Date/Time Settings. Please keep in mind that an incorrect date can also be set in the BIOS of the PC. The BIOS is outside of Windows and the sphere of influence of any software - the only thing that helps here is to directly protect the BIOS with a password (which is possible in most cases). Keep in mind that an incorrect system time can lead to strange reports, possibly even in the future (if the date has been set). We recommend to reset the already counted times if the system date is wrong.

Important! The message is not automatically hidden, even if the date may be correct again. This way you can recognize a manipulation even later. If the date on the child device is correct, you can hide the message with the "x" in the upper right corner.

Restrict Minecraft

If you want to restrict Minecraft, simply add minecraft.exe with a time limit of your choice in the Program Filter section. This time limit will be enforced whether Minecraft is played as a desktop application or within the browser. Due to Minecraft's special detection, in exceptional cases the game may start first (but will then end within 30 seconds).

Add/delete users to Child Control?

In the Windows version, the user management connects seamlessly to the Windows user accounts (both local and Microsoft accounts). You do not create any users in the Child Control itself. The program recognizes all user accounts installed on the Windows PC. When a new user account is added, it usually appears automatically in the Web Portal. If you want to explicitly add (or even delete) a user to the Web Portal, please proceed as follows: Download and reinstall the current version of Child Control from our download page on the child PC. When reinstalling, all settings will be applied (if desired). In the Users screen, make sure that all relevant users are checked. If the Windows users are not listed in the following overview, you may have to log on and off the corresponding account once in Windows.

Also make sure that you have set a strong password for users who are not checked in Windows. This prevents children from simply using a different (not monitored) account. Another tip: To prevent children with admin rights from creating a new user and thus possibly bypassing Child Control, you can specify that new users are not allowed in the Web Portal under Settings in the Options section. In this case, Child Control will immediately log off a new user in Windows.

Supporting Windows domains / Active Directories?

With a domain, the following special features must be observed: The software can be configured either with the domain accounts or with the local accounts. When configuring on a domain client, it is necessary to install and configure the program with domain admin rights.

We do not recommend installations in domains >50 users, because the reading and administration of the users can have a great impact on the performance of the program and the PC. In a local installation without domain (i.e. the program is not needed in the domain) the program can be installed locally as usual (important: log on locally). Please note that switching from domain logon to local logon can cause individual user accounts to "disappear" in the program (if, for example, a domain account is not available locally).

Summarized: In a domain the software "attracts" the domain users, in a local application the local users. If you switch between domain and local logon, you should create the respective user accounts twice (i.e. in domain AND(!) locally), otherwise users might be deleted again. Note: Child Control does not support Azure Active Directories (yet).

Reset Child Control

If for some reason Child Control no longer works or does not work properly, you can and should reset the program once. The following procedure only makes sense if Child Control has already worked correctly in the past, i.e. you have already successfully logged on to the Web Portal. If the installation never worked before, this procedure makes no sense. Please contact our support in this case. For a reset, please proceed exactly in the following order:

Log in to the Web Portal with your login name and select the PC in the top right corner on which it no longer works. If you want to use the settings again later, you can now save them under Settings -> Export. Please note that you have to repeat this step for each of the users on the corresponding PC (the export is always per user). Now delete this PC from the Web Portal under Settings -> Delete. After confirmation and an automatic logoff, download and install the program again on the child PC. Always use the latest version from our download area.

After a successful setup you will be asked to enter your password again. You will then be presented with the following screen to choose from:

Now select RESET to reset all locally stored data. This action can take up to 20 seconds. After that, enter your login name and the corresponding password again. After the successful installation you can log in to the Web Portal and read in any previously saved data for the respective user under Settings -> Import.