If you often worry about what the kids are accessing over the internet, you’re not alone. But you may also be wary of trying to monitor activity of increasingly independent-minded teens.  

Now you can establish boundaries without necessarily having to monitor actual activity using the Trend Micro Home Network Security (HNS) solution. It has tools you can use not only for monitoring and managing access to the internet and devices, but also to help kids build up healthy digital habits.

Parenting has never been easy, and technology brings with it many new complications. Parents want to protect their kids from scary stuff that may be lurking on the internet. But, as Common Sense Media’s parenting editor points out, while there is bad stuff your kids can be exposed to, there’s also a lot of good from which they can benefit.

Finding an appropriate balance

You don’t want to stifle their access to knowledge and new experiences, and they don’t want to feel that you’re constantly looking over their shoulders when they’re using connected devices. For parents, the trick is finding a balance that protects, but avoids spying on your kids.

With Trend Micro HNS, you can:

• Set up parental controls for family members and their devices so that inappropriate websites and content are automatically blocked without you having to monitor their devices

• Set time limits for internet use and get alerts when a family member’s devices try to connect within a preset monitoring period, such as after lights-out

• Protect your family’s privacy by blocking ads on all devices

Set up devices to enforce guidelines

Most of us have probably stumbled across web content that we didn’t expect, or appreciate. Unscrupulous operators are savvy in their ability to lure in people to web sites where they may be bombarded by unwelcome marketing messages or, worse, trick them into clicking on dangerous links and downloading spyware, ransomware, and other malware. That’s why for parents using Home Network Security parental controls, website filtering was the most popular feature.  

By installing the Trend Micro Guardian app on kids’ mobile devices, you can extend the safety and usage rules of Trend Micro HNS outside of your home. When paired with the HNS station, Guardian ensures that the controls you set up on the home network also apply when kids are accessing Wi-Fi or mobile networks away from home. You can also customize the internet for your kids’ guests at the touch of a button and ensure guest devices don’t infect your network with malicious software (malware).

With HNS you can turn on notifications to receive alerts when children are detected using potentially inappropriate apps, use the internet for too long or even when they arrive home from school.

Blocking threats and detecting vulnerabilities

As of July 2020, Trend Micro’s home network solution had blocked more than 322,000,000 events monthly on over 2,000,000 routers and HNS stations around the world. On average, about one-third of HNS customers have threats blocked or vulnerabilities discovered every month.

You can download the Trend Micro Home Network Security app for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play and scan your network for connected devices and potential risks without an HNS Station installed. Or you can go here to find out more about how Trend Micro HNS can give you the ability to set flexible limits on time, content, and even YouTube viewing, and keep all family members safe from threats and unwanted content.