Windows Live OneCare Family Safety

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Allowing Webkinz through Family Safety Settings

We have noticed an increase in users experiencing issues with Webkinz being blocked by Family Safety Settings. The reason for this is that Webkinz does not use URLs for their websites but rather uses IP addresses. There are a few IP addresses for Webkinz on the kid’s safe sites list, but webkinz can change or expand the list at any time.

The best way to allow access to the Webkinz site is to check the exact IP address shown in the block message for Family Safety users that have IE 7 installed. This is the address that should be added to the "Allow" list. If another change occurs on the Webkinz side, this new address should be added as well. Unfortnately, there is no way for Microsoft to anticipate what IP addresses Webkinz will use, and allow them to eliminate this issue.

If you have any problems with allowing IP addresses, please feel free to seek help through our Support contact at http://support.live.com

The next generation of Windows Live has shipped

Everyone here at Windows Live OneCare Family Safety is proud to be a part of this momentous Windows Live release. Read the offical word here. Note that Family Safety is prominently mentioned! Cheers go out to each of you who helped to make this product better by using it and sending us feedback.

Website Update

As of Oct 10, the website component of Windows Live OneCare Family safety has been updated. Most of you will not notice any changes, as this is mostly a bug fix release. One important piece of what we shipped includes a web page which will convert your MSN Premium Parental Controls family to Windows Live OneCare Family Safety if that is something you choose to do at this time. Under normal operation this website will help you complete this process in just a few steps, with very little information needed by you (the parent) in order to complete successfully. We're happy to release this update and will continue to improve the quality of the product thanks to your feedback.

Windows Live Messenger works with Windows Live OneCare Family Safety

Back in August, the Messenger team crowed about their integration with Windows Live OneCare Family Safety. And deservedly so! A lot of hard work went in to the various features that makes it possible for kids to have a safe IM experience online. Take a look at what the Messenger team had to say (http://messengersays.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5B410F7FD930829E!28852.entry) and leave comments here regarding how it worked out for you.

- The Windows Live OneCare Family Safety Team

Workaround for client setup error message "Family Safety: This account has not yet reviewed the Windows Live Terms of Use. Please go to tou.live.com before continuing with setup."

Dear Family Safety Customers,

During client setup, some people have experienced the error message : "Family Safety: This account has not yet reviewed the Windows Live Terms of Use. Please go to tou.live.com before continuing with setup.", the link specified with the error message is incorrect.

The correct link for resolving the "Term of Use" requirement is: http://g.live.com/0fsenus4/nexusmigrate for all the languages.

When you experience this error, please go to the above page. After accepting "Term of User", you can then continue with Family Safety client setup.

Sorry for any confusion caused.

Thank you!

Family Safety Team.

The latest Windows Live OneCare Family Safety beta is now available

Thanks to everyone who's been visiting our website and trying out Family Safety. http://onecare.live.com/familysafety

It's been too long since we last updated this blog -- apologies for the silence. We've been working away, making improvements and adding features based on your feedback. We hope you'll like the updates !

Our newest beta includes :

Contact Management (parents can manage who's allowed to see their children's Spaces, and who's allowed to contact their children's accounts via Messenger and Hotmail)

Improved site flow, making it easier to review your children's settings and requests

Reduced number of sign-ins needed while browsing

In addition, the Family Safety client now is now included with Windows Live Suite.

Please visit our website, and let us know what you think.

Hotmail access problems

Here's a quick update : some commenters have reported problems accessing Hotmail, and getting a not-very-useful message referring to Family Safety. Our apologies for the problem -- the Support team is actively investigating this.

Windows Live OneCare Family Safety beta refresh now available!

Thanks to everyone who has installed the Windows Live OneCare Family Safety beta since our release in August! The Family Safety team has been working over the last few months to enhance and improve the service, and we're excited to announce some significant changes available in this update:

Simplified account creation. We've greatly simplified and reduced the number of steps required to create Windows Live IDs for kids and add them to the service - you can now create accounts for your family and configure the service in just a few clicks.
Improved performance while browsing. We've made a number of improvements to the Family Safety software that make Web browsing faster when running the service.
Improved sign-in experience. When you sign-in to the Family Safety software on your computer and click on a link from the Family Safety menu, you'll be automatically signed-in to the Family Safety web site.

Microsoft continues to improve and enhance OneCare Family Safety and we hope that you will try the updated service and give us your thoughts on the new features. If you've already installed the product you can continue using your current accounts -- you'll be prompted to update the Family Safety software on your computer, but all of your family's settings on the Web site will remain unchanged and you'll be able to continue using the service with no interruptions.

If you're just getting started with the Windows Live OneCare Family Safety beta, visit http://ideas.live.com

Thanks to everyone who has installed the beta so far and welcome to those of you who are installing for the first time! We look forward to your continued impressions of the product.

The OneCare Family Safety Team

Windows Live OneCare Family Safety beta now available!

You might have heard back in March that we were doing some limited beta testing on parts of a new, free family safety service called Windows Live Family Safety Settings. The features we tested earlier this year represented just a portion of the full service we’re making available today, and we’re excited to announce the release of our new Windows Live OneCare Family Safety public beta available in the US through http://ideas.live.com.

While we are still in the testing and development phase, OneCare Family Safety will offer some great features to help families create a safer and enjoyable online experience, including:

Content filtering. Web filtering will allow customers to choose allow, block or warn settings for a range of content categories, and unique settings can be applied for each member of the household. Parents can review and adjust settings any time from any Internet-connected PC to help meet the family’s evolving needs, and your family’s settings will be automatically applied to any computer that has the Family Safety software installed.
Expert Guidance. Expert guidance from respected child organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics on age appropriate settings and online activities will provide valuable guidance for parents. For example, users will have access to guidelines on how to help a child use online communications safely or how parents should talk to children about inappropriate Web browsing.
Activity reports. Parents will be able to access activity reports for each user in the family, anytime from any Internet-connected PC, to help them stay informed about how their children are browsing the Web. This kind of information can help facilitate important conversations between parents and children about using the Internet in a way they feel is safe and appropriate.
Contact management. In future versions of the service, parents will be able to create “allow” lists for other Windows Live services their children might use to communicate with others – like instant messaging, for example – to help prevent their children from crossing paths with unknown contacts and instead only communicate with contacts that parents have approved.

Microsoft is focused on improving our new OneCare Family Safety service and we hope that you will try it out and offer your thoughts on its features and usability. Please feel free to comment in this blog with feedback on your testing experience. While we can’t respond to each entry, the OneCare Family Safety team reviews all feedback received and we’ll be making frequent updates to this blog throughout the course of the beta. Your feedback and suggestions are important to help us ship the best OneCare Family Safety service!

To get started with the Windows Live OneCare Family Safety beta, visit http://ideas.live.com. For those of you not in the US, stay tuned for more information about international availability very soon.

Thanks and we look forward to hearing from you,

The OneCare Family Safety Team

Welcome to the Microsoft Family Safety Blog!

This blog is maintained by the Family Safety team at Microsoft, and over the coming weeks we’ll be posting previews of the service with a tutorial covering key elements and tips and tricks for keeping your family safe online.

Feel free to post questions about the upcoming Family Safety release, leave feedback about your experience with the recent Beta or leave suggestions for features you’d like to see in the future.

Thanks for your interest!

The Microsoft Family Safety Team