SYV.IT - PARENT GUIDE ===================== Syv.it is a parental control program. It limits your CHILDREN'S Windows accounts to the websites you allow. Parent accounts (administrators) always browse normally. It works on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. Nothing else needs to be installed, and it does not use a web browser. BEFORE YOU START ---------------- Each child needs their own Windows account, set to "Standard": Start > Settings > Accounts > Family & other users (Windows 11: "Other users"). Add your child's account if it is not there, then click it > "Change account type" > "Standard User". Parents must use their own Administrator accounts. Protect every parent's Windows account with a password: Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Password. Add or change the password there. Do not let children use a parent's account. Never tell your child your Windows password or your Syv.it PIN. SETTING IT UP (about 2 minutes) ------------------------------- 1. Sign in to YOUR Windows account (the parent / administrator account). 2. Double-click "Syv.it Setup". If a blue box says "Windows protected your PC": click "More info", then "Run anyway". This appears because the program is new. 3. Windows asks "Do you want to allow this app to make changes?" Click "Yes". 4. Read the opening "Before you begin" screen. Create each child's separate Standard account if needed, check your administrator access, and password-protect every parent's account. Return to setup and click "Continue" when the accounts are ready. Click "Install" (or "Update") and wait for the green bar to fill up. When it says "All done!", click "Continue". 5. Choose a parent PIN (4 to 8 numbers) and type it twice. You will need this PIN every time you open Syv.it. 6. The Syv.it window opens: - On the RIGHT, tick your child's account. Parent accounts are shown but cannot be ticked - they are never blocked. - On the LEFT, type a website your child may use (for example bbc.co.uk) and click "Allow". Add as many as you like. 7. Quick check: sign in to your child's account. A website you did NOT allow should not load. One you did allow should load (wait about 30 seconds after adding it). On your own account everything works. FREE TRIAL AND SUBSCRIPTION --------------------------- - The first month is free. No card is needed to start. - After that, Syv.it costs ₦3,999 a month for THIS computer, paid by card (Paystack). Each computer needs its own subscription. - In the Syv.it window, the "Subscription" area shows how many free days are left, or the date you are paid up until. - Type your email in "Parent email" and click "Save email". We email you 2 days before the trial ends, and again when it has ended. - To pay: click "Subscribe". Your subscription page opens in your web browser. Pay there, then come back and click "Check payment". Subscribing early does not cost you any free days: your first paid month starts when the trial ends. - IMPORTANT: if the trial ends without payment, protection switches OFF and your children can open any website again until you subscribe. - To change your card or cancel: click "Manage subscription". You can cancel any time. Protection stays on until the end of the month you have paid for. - Syv.it checks your subscription online every few hours. If the computer is offline it keeps using the dates it last received. - Reinstalling Syv.it on the same computer does not start a new trial. EVERYDAY USE ------------ - Open "Syv.it" from your desktop or Start menu, click "Yes", then type your PIN. - Add or remove websites, or tick / untick children. - Your previous sites and chosen accounts are loaded each time. To add a site, type its address and click "Allow". To remove one, select it in the list, click "Remove selected", and confirm. Changes save immediately. - Use "Previous" and "Next" to see more accounts. Selecting an account on one page keeps your selections on other pages. Administrator accounts cannot be selected. The same allowed-site list applies to all selected accounts; unselected accounts are not managed by this program. - "Pause protection" lets every account use any website for a while. Remember to click "Turn protection on" again. - "Change PIN" lets you choose a new PIN (your security question stays the same). FORGOT YOUR PIN? ---------------- When you first choose your PIN, you also pick a security question and type an answer. Pick an answer your child would not know or guess. If you forget the PIN, open Syv.it, click "Forgot PIN?", type the answer to your security question, then choose a new PIN. Capital letters and extra spaces in the answer don't matter. After 5 wrong answers it waits 10 minutes before you can try again. Your websites and chosen children are kept. If you also forget the answer: double-click "Syv.it Setup" again, click "Yes", then click "Reset PIN" (needs the computer's administrator password). IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG ----------------------- A website looks broken or has missing pictures or videos: Big websites use extra addresses. These are added for you automatically for YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, BBC, Microsoft and Khan Academy. For other sites, a helper who knows computers can find the extra addresses for you. Your child's account is not listed: Create the account first (see "Before you start"), then open Syv.it again. A site you removed still works: Close the browser completely and open it again, or restart the computer. Apps on your child's account cannot update: Pause protection briefly while they update. UPDATING FROM "PARENTAL CONTROL" -------------------------------- Syv.it is the new name of the "Parental Control" program. Run "Syv.it Setup" and click "Update". Your websites, chosen children and PIN are kept, and the old "Parental Control" shortcuts are replaced with "Syv.it" ones. Behind the scenes, its folders, background service and firewall rules keep their original "ParentalControl" names so nothing is lost during the update. REMOVING IT ----------- Open Syv.it and click "Remove program". Or: Start > Settings > Apps > find "Syv.it" > Uninstall. COMPUTER SAFETY AND LIMITATIONS ------------------------------- This version adds only this program's files, settings, shortcuts, uninstall entry, background service and selected-account firewall rules. It does not change Windows account types or passwords, global firewall profile settings, DNS settings or browser privacy policies. It does not delete other applications' firewall rules. Removal deletes only this program's restrictions; any other computer restrictions remain in place. Windows Firewall must already be enabled. If it is off, the app shows an error instead of changing the setting itself. Review Windows Security as a parent before turning protection on. If account types cannot be verified, this version removes its own restrictions until verification works again, rather than risk restricting an administrator account. Important when updating: older versions changed machine-wide browser secure-DNS policies and, in early versions, firewall defaults. Their original values were not saved. This update cannot safely guess those values and does NOT silently reset or delete them. A trusted Windows technician should review those settings if you used an older version. Legacy machine-wide rules from versions before per-user filtering may also need manual review. Do not assume updating restores older changes. Protection is based on IP addresses, not a complete website-content filter. Sites sharing an allowed address may remain reachable. VPNs, proxies, local-network gateways and traffic handled by Windows system services can bypass it. Secure DNS is not disabled by this version. Previously open connections may stay open until the browser is closed. Only selected accounts' traffic is targeted, but other apps on those accounts may lose internet access, including updates, games or calls. This software cannot promise zero impact on every Windows computer. Verification: automated policy, account-selection and firewall-plan tests passed. Native windows, installation and real per-user internet blocking have NOT been exercised on a real Windows PC in this environment. After updating, test from a selected child's Standard account: an allowed site should load and a non-allowed site should not. Add another site, close and reopen the app, and confirm it is saved. Remove that site, restart the child's browser and check again. On both a parent's account and an unselected Standard account, check normal browsing. Also check your usual printer, applications, and Windows Security settings. Do not rely on the protection until those checks pass on your computer. WHAT A CHILD CAN AND CANNOT GET AROUND (version 5.4.0) ------------------------------------------------------ Blocked for chosen child accounts: - Other or newly installed browsers: blocking is done by Windows itself for the whole account, so every browser and app follows the same list. - VPNs, proxies and other DNS settings: every internet address except your allowed sites is blocked, so VPN and proxy servers can't be reached, and changing DNS does not unlock anything. Installing a VPN needs a parent password. - Network settings / unplugging: changing network settings needs a parent password. Disconnecting only removes internet; it never unlocks it. - New Windows accounts: any new Standard account is protected automatically until you open Syv.it and untick it. Creating accounts needs a parent password. Uninstalling needs a parent's Windows password. - Restarting or old settings: the blocking rules stay saved in Windows and work from the moment the computer starts, even before the service runs. A damaged settings file keeps the last protection in place. - Tampering: the service restarts itself if it stops. Every 30 seconds it checks that its rules are still there and puts back any that were removed. Events are written to C:\ProgramData\ParentalControl\events.log. What it CANNOT stop (be honest with yourself about these): - Anyone who knows a parent's Windows password. Keep it secret. - A child who has an administrator account. Children must be Standard users. - Windows Firewall being switched off by an administrator. The program will show a warning but will not change that setting itself. - Websites that share addresses with an allowed site (big content networks), and booting the computer from a USB stick. Set a BIOS/UEFI password and turn on BitLocker if you are worried about this.