Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force

Parental Controls for Gaming Consoles

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 gaming console comes with parental controls called "Family Settings." These tools allow parents and guardians to select the type of games and DVDs children can access, restrict access to online content and communication in Xbox Live, and set time limits for children's use of the console.

If you have never changed or accessed the Family Settings feature, turn on the Xbox 360 console and controller without a game in the game tray. Choose "Family Settings" from the initial setup screen. You can also set up this feature at any time in the Xbox 360 Dashboard by choosing "Family Settings" under the "System" menu. You will need to set a passcode to ensure that only you can change the safety settings.

Games and DVDs
For offline games and entertainment, parents and guardians can restrict access based on game and DVD movie ratings. To set access to games and DVDs

Turn on the Xbox console and controller without a game in the game tray.
Choose "Console Controls" under the "System" menu
Choose "Game Ratings"
Select the rating level you feel most comfortable with (click here for more information from the Entertainment Software Rating Board)
Go back to "Console Controls" and choose "Video Ratings"
Select the appropriate ratings of movies, television, and videos you want your children to be able to access

Online Communications
For online games and interactions using Xbox Live, Microsoft helps parents and guardians keep their children safer by limiting communication. To change these settings

Choose "Xbox LIVE Controls" under "Family Settings"
Here you can block or allow access to Xbox LIVE
If you allow access, you will need to set up and verify an account for your child
To choose communication settings, sign in with your Windows Live ID and password
Select "Privacy and Friends"
Under this menu, you can limit your child's communication with other gamers online

Family Timer
This feature helps parents and guardians set how much time each day or week children using the Xbox console. To set the Family Timer

Go to "Family Settings"
Click on "Family Timer"
Choose daily to set limits in 15-minute increments and weekly for 1-hour increments
Your children will receive warnings before their time expires so that they can save their game

Some other features include

The reporting feature allows any user to notify Microsoft about indecent conduct
Voice masks allow users to disguise their age and gender during live chat. This feature can be very helpful if you permit your child or teen to engage in live chat while playing games. However, this also allows someone with harmful intentions to further disguise their identity
A PACT is available from www.xbox.com for adults and children to set guidelines for media use in their families.

For more information about Xbox Family Settings, visit www.xbox.com.

Nintendo Wii?

You can use parental controls to manage what content your children are able to view on the Wii console. The setting for parental controls is set to "off" by default. To set parental controls:

Click on the Wii button
Choose "Wii Settings"
Click on the arrow to go to the second menu
Choose "Parental Controls" and select "Yes"
You will be prompted to set a 4-digit PIN and set a secret question to be used if you forget the PIN
Choose the settings you feel comfortable with according to the game rating categories
If your Wii is connected to the Internet, you can also restrict access to the Internet and online communication

If your child tries to access content that is restricted by the parental controls, he or she will be prompted to enter the PIN, so make sure you set a PIN that your children will not be able to figure out.

If you cannot remember your PIN, use the secret question or call Nintendo's Customer Service at 1-800-255-3700.

For more information about the Nintendo Wii Parental Controls, visit www.nintendo.com.

Sony PlayStation Network

When you set up your child's Playstation Network account, sign yourself up for the master account while your children would have subaccounts. As the master account holder, you can restrict each subaccount set up on the console.

Using parental controls, you can:

restrict access to the Playstation network so that your children cannot purchase or play games rated higher in age than you allow
prevent your children from being able to communicate with other users through the audio and video capabilities on the games
set a limit for how much money your children can spend on games each month

Note: Even if you use parental controls to limit children's communications with other users through audio and video, your children will still be able to receive and send text messages from other users.

For more information about the PlayStation Network, visit www.us.playstation.com.