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 Typically
SafeSearchLock requires ZERO configuration; simply download,
install and go!
However we have put together some simple 'how to' guides covering SafeSearchLock's available options and a few useful tips that may help you avoid (or resolve) any potential issues. PLEASE MAKE CERTAIN THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS
AREA AND ALSO OUR HOME PAGE FAQ's THOROUGHLY
BEFORE GETTING IN TOUCH.
As with all security software, you MUST be logged into a Windows user account with 'administrator status' in order to successfully install SafeSearchLock. Equally, SafeSearchLock's settings can only be managed from an administrator account (e.g setting your password or changing preferences). Tip:
To check Windows user account status go to
"Start", "Control Panel", "User Accounts".
Generally, if you only have one Windows user account on your home
computer, that account will likely already have administrator rights.
If you have multiple Windows user accounts setup then at least one
or more of these accounts will have administrator status.  Children (or any secondary users) should ideally use a 'standard' Windows user account, where they (and your computer) will be better protected. This is particularly important if you are protecting older more tech savvy children. Tip: If
you are logged into Windows as an administrator you can setup accounts
for other people and also manage their admin rights. Simply go to
"Start", "Control Panel", "User Accounts". SafeSearchLock includes support for multiple Windows user accounts as standard. Tip: If you are running multiple Windows user accounts on your computer, using your admin account simply set the Start with Windows option within SafeSearchLock. It will then automatically protect ALL users on that machine.
 Quick
Installation Overview:
OK, SafeSearchLock
will now be running in trial mode (see next topic!)
Tip: Following installation the default password is akumenta (see "Setting Your Password" for more) Tip: To
access SafeSearchLock's controlls at any time, simply click on
its icon It's worth noting that by default, Windows Vista and Windows 7 have a tendancy to hide icons from the taskbar which aren't regularly clicked. There will usually be a small arrow shown if this is the case which can be clicked to show the hidden icons:
Tip: If you are running multiple Windows user accounts on your computer, simply set SafeSearchLock to "Start with Windows". It will then protect ALL user accounts (see "Optional Feature Settings" for more) NB. If your computer is not connected to the Internet, or SafeSearchLock cannot access the Internet for any reason, the program will remain in a special dormant mode (with no icon being displayed) until this is resolved. (See "Firewalls and Antivirus" for more)
Upon initial installation SafeSearchLock will be running in 'trial mode'. This means that you will have 20 minutes to try it out. (If your trial time expires, you will be notified and SafeSearchLock will close down). Please use this trial period to make sure that
the utility fully meets your expectations (and also that it works
perfectly with your computer system and web browser packages).
Registration (if you are happy and wish
to continue using SafeSearchLock):
(Next set your personal password)
SafeSearchLock and all of its settings are password protected (crucially this includes the ability to turn it off). So to ensure that ONLY YOU can deactivate it or change any preferences, you should set a password of your own choice immediately after installation. IMPORTANT! PLEASE MAKE A SECURE NOTE OF YOUR CHOSEN PERSONAL PASSWORD. If you forget it, you will not be able to exit SafeSearchLock. By design, this will be a considerable dilemma to resolve! Tip: Following
initial installation the default existing password will be
akumenta
Note: You MUST
be using a Windows administrator account to do this (see
top of page)
IMPORTANT: DO NOT FORGET
YOUR PERSONAL PASSWORD. To change any settings you must first enter your password and click "Login" Note:
You MUST be using a Windows administrator account to access
these settings (see top of page)
SafeSearchLock employs various defensive anti-tamper features designed to prevent unauthorised disabling by more tech savvy children. This just means that whilst SafeSearchLock is running you will find that some Windows features of a more 'sensitive nature' will be unavailable. The most obvious feature being blocked will be Windows Taskmanager. This is normal behavior and indeed a feature of the software. NB: For the most effective anti-tamper protection children should be using a 'standard' Windows user account, not an administrator account (see top of page). This is particularly important if you have older tech savvy children. Obviously we can't go into too many details here as we don't want to offer potential tips to any unauthorised minors attempting to disable the utility! Essentially though, if you find any functionality being blocked that you wish to access, simply quit SafeSearchLock and all privileges will be restored until the next time you start the application.
(a) Simply enter your personal password, (b) click "Login" and then (c) "Quit Program"! Tip:
If you have "Start with Windows" ticked within your
options when you quit the application, it will still automatically
start up next time you boot up your computer (or if you log into
a new Windows user account).
SafeSearchLock is digitally signed, safe and trusted software that requires unhindered internet access in order to do it's job. So if you are using a Firewall you must ensure that SafeSearchLock is not blocked. Firewalls:
Under normal circumstances, following installation of SafeSearchLock
(and possibly when you first log-in to alternative Windows user
accounts) your Firewall should notify you that the utility is asking
for Internet access, in which case you must grant permission for
it to do so.
Tip: If asked, don't forget to also instruct your Firewall to remember any permissions granted so you're not prompted again in the future. If you have a Firewall installed but haven't
seen any notifications, it may be the case that you have Firewall
notifications turned off. If you are experiencing problems you
may need to manually add SafeSearchLock to your list of allowed
applications within your Firewall settings. Antivirus: SafeSearchLock is digitally signed, reputable and trusted software from reputable trusted people designed to perform a commendable task. If downloaded from this website, you can be entirely confident that SafeSearchLock is absolutely virus free (and also absolutely free from any other kind of 'nasties'). Thankfully, since launch, we've not experienced any issues with any antivirus software, however, as with all new software it's worth noting that there is always a small potential for antivirus software to throw up an erroneous pop-up a warning. This would be called a "false positive" result and should be disregarded. Tip: In the unlikely event that your antivirus software does ask you to 'quarantine' or delete SafeSearchLock you should decline and tell it to 'skip' or leave the file alone and if possible, report it as a "false positive" result to the software vendor.
Each time SafeSearchLock starts up it must be allowed to automatically check for any necessary service provider compatibility updates from this site. If it is unable to do this, performance will be affected. Accordingly, SafeSearchLock is digitally signed, safe and trusted software that requires unhindered internet access in order to do it's job. So if you are using any form of web filtering or parental control software you must add www.safesearchlock.com to any associated "White List" or "Approved Sites" list. Windows Parental Controls: Where a child has their own individual Windows user account in which you have activated the Windows Parental Controls "Web Filter" function, you MUST add www.safesearchlock.com to your Parental Control "Website Allow List". Tip: To do this simply go to the Parental Controls window for your child's user account, click "Windows web filter" followed by "Edit the allow and block list" and type www.safesearchlock.com into the "web address" box, finally followed by clicking the "Allow" button. You can find out more about Windows Parental Controls via our Useful Links Page. Microsoft Content Advisor:
In a similar fashion to above, if you are using Microsoft
Content Advisor or indeed ANY OTHER website filtering products
alongside SafeSearchLock, be sure to add www.safesearchlock.com
to any respective "Approved Sites"
list or "White List" so that SafeSearchLock may function
properly.
SafeSearchLock is not a limited "browser specific add-on", instead it installs on your computer and works with ANY modern web browser and ANY Windows operating system. Better still, it even works if you have several different web browser packages installed and / or multiple Windows user accounts in use. It's not complicated, over bloated, invasive or resource hungry. To see for yourself we encourage all users to download and try out a free trial of SafeSearchLock. Once installed you'll have 20 minutes to play with it and make sure it works perfectly on your system. If you're happy, you can then easily register / fully activate your already installed trial version.
(Whilst it may be an objective in the future, we do not yet currently provide SafeSeachLock for other operating systems such as Mac OS, Linux, Android or iOS)
Note on Windows
8 Compatibility: Windows 8 works perfectly
alongside SafeSearchLock providing you use your standard desktop
screen to access your web browser.
SafeSearchLock is designed to work with numerous leading search engines and other key online service providers. (See home page for current list). This functionality relies upon a special set of rules which are automatically assessed and, if necessary, updated each time you start the application Tip: See related tips on Firewalls , Parental Controls , MS Content Advisor or other content filtering software. We may look to add further service providers to this compatibility list in the future, so if you have a suggestion please let us know. Though please also bear in mind that hypothetically, we may also be compelled to remove service providers from this list without notice (temporarily or permanently). We have to say this as potentially any one of these service providers could suddenly make unanticipated changes to their 'functionality' without notice, possibly effecting the way in which SafeSearchLock is intended to work. Whilst this is not something that we can predict, we will endeavor to keep a track of such hypothetical changes for you and respectively update your copy of SafeSearchLock via our free and friendly automatic update system if and when necessary. (In other words, if Google or another service provider suddenly changes the way they activate their safe search function, we will do our very best to address this promptly and send out an automatic update to your copy of SafeSearchLock so that it continues to work with this service provider). However, should any service provider change their functionality significantly outside of their 'current working model', it may be the case that we can no longer support them with the current version of SafeSearchLock. Should such a scenario ever be reached we'll let you know just as soon as we can. (Also see T&C).
Tip:
Don't panic! You are likely running 'Windows User Account Control'
(UAC) which can sometimes be inappropriately obstructive. Simply
quit SafeSearchLock then right-click its desktop icon (or program
listing) and from the options displayed select Here's the process in a little more detail: 1. First make sure you are logged into a Windows administrator account, and if SafeSearchLock is running, enter your password and click "Quit Program". 2. Right click the SafeSearchLock shortcut
icon on your desktop and select "Run as administrator". 3. SafeSearchLock will now be running.
Simply enter your password and you may now successfully tick "Start
with Windows". Just click "OK" and you're done. To explain: This is an issue solely brought about by a well intended but widely criticized Microsoft feature called UAC (User Account Control), found in Vista and Windows 7. With this running SafeSearchLock needs to be granted admin rights before UAC will let you set the "Start with Windows" option. You will not experience this issue if you do not have UAC turned on.
in the taskbar "
Tip: Whenever you run SafeSearchLock, either manually or automatically on-boot, it will first seek to confirm that your computer has an active Internet connection. Until it does, SafeSearchLock will remain in a special dormant mode. If you have started SafeSearchLock but nothing appears to have happened and you don't see an icon in your taskbar, this is likely because you computer is not currently connected to the Internet (or possibly you have a Firewall , Parental Controls , MS Content Advisor or other content filtering software blocking the program's access to the web).It's also worth noting that by default, Windows Vista and Windows 7 have a tendancy to hide icons from the task bar which aren't regularly clicked. There will usually be a small arrow shown if this is the case which can be clicked to show the hidden icons: 
Tip: Ordinarily SafeSearchLock will work with all browsers without any configuration, but occasionally it may be necessary to reset the connection settings within Firefox, if they have ever been changed from their default configuration: To do this, first quit SafeSearchLock (or it's anti-tamper features will prevent the next action!). Then, in Firefox, select "Tools", "Options", "Advanced", then next to "Configure how Firefox connects to the internet" click "Settings" and make sure it is set to "Use system settings" Start SafeSearchLock up again and you should see that it is now working successfully with Firefox.
in my taskbar, but SafeSearchLock doesn't appear to be working with
my web browser; Strict Safe Search isn't being activated in Google
etc "
Tip: If
you have installed and started SafeSearchLock,
and you can see the Of course it's always good practice to keep your web browser up to date anyway, as it helps keep 'malware' and other 'nasties' off your PC!
Tip: We
have found this to be a rare and intermittent issue exclusively
effecting Internet Explorer under certain conditions. If you experience
this behavior simply hold down your "CTRL" key and click
"Refresh" to view any effected page.
Tip: Yes, this is normal behavior and an anti-tamper feature of the software. If you wish to access any of the Windows admin features being blocked simply enter your password and quit SafeSearchLock. For more see our notes on anti-tamper features.
Tip: In extremely rare circumstances, if SafeSearchLock starts up whilst your computer has an active but intermittent or problematic internet connection you may receive an error message stating that your registration code has not been recognised and that your installation will revert to trial mode (despite having a fully registered version running). Don’t be alarmed, simply click OK on the error message, access the application's user interface, enter your personal password and quit the program. Then go to "Programs" and simply run SafeSearchLock again; this time, (if your internet connection issues have been resolved), the utility will initialise without issue, confirming your valid registration.
Tip: If you are experiencing problems with just one particular service provider (e.g. Perhaps Safety Mode is suddenly no longer being enforced in YouTube) then the chances are they have unexpectedly changed their systems and we need to look into it. Accordingly, every time SafeSearchLock starts it will automatically check to see if it requires a rules update from us. So your first step here should be to shutdown and restart the utility. (Or fully log out and then back into your Windows account). If this does not remedy the issue please be patient, we are no doubt working on an appropriate update which should be provided automatically in due course. Please also see our important notes on Automatic updates and Service Provider Compatibility.
Tip: Yes, this is a security feature. You will see this message if you access SafeSearchLock’s controls whilst using a non admin Windows user account. You can only change SafeSearchLock's settings whilst logged into a Windows account with admin status. Please read our important notes on Windows user accounts.
Tip: Yes, that's OK, don't be perturbed by the information being displayed on any site's respective 'search settings' pages. Whilst SafeSearchLock is running, some compatible service providers may incorrectly report that their 'family' or 'strict safe search' settings are not selected when you view their respective configuration or search preference pages. This is normal behavior as SafeSearchLock essentially overrides any settings on these pages. So even if your children tamper with a site's search safety preferences, it will have no effect. To check that SafeSearchLock is running correctly simply carry out any Google search (standard or image search), and consequently to the right of the search bar you will clearly see that "SafeSearch Strict" tab is being displayed. If you click this tab and try to reduce Google's safety setting you'll see that you cannot. Or click here to run our installation test.
Tip: How
did you manage that? Don't worry, if you have more than one icon
Tip: Zonealarm no longer works harmoniously alongside Avast Antivirus as they both now include various (some might say superfluous) features which may conflict. So if you have experienced problems since updating either Avast or ZoneAlarm, you will likely have to remove one of them. If you are looking for a free and simple alternative to Zonealarm, you could do much worse than try TinyWall
Tip: Once
you have purchased a registration you should
receive an email containing your key.
Normally, you should receive this within seconds or at least a
few minutes. (Though you may have to allow longer if the server
is significantly busy). However, in the unlikely event that you
do not receive a key, first please check your junk mailbox to
see if the email has been wrongly identified as spam. If you still
have no success then contact us with your full registration details
and we'll look into it for you Tip: By design, forgetting your chosen personal password is a significant predicament to say the least! Please complete our contact form using your original registration email address, supplying your full name, address and registration key so we may establish that you are the computer's legitimate administrator or responsible parent / guardian (and not an unathorised minor attempting to disable the utility!). Unfortunately we do sometimes receive bogus requests for password help, so if you cannot supply these details and any additional details then requested, then it is very doubtful that we can help you.
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Quick
test: Once installed, to check that SafeSearchLock
is working correctly with your web browser, simply visit
the following web address:
Run as administrator
© Akumenta 2011+
:
DOWNLOAD :
INSTALLATION TEST :
SUPPORT :
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USEFUL LINKS :
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