14 DAY TRIAL // As a part of the August 19th, 2009 updates released for the components of the Windows Live Essentials suite of clients, Microsoft also introduced a major refresh of Windows Live Family Safety. Users have already been able to download and install releases such as Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) 14.0.8089.726 and the first RTW version of Windows Live Movie Maker, but they can also access Windows Live Family Safety version: 14.0.8064.0206, especially if they’re looking for a boost to the parental control features offered by the previous iteration of the solution.
“The updated version of Windows Live Family Safety offers deeper integration with Windows resulting in fewer log-in prompts and faster web surfing compared to previous versions of Family Safety while it’s running on the PC,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team. “Windows Live Family Safety uses Windows accounts as the basis for storing settings. Parents are no longer required to have a Windows Live ID for each child who needs their own settings.”
LeBlanc emphasized that Windows Live Family Safety was capable of playing nice with both Windows Vista and Windows 7, tapping into the two operating systems’ Windows Parental Control (WPC) settings. In this regard, Windows Live Family Safety can harvest information from Vista and Windows 7 WPC activity reports via any Vista or Windows 7 machine connected to the Internet. “These reports include time spent on the computer, browsing history, and games and applications run. This monitoring is transparent to the end user, as a notification is displayed once on Windows account login when monitoring is enabled,” LeBlanc said.
At the same time, the updated Windows Live Family Safety has something to offer not only for end users but also for developers. Version 14.0.8064.0206 has been crafted to leverage the latest application programming interfaces built into Windows. Microsoft noted that the advent of Windows 7 brought to the table new Windows APIs that enabled developers to build applications intimately connected with the Windows Parental Controls UI and settings.
“It’s now easier for users to access Windows Live Family Safety directly from the Windows Parental Controls Control Panel in Windows 7. Windows Live Family Safety is another good example of Windows Live “lighting up” the Windows PC,” LeBlanc explained. “With these improvements to Windows Live Family Safety, Microsoft demonstrates its continued commitment to helping parents keep their kids safe on the Web.”
Windows Live Family Safety is available for download here.
Windows Live Writer 14.0.8089.726 is available for download here.
Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009 14.0.8081.709 is available for download here.
Windows Live Mail 2009 14.0.8089.0726 is available for download here.
Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) 14.0.8089.726 is available for download here.