Frequently Asked Questions

What is Time Guardian, in a nutshell?

Time Guardian is a parental control and time quota management program designed to control and monitor time spent using certain software either by time of day, or total hours used. It’s especially useful for managing the amount of time a child spends using the computer, what types of software they are using, and for how long. It can control software individually or in groups such as games, internet, messaging, etc. For more information, please visit the how it works page.

Who needs this program?

This program is great for parents who wish to monitor, control and time manage their child’s computer usage, and place restrictions on what types of software they can use, and when.

It can also be used in small business or school environments to manage productivity and prevent access to prohibited applications at certain times of the day.

Is it easy to use?

Time Guardian requires minimal computer knowledge to run and maintain, and thanks to the included comprehensive quick-start guide and user manual, it is very easy to master. It also includes an easy setup wizard which will do most of the software categorising for you, making is a breeze to set up group policies.

How much does it cost?

Time Guardian is available in various versions and licenses. For a comprehensive pricing and features list, visit our Pricing Page.

What does the software look like once installed?

Time Guardian uses a modern, attractive and easy to use interface. It also uses a system tray notification process to inform the user of how it is interacting with their system and software, as well as warning them when governed software is nearing its time limit. To see it in action, please see the Screenshots.

I have multiple user profiles on my computer, will Time Guardian work with all of them?

Yes. Time Guardian is designed to pick up all of the computer’s registered users as per the Windows user profiles, and allows individual group policies to be set-up for each user. In fact: using Windows user profiles further fortifies time Guardian as it provides and extra layer of administrative control over non-administrator users. It also works on computers where there is a single user profile (non password protected and with administrative privileges). This is thanks to Time Guardian’s own built-it password protected administrative control panel.

Can the software be bypassed by a computer savvy child?

Time Guardian is designed to be virtually impenetrable to tampering. It has a comprehensive built-in reporting system which prevents bypassing of the software’s features. Even in the event where it detects unexpected behavior, it will silently log all activity which can be read by the administrator when they next log in, or send reports to the administrator’s nominated email address as they occur.

Even if a user attempts to alter the software which is being monitored by Time Guardian (such as changing or moving of files and file names), it will continue to function as designed and log any suspicious activity.

What happens when a new piece of software is installed and I want to add it Time Guardian?

There are multiple ways of doing this. You can simply right-click on the software’s shortcut and send it into the Time Guardian software. Or do a customisable program search of your hard drive from within Time Guardian, or even search by open window which involves simply dragging a target over the currently running software you want to control. Then it’s simply a matter of adding it to an already customised group, or creating a new set or rules for that software.

Once I have set limitations on my Child’s software usage, can I alter them on-the-fly as a way of rewarding or punishing good behaviour?

Yes, this can even be done while the piece of software being monitored is running. All it requires is an administrator to log in using their password, and they can add hours to the time quota for that software or group, or adjust what hours of the day, or days of the week it can continue to run.

You may also use the one time passwords feature, which generates a series of key codes for the administrator to keep with them. This means that even if the administrator is out of the house, they can instruct the user over the phone to enter in a passcode that will grant the user extended access to certain groups of software.

If the user is away from the computer for certain periods of time while Time Guardian running, but leaves the monitored software open, will this time contribute to the overall tally?

There is an option where Time Guardian can detect when a piece of software is minimised, and will not count this time towards the overall tally. Alternatively, it can detect if a user is away from the computer by monitoring keyboard and mouse activity, and once again “stop the clock” if it detects the computer is not actually in use. This helps add an element of fairness to the process in certain cases.

However, these features only apply when using the “overall total time” restriction feature, and not the “time of day” restriction feature.

What versions of Windows will Time Guardian run on?

Time Guardian is designed to run on Microsoft Windows XP onwards, including Vista and 7. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows are supported.

For a comprehensive list of system requirements, visit this page.

Is Time Guardian available on Mac?

No, time Guardian is only available in Windows PCs, and not on Mac.

Can I use it on the Playstation, Xbox, Wii or any other TV gaming console?

No. Time Guardian is designed to run on Windows PCs, and not gaming consoles.

Are software updates free?

When you purchase Time Guardian, you will automatically be entitled to unlimited free software updates, until the next major release. for example, if you are using version 1.0, any updates to the software (such as versions 1.1, 1.2 etc) will be free.

Can I install it in more than one computer?

If you purchase a single user version of Time Guardian, you will only be allowed to install it on one computer. However, if you purchase the Professional Version you can install it on as many as 3 computers.

Who makes Time Guardian?

Time Guardian was created by Bandwood Pty Ltd. An Australian company based in Sydney.