Verity Child Monitoring is a parental controls package which will help you find out more about (and take charge of) what your kids are doing on their computer.

Getting started with the program can be a little complicated. On our test PC, for instance, we were asked to set up port forwarding on our router before we could configure the tool. Help was on offer, but this could still be a stumbling block if you're a PC novice.

Get past that hurdle, though, and you'll find the program has a lot to offer. Like restricting the programs they can run, and the websites they're able to visit, for instance. As an example, Verity Child Monitoring automatically blocks access to Task Manager to make it more difficult to close the program down.

The program can also log just about everything that's happening on the system: the programs used (and for how long), the websites visited, and the text of online chats. Keystrokes and mouse clicks are monitored, and Verity even captures the screen at regular intervals so you can review what's happened later.

And if you'd rather your children weren't spending so much time on the PC then you can also limit their computer usage (which, of course, also means you'll have less logs to review later).

Please note, the program will by default install the Ask browser toolbar. If you don't want this, look out for the "Related Programs and Extras" screen at the end of the setup process and clear the "Ask Internet Browser Toolbar" box before you click "Finish".