Gardion
Control apps are mobile
Family Link, Kids360 and most others run only on phones and tablets, so the computer is left unattended.
Your child’s computer
Parental controls for Windows 10 and 11: download Gardion
Set a time limit and close games and websites on a schedule. Gardion runs on the family desktop and on the laptop your child carries off to their room. On both, it blocks VPNs and checks the time against a server, so changing the clock doesn’t buy extra minutes. You change the rules from your own phone.
Gardion-Setup.exe, about 65 MB. 64-bit Windows 10 and 11.
14 days free, no card needed. Windows and Android.
How to install Gardion on Windows and handle SmartScreen
How to download and install Gardion
- 1Download the installer on your child’s computer: use the “Download for Windows” button above, or type gardion.io/pc into that computer’s browser.
- 2Run Gardion-Setup.exe. Windows may show a SmartScreen window that says “Windows protected your PC”. Windows shows it for programs that few people have downloaded yet. Click “More info”, then “Run anyway”. Every window is shown in our installation guide.
- 3The installer asks for a code. You get it in the parent app: tap “Add device” and choose Windows. If you don’t have an account yet, create one with the “Create an account” button.
- 4Set a limit and a schedule from your phone. The rules reach the computer within a minute.
What has to hold against a teenager
Setting a limit is easy. Holding it while a teenager looks for a way around is the hard part.
- 01
The child switches on a VPN
Gardion blocks well-known VPN apps at the system level and adds new ones with updates.
- 02
The child winds the clock back
The limit checks time against a server, so changing the clock does nothing — and the parent gets an alert.
- 03
The child opens Task Manager
The Strict protection setting blocks Task Manager and Registry Editor for your child.
- 04
The child removes Gardion
Removal takes the parent PIN or a recovery code, and Gardion restores deleted files from the server.
Built-in Windows controls
Microsoft family group and what Gardion adds
Windows 10 and 11 come with a Microsoft family group. A parent creates it at account.microsoft.com/family and adds the child’s account to it.
The family group limits screen time, sets limits on apps and games, and blocks websites. It filters websites in the Microsoft Edge browser.
Gardion adds what you need against a teenager: it blocks VPNs, checks the time against a server, asks for a PIN before removal and runs warm-up breaks at the interval you set. Your child’s Android phone is set up from the same dashboard.
The limit of any program
Only a standard account fully closes the computer
Gardion blocks VPNs, ignores clock changes and asks for a PIN before it can be removed. That raises the bar from “off in a minute” to “slow and hard”.
But if the child is an administrator of the computer, admin rights let them turn off any program, including ours. This is how Windows itself works, and it is not a Gardion weakness: while the child is an admin, no parental-control app can close the computer completely.
One step closes the rest: give the child a standard account, without admin rights, and keep the administrator account for yourself. Then your child won’t have the rights needed to turn the protection off.
This step has a cost: with a standard account the child cannot install a program or a game, or change system settings, without your password. You will enter it now and then, and in return only you hold the rights to turn the protection off.
Why the computer slips out of control
Games are installed locally
Steam, Minecraft and shooters launch straight from disk — past the browser and any website filter.
At night the parent doesn’t see it
A phone in a child’s hands is easy to notice; a monitor glowing behind a closed door is not.
Laptop
Parental controls on a laptop
To Gardion, a laptop is the same as a desktop: the same Windows 10 or 11, the same setup, the same limits and schedule.
The difference is where the laptop ends up in the evening. Kids take it to bed, to a grandparent’s, to camp. The limit and the schedule are stored on the laptop itself and keep working without your home Wi-Fi. New rules from your phone arrive as soon as the laptop is back online.
The computer report shows how much of its original capacity the battery still holds. If the laptop was left on overnight, you can put it to sleep from your phone.
what gardion does
What Gardion does on Windows
Gardion works at the Windows level itself — no message reading, no screen recording.
A daily limit and a schedule
Set different time for weekdays and weekends, close school hours and the time after bedtime. When the time runs out, Gardion locks the computer.
A limit on one game
Say, forty minutes of Roblox a day; homework and drawing don’t spend that limit.
A break with a warm-up
At an interval you set, every half hour by default, Gardion covers the screen and shows an exercise with the knight. A video playing on the PC pauses for the break.
One account for the PC and phone
A parent sets up Windows and Android from one dashboard, on their own phone.
PC care and remote actions
Computer report
Every planOn the Control page of the dashboard, tap “Check the computer”. Within a couple of minutes, Gardion shows the computer’s model, processor, memory and Windows version, whether each drive is healthy, how much of its original capacity the laptop battery keeps, and what takes up disk space: the largest folders and programs by size.
Disk cleanup
PremiumWhen the drive is running out of space, you can free it up from the dashboard. Gardion empties the Recycle Bin and clears Windows temp files. If you tick the boxes, it also clears browser cache and files in Downloads that nobody has opened for three months. Cleanup leaves browsing history, passwords and cookies alone. The dashboard asks you to confirm before anything is deleted.
Startup apps
PremiumA computer is slow to start when game launchers and messengers load with Windows. Startup apps lists everything that runs at sign-in, and you can switch off what isn’t needed. The program stays installed, and the same switch turns it back on.
Internet pause
Family and PremiumThe Internet button closes the browsers on your child’s computer and keeps them offline until you tap it again. In the evening you can stop websites and videos without shutting down the computer your child still needs for homework.
Remote actions
Family and PremiumFrom your phone, you can restart your child’s computer, shut it down or put it to sleep, show a message on the screen, or open an app or website, such as a Zoom lesson. The dashboard asks you to confirm before a restart or shutdown. Taking a screenshot on request is part of Premium.
Questions parents ask
- Where do I download Gardion for Windows?
- Use the “Download for Windows” button on this page, or type gardion.io/pc into the browser on your child’s computer. Both give you the official installer, Gardion-Setup.exe, about 65 MB.
- Do I need a Microsoft account?
- No. Gardion works with any Windows account on the computer, including a local one. You don’t need a Microsoft account or a Microsoft family group to use it.
- Will my child see Gardion on the computer?
- Yes. Gardion doesn’t hide. Its icon sits next to the clock on the taskbar, and from there your child sees how much time is left, their tasks and the chat with you.
- My child is an administrator on their PC. Will anything help?
- They’ll undo the built-in tools. Gardion blocks VPNs, asks for a PIN before removal and restores its own files. The surest step is to make their account a standard one, without admin rights.
- Does it need the internet to work?
- Limits and blocks work offline because they live on the device itself. A connection is needed to change rules from your phone and get alerts.
- Does Gardion read messages or record the screen?
- No. Gardion manages time and access and shows you the browsing history. In Premium it takes a screenshot when you ask for one. We don’t read messages, and the screen is never recorded continuously.
- Does Gardion work on a laptop?
- Yes. A laptop with Windows 10 or 11 is set up with the same guide as a desktop, and both look the same in the dashboard.
- Which versions of Windows are supported?
- 64-bit Windows 10 and 11. The app won’t install on Windows 7 or 8.
- Can I use it for free?
- One Windows computer stays free for good: one daily limit, and Windows locks when the time runs out. Schedules, game limits, the website filter and bypass protection are part of Family. For the first 14 days every feature is available, no card needed.
- How many devices can I connect?
- Family covers two devices, such as a laptop and your child’s Android phone. Premium covers up to five.
For the games kids lose hours to, see Roblox and Minecraft. How kids get around controls is in the breakdown on bypassing.
Cover the computer in three minutes
14 days free, no card needed. Windows and Android.