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uKnowKids Premier

 & Neil J. Rubenking Principal Writer, Security

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks. - uKnowKids Premier
3.5 Good

The Bottom Line

A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks.

Pros & Cons

    • Unusually comprehensive iOS support.
    • Tracks Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and mobile device use.
    • Notifies parents of risky posts.
    • Tracks child's location, with optional geofencing.
    • Finds hidden social media accounts.
    • Tracks calls and texts on mobile devices.
    • No support for Android tablets, only smartphones.
    • iOS tracking ineffective without regular iCloud backups.
    • Geolocation proved unreliable in testing.

How well do you know your kids? You may feel sure they're mature enough they won't be scarred for life by accidentally viewing websites that a typical parental control utility would block. But are they good enough at impulse control to avoid misusing their smartphones or social media? With a uKnowKids Premier subscription, you can keep tabs on your children's social communication. It's an impressively complete product, with unusually comprehensive coverage on iOS devices.

At $100 per year, uKnowKids costs more than most competing products, but it does let you keep track of four children. For each child, you can track activity on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and also track one Android smartphone and one iOS device per child. If you're convinced you'll want this service for many years, you can pay $180 for a lifetime subscription. Either way, there's an additional one-time fee of $60 if you want to make use of the service's impressive iOS support. You can try the service for one week without cost, but you do have to enter your credit card information to start the trial.

Final Thoughts

A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks. - uKnowKids Premier

uKnowKids Premier

3.5 Good

A uKnowKids Premier subscription gets you comprehensive insight into your children's social communication via smartphone and popular social networks.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

My Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my "User to User" and "Ask Neil" columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

The Technology I Use

Much of the testing I do, particularly testing with real-world ransomware, is just plain dangerous. To perform such tests safely, I sequester them inside virtual machines managed by VMWare Workstation. For cross-platform testing, I use a MacBook Air, a Google Pixel 4, and a 6th-generation iPad.

I rely on my Delphi coding skills to create and maintain small applications. These include programs to check whether an antivirus correctly handled the malware it detected, launch dangerous URLs and record the security program’s reaction, and analyze the malware that I collect for use in testing. I also wrote a tiny browser and text editor for use in testing security apps that have predefined reactions for known products.

I do my writing and research on a Dell OptiPlex desktop, relying on Microsoft Word (my fingers know all the shortcuts). Many of my articles include charts and analysis; Excel is my go-to for those. When work hours end, though, I escape the bounds of Microsoft and Windows. There’s an iPhone in my pocket, I relax with my oversized iPad, and my Kindle Oasis is always loaded with the best science fiction and fantasy.

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