Parental control software is nothing new, but Contentbarrier X4 DP is unique in that it works on both Apple Macs and Windows PCs, so it's handy if your home network contains both.

It comes in two parts – Contentbarrier for MacOS, and Parental Filter for Windows. Both support multiple users, and can set up specific levels of access for each based on their age.

A wide range of individual filters apply not just to web browsing but also for chatrooms, email, newsgroups and peer-to-peer downloads. You can receive general usage reports to let see how much content has been blocked or allowed through.

In both PC and Mac editions, the software offers an impressive degree of control without overwhelming the user with advanced settings and unnecessary fine-tuning, which makes it very easy to use. Of course it looks slightly different on each, but the process of use is roughly the same, which is handy. It can schedule access levels for different times of the day, which, along with the software's application control, offer a complete level of security for the whole network.

The latest version of the software has added a substantial number of additional features, so users of previous versions should find enough extra here to upgrade.