{"slug": "umka-parental-control", "title": "Umka Parental Control", "summary": "A developer has built Umka Parental Control, a complete parental control system for Windows that includes a desktop tool for parents to configure schedules and website restrictions, an agent on the child's computer that enforces internet blocking and displays a non-bypassable night screen, and a utility to fully uninstall the agent. The project, which started as a simple DNS blocker and grew into a robust system with stable operation on Windows 10 and 11, was finalized and polished as part of the GitHub Finish-Up-A-Thon Challenge.", "body_md": "*This is a submission for the *[GitHub Finish-Up-A-Thon Challenge](https://dev.to/challenges/github-2026-05-21)\n\n##\nWhat I Built\n\nUmka Parental Control is a complete parental control system for Windows.\n\nIt consists of three applications:\n\n-\n**parent_app** — a desktop tool for parents to configure schedules, night-time internet blocking, and website restrictions.\n-\n**child_app** — an agent running on the child’s computer that enforces internet blocking, DNS/Firewall rules, and displays a night screen that cannot be bypassed.\n-\n**remove_child** — a utility to completely uninstall child_app, remove firewall rules, and restore the system to its original state.\n\nThis project means a lot to me because it solves a real problem: helping families manage children’s screen time and online safety in a simple but technically robust way.\n\n##\nDemo\n\n##\nThe Comeback Story\n\nOriginally, the project started as a simple DNS blocker. Over time, it grew into a full parental control system with:\n\n- Stable operation on Windows 10 and Windows 11.\n- Fixed DNS and internet restoration issues after night blocking.\n- Optimized notification system (Qt tray + Plyer fallback).\n- A cleanup utility that correctly removes all\n`UmkaChild_DOH_Block_*`\n\nrules.\n- Cleaner logging without unnecessary HTTPS error messages.\n\nThis Finish-Up-A-Thon challenge motivated me to finalize the project, polish the documentation, and prepare a proper release.\n\n##\nMy Experience with GitHub Copilot\n\nGitHub Copilot was my companion throughout the process. It helped me:\n\n- Debug tricky Python code (like fixing threading issues in notifications).\n- Suggest patches for firewall cleanup scripts.\n- Provide ready-to-use code snippets, configs, and checklists.\n- Keep me focused and motivated with clear explanations and structured guidance.\n\nWithout Copilot, finishing this project would have taken much longer. It felt like having a reliable teammate who could instantly propose solutions and help me refine them.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/umka-parental-control", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/uaumka/umka-parental-control-4lob", "published_at": "2026-05-27 10:56:01+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-27 11:10:40.641074+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools"], "entities": ["GitHub Copilot", "Umka Parental Control", "Windows 10", "Windows 11"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/umka-parental-control", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/umka-parental-control.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/umka-parental-control.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/umka-parental-control.jsonld"}}