Family safety removed but still blocking websites

Question

Hello, Im trying to remove family safety from my computer completely. I had all members leave the Family Group and then I, as the administrator left the group and deleted the app. The problem however, is that websites are continuing to be blocked. I already restarted the computer, but family safety still seems to be blocking websites

Answer 1

Hi Jason,

Thank you for posting question on Microsoft Windows forum!

Based on your query of websites still being continued to be blocked regardless of leaving the Family Group and deleting the Family Safety app. This might happen because residual settings or services can remain on your system. You can follow the below troubleshooting steps to fix the problem.

1.Double-Check Your Microsoft Family Group Status:

• Sign in to the Family Safety website: Go to https://family.microsoft.com and sign in with the Microsoft account you were using.
• Verify no family groups exist: Ensure that you are not listed in any family groups, and there are no child accounts linked to your account. If you see any, explicitly remove yourself or any remaining members from the group. If you were the organizer, you might need to "Remove consent for this child's account" before fully removing them.
• Confirm your account type: Make sure your own Microsoft account is set as an "adult" account and not a "child" account, as child accounts are subject to parental controls by default. You can usually check this in your Microsoft account profile settings.

2.Disable Parental Controls Service:

• Open Services Manager: Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
• Locate "Parental Controls": Scroll down the list to find a service named "Parental Controls" or "WpcMonSvc."
• Stop and Disable the service: Right-click on it, select "Stop," and then right-click again, select "Properties," and change the "Startup type" to "Disabled." This prevents it from running in the background.

3.Reset Browser Settings:

• Microsoft Edge/Chrome:
  • Go to Settings → Reset settings → Restore settings to their default values.

4.Check DNS Settings:

• Family Safety may have enforced custom DNS filtering:
• Press Win + R, type ncpa.cpl, and hit Enter.
• Right-click your active network → Properties → Double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
• Ensure "Obtain DNS server address automatically" is selected. Repeat for IPv6.

5.Flush DNS Cache:

• Open Command Prompt as Admin (search cmd > right-click → "Run as administrator") and run the below command
• ipconfig /flushdns

6.Inspect Hosts File:

• Open Notepad as Admin (right-click Notepad → "Run as administrator").
• Go to File → Open → Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\.
• Open the hosts file.
• Delete any lines referencing blocked sites (leave only 127.0.0.1 localhost).
• Save the file.

7.Clear Local Caches for Family Safety:

• Open Run dialog: Press Win + R.
• Type and enter: %localappdata%\Packages
• Locate Family Safety folders: Look for folders like:
  • Microsoft.WindowsParentalControls_cw5n1h2txyewy
  • Microsoft.FamilySafety_8wekyb3d8bbwe
• relocate: You can move the contents of these folders to a different location as a backup.
• Restart your computer.

8.Switch to a Local Account (Temporary - if issues persist):

• Convert to Local Account: Go to Settings > Accounts > Your info and click "Sign in with a local account instead." Follow the prompts.
• Restart your computer.
• Test Browse: See if websites are still blocked.
• Switch back to Microsoft Account: If the blocking stops, you can try switching back to your Microsoft account. This can sometimes refresh the account's permissions and remove residual restrictions.

Hope the above information is helpful!