Getting started — Installing LocalGuard on Windows

This guide takes you from scratch to having your child’s first computer protected and working. The complete process usually takes between 10 and 20 minutes.

What you need before starting

Before installing anything, confirm that you have:

• A LocalGuard account — if you do not have one yet, go to localguard.pro and register. The process takes less than two minutes and does not require a credit card to start.
• Access to the child’s computer — you will need physical or remote access to the PC you want to supervise during installation.
• Windows 10 or Windows 11 — the agent only works on Windows. If your child uses an Android phone or tablet, a separate mobile agent is available.
• Administrator password for the PC — the installer needs administrator permissions to install the service, proxy, and security certificate. If the PC has a different administrator account from the child’s account, you will need to use it during installation.
• Stable internet connection — on both the child’s PC and yours to access the panel.

Step 1 — Download the installer from the panel

1. Access your panel at localguard.pro and sign in.
2. In the sidebar, click Install.
3. You will see the Windows Agent section. Click Download installer.
4. Save the file localguard-setup.exe on the child’s computer. You can transfer it by USB, Google Drive, OneDrive, or any other method you prefer.

The installer you download already contains the information needed to connect automatically to your account, so you do not need to enter passwords manually during installation.

Step 2 — Run the installer as administrator

On the child’s PC:

1. Locate the localguard-setup.exe file you just copied.
2. Right-click the file and select “Run as administrator”.
3. If the User Account Control (UAC) window appears asking if you want to allow this program to make changes, click Yes. This is normal and necessary for installation.
4. The installation wizard will open. Follow the on-screen steps: accept the terms and choose the standard installation.
5. The installer will ask you to confirm the server URL — enter https://localguard.pro or the URL shown in the panel if you use your own private server.
6. Complete the wizard. The installation process takes approximately one minute.
7. If the installer asks you to restart the browser, close it and reopen it.

During installation, the agent:

• Installs the LocalGuard service that starts automatically when Windows boots
• Installs the watchdog, an additional process that ensures the service stays running
• Configures the local proxy in the child’s Windows user profile
• Installs the local security certificate needed to block https:// pages with the supervision screen
• Connects to the panel and appears as a linked device

Step 3 — The device appears in the panel

After installation, the agent connects automatically to the panel within seconds. Open the Devices section in the panel and you should see the new device with status “Connected” and a recent last contact.

If the device does not appear after one minute:

• Verify the PC has an internet connection (not just WiFi, but actual browsing working).
• Open PowerShell on the PC and run Get-Service LocalGuard. It should show status Running. If it is not running, execute Start-Service LocalGuard.
• Check that the panel URL you entered during installation is correct (https://localguard.pro).

Step 4 — Give the device a recognizable name

When the device first appears in the panel, it may have an automatically generated technical name. To change it to something your family easily recognizes — like “Living room PC” or “Ana’s laptop”:

1. Go to Devices in the panel.
2. Click on the device name.
3. You will see the device detail. Edit the name there and save.

Assigning clear names is important if you have multiple computers, because rules are applied per device and you need to know which one each rule targets.

Step 5 — Create your first test rule

Before setting up broad protections, verify everything works correctly with a simple rule. This saves surprises later.

1. Go to Protection in the panel.
2. At the top, you will see the scope selector. Change it to “Device” and select the device you just installed.
3. Open the Domains tab.
4. Add the domain example.com as blocked and save.
5. On the child’s PC, open Chrome and type https://example.com.
6. You should see LocalGuard’s supervision screen.
7. Without closing Chrome, open a new tab in incognito mode (Ctrl+Shift+N) and type the same address.
8. You should see exactly the same block.

If both tests show the supervision screen, the agent is working correctly on that browser. Repeat the test with Edge if your child uses it too.

When you finish testing, remove the example.com rule from the Domains tab and start configuring your real rules.

Step 6 — Confirm activity is being recorded

1. Go to Activity in the panel.
2. Select the child’s device in the filter at the top.
3. You should see the attempts to open example.com with result “Blocked”.

If the activity appears correctly, communication between the agent and the panel is working. From now on, every browsing attempt your child makes will be recorded here.

Set up real protection

With the test passed, you can now configure definitive protection:

Content categories — Go to Protection → Categories and enable the groups you want to block. Each category groups thousands of domains of the same type: social media, online gaming, streaming, adult content, gambling, evasion tools… Enabling a category automatically applies all those blocks without adding each website manually.

Specific domains — If there are specific websites you want to block or allow even if they fall within a blocked category, add them in the Domains tab.

Night profile — In Protection → Night profile, enable automatic cutoff during rest hours. The device will automatically stop browsing each night without you having to remember.

Daily time limit — Go to Time, select the child’s device, and configure how many hours they can browse each day. When your child reaches the limit, they can send you a time request that you approve or reject from the panel.

Common installation problems

The device does not appear in the panel

Most common cause: the service did not start correctly or the server URL is wrong.

• Open PowerShell on the child’s PC and run Get-Service LocalGuard. If the status is not Running, run Start-Service LocalGuard.
• Verify you can access https://localguard.pro from the browser on the child’s PC — if you cannot, there is an internet connection problem.
• If the service exists but the device still does not appear, uninstall the agent from Windows Control Panel → Programs and run the installer again.

The block is not showing even though the rule exists

• Confirm the rule is assigned to the correct device, not to “All” with another device in mind.
• Fully close all browsers on the child’s PC (not just the window, but the entire process) and reopen them.
• Check in the panel Devices section that the device has recent last contact — if contact was more than 5 minutes ago, the agent may not be receiving updated rules.

Incognito blocks but another browser does not

The agent configures the proxy only in the supervised Windows user profile. If your child uses Chrome and opens Firefox under the same Windows user, Firefox should also be covered.

The most common problem with Firefox is that it has its own certificate store, independent from Windows. See the Firefox compatibility section for specific steps.

If your child uses a browser like Brave or Opera that includes a built-in VPN, that VPN may bypass the local proxy. In that case, configure a browser policy in the panel to block those processes.

When to reinstall the agent

Some situations require reinstalling from scratch:

• The PC had a system restore or complete Windows reinstallation
• The main Windows user account on the child’s device was changed
• The LocalGuard certificate was removed from the system certificate store
• The device shows “No contact” for more than 24 hours without apparent reason

Reinstallation is always the same: download the installer from Install in the panel, run it as administrator, and follow the wizard.

Next step

Once installed and verified, read the Protection guide to learn how to create effective rules for your family.