(Computer) router/firewall advice.

[skotl]

those 2 links seem to be about hiding your identity online, not preventing access to various sites or have I missed something

Ah - my point was that a relatively tech savvy user can use services like these (and there are plenty of them) to circumvent pretty much any web filtering software / solutions that may be in place.

The only way to prevent access via a tool like my second link is to ensure that all systems with the location (home or office) are locked down such that users cannot install software, update network settings, etc. To be fair, that level of security is beyond the majority of home users.
The first link, the tor browser, can be (by design) run by any user without needing administrative privileges.

So I wasn't suggesting these links as a potential solution to the OP - far from it - but as an example that expecting to address unwanted / undesired access to the internet through technology alone isn't a viable solution.
But like I said in the same post, it seems to me that the OP needs to be seen to be doing everything he can to address the issue.

 

[the snooper]

Ah - my point was that a relatively tech savvy user can use services like these (and there are plenty of them) to circumvent pretty much any web filtering software / solutions that may be in place.

The only way to prevent access via a tool like my second link is to ensure that all systems with the location (home or office) are locked down such that users cannot install software, update network settings, etc. To be fair, that level of security is beyond the majority of home users.
The first link, the tor browser, can be (by design) run by any user without needing administrative privileges.

So I wasn't suggesting these links as a potential solution to the OP - far from it - but as an example that expecting to address unwanted / undesired access to the internet through technology alone isn't a viable solution.
But like I said in the same post, it seems to me that the OP needs to be seen to be doing everything he can to address the issue.

that's why I mentioned url blocking via the router

 

[gaz1]

it really depends on what the younger ones are doing snooper kids like music and video and will get it anyway that they can only problem the owner or payee of the account is at fault for others actions

theres 2 ways around this either hide your actions or close down your net as you wont stop it other than restricting the usage of the computer by the adult

as whats quoted the kids can know more than the adult with things you block the net with the modem with times and the kids will go by ethernet instead direct connection

not forgetting you can reset the modem at any time that changes everything back to defaults lol surprised kids havent done this to block the dad yet pmsl

 

[skotl]

that's why I mentioned url blocking via the router

Aye but... once you have a VPN installed, or you are using the TOR browser, the router won't see the URL you are going to.
And these tools are available from too many different places(*) for you to try and blacklist the URLs to these sites.

(* and none of that stops them downloading the client outside the home, either directly on a laptop, or to a USB device and installing from there onto the home PC)

 

[the snooper]

Aye but... once you have a VPN installed, or you are using the TOR browser, the router won't see the URL you are going to.
And these tools are available from too many different places(*) for you to try and blacklist the URLs to these sites.

(* and none of that stops them downloading the client outside the home, either directly on a laptop, or to a USB device and installing from there onto the home PC)

but would these teenagers have the knowledge to set up a vpn

 

[skotl]

that's why I mentioned url blocking via the router

One other thought about why URL blocking doesn't work...

Imagine, or try, the following;

You have a search engine - could be google, bing, aol, even yahoo. Access to these is probably unrestricted.
You type in a search phrase "something dirty, with wellies", and get a list of videos or pictures back. Many of them might have the word "porn" or "wellies" in them.
Let's take an example; the video you want to watch is listed as http:://filthywellies.com/dirtywashing

Now either ping "filthywellies.com" or go to any one of millions of sites that will do a "whois" or "dns lookup" on a site - you type in "filthywellies.com" and the IP address comes back as 1.2.3.4

Now you just point your browser at http://1.2.3.4/dirtywashing and you've circumvented any URL checks on the router.

 

[skotl]

but would these teenagers have the knowledge to set up a vpn

Hah! You tell me... are the teenagers more or less tech savvy than we are?

All of my (apologies - many!) posts in this thread are predicated on the single premise that using technology to stop people accessing sites is simply a bit of wishful thinking. Resourceful users will almost always find a way to circumvent the system.
And the very fact that the internet exists means that there are guidelines for even barely IT-literate people who want to look for them.

 

[the snooper]

Hah! You tell me... are the teenagers more or less tech savvy than we are?

All of my (apologies - many!) posts in this thread are predicated on the single premise that using technology to stop people accessing sites is simply a bit of wishful thinking. Resourceful users will almost always find a way to circumvent the system.
And the very fact that the internet exists means that there are guidelines for even barely IT-literate people who want to look for them.

you could always add the most common free vpn's url's to the blocked list and hope you've covered them all or the term vpn and virtual private network so the pc being used wont be able to load the sites in order to set one up, but how far do you go ? probably easier to password the pc in question and stop access unless the op is in to over see

 

[skotl]

you could always add the most common free vpn's url's to the blocked list and hope you've covered them all or the term vpn and virtual private network so the pc being used wont be able to load the sites in order to set one up, but how far do you go ? probably easier to password the pc in question and stop access unless the op is in to over see

I think we're agreeing, aren't we? It becomes a war of attrition and (certainly at home) it's not a war I'd like to fight.

 

[the snooper]

I think we're agreeing, aren't we? It becomes a war of attrition and (certainly at home) it's not a war I'd like to fight.

yep the op could always try the url block and hope he is and stays one step ahead of them failing that restrict access to the pc

 

[the snooper]

one solution to mischevious teens...

....dialup....

Does anyone still do it ? I don't know of any dial up isp's

 

[colnerov]

Hi, all this computer passwording and router blocking means nothing if someone comes along with their own computer and router and plugs it into the wall, they are off and running. So it comes back my suggestion to remove the service from the property. With smart phones do you really need a hardwired service?

Colin

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Reading between the lines I think the problem here is the downloading of pirated material rather than accessing pornographic sites?
Bigegg wants to show that he has taken reasonable steps to prevent that happening on a broadband account that he is paying for.
I guess he has has received a warning from his BB supplier (I did as well, I just ignored it).

 

[gaz1]

ive had 6 warnings for doing so a while ago not since then and guess what it was using bt broadband

I just removed the offending files and ignored them however nowadays you can get banned from there service I dont know of any people that has been banned for doing so

a couple of things that you can do is use a proper firewall dont have windows 10 on your system it maybe free but it tracks you or use a vpn to mask what your doing

one other thing you can watch them just not download them so anything that is watch online is another matter lol

 

[bigegg]

it's not about "illegal downloads", or even porn. There are other issues, which I can't mention, and too complicated to speculate over.

Thanks all for all the help and advice - I went with a netgear r7000 "nighthawk" in the end, with a view to a DD-WRT firmware upgrade.
I also linked the DNS via openDNS.
The router + telephone master socket are in a locked cupboard, and mobile phone has no data credit - and is through giffgaff which have a quite strict internet policy.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ Hope what you've done provides a solution to your situation. #crossedfingers

 

[rikrobson]

I think pfsense would be your best bet.

 

[Barlidge]

I went with a netgear r7000 "nighthawk" in the end.

I would be interested how flexible the parental controls are with respect to individual mac addresses, I have teens and limiting internet access individually is sometimes necessary.

 

[bigegg]

I would be interested how flexible the parental controls are with respect to individual mac addresses, I have teens and limiting internet access individually is sometimes necessary.

Not fully looked into that aspect (yet!), but it is possible to limit an individual device to an an OPENDNS "block/allow" list - by time or day, but not different schedules for different days.
It *can* be administered by phone app, however, so you could switch off an individual device whilst watching the telly in another room - say if you wanted to allow an extra hour on a saturday night.

 

[the snooper]

Not fully looked into that aspect (yet!), but it is possible to limit an individual device to an an OPENDNS "block/allow" list - by time or day, but not different schedules for different days.
It *can* be administered by phone app, however, so you could switch off an individual device whilst watching the telly in another room - say if you wanted to allow an extra hour on a saturday night.

my router is quite old now but I can add schedule rules to the fire wall to block any or all ip addresses and set different times for each day of the week you can also set up mac filtering and anytime you want to block a certain pc just knock the last digit from the mac address and that pc would be offline