Hey all, I am looking for a way to block / monitor my 12 and 13 yrs boys' internet activities.
For some reason parental control function of my TPLINK modem does not work and saw few other people with the same model have experienced the same.
I'd even consider a paid service for a reasonable fee.
Thanks all
Not practical to monitor all the time as I WFH for long hours.
Setup a webcam…
Yeah, good luck trying to stop them getting around parental controls if they are unsupervised. If you are WFH just pop in to see them every now and then and see if they are jumpy.
Thanks mate! It is a post from 2019. I thought there could be newer options to do the job.
Kids can easily spend $$ to get an Aldi sim card and use Internet however they want.
Educate them otherwise they'll educate themselves.
We talk about them but boys are boys…. they got their natural curiosity to know things.. just want to limit until boys reach that age.
Typical cop out from a parent who doesn’t want to parent
Boys will be boys. …. Boys will be arseholes if you let them be and don’t ROLE MODEL appropriate behaviour and be present whilst raising them
They do not raise themselves to be decent socially fit human beings
Work on yourself and who your children spend time with
If you can’t be bothered, remove the devices and make yourself available for them
Otherwise learn how hardware works and use it
I need a similar feature to block Ozbargain
No
Can't have u disappearing again!
Awww
In Windows, edit C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
Add
127.0.0.1 www.ozbargain.com.au
That would save you lots of $$s lol
Hahaha… I can’t do that to Gimli now.
just delete the system32 folder
Lol
FFS obviously parenting an essential part of raising a child, and so is supervision including oversight into what a child is doing online. Technology exists to help us monitor our children's activities. This parent is asking for recommendations on such tech.
If you don't have kids then get back in your box. The internet is a challenging place for any parent to navigate and there is nothing for anyone to be critical of with respect to the ops request.
Op, I'll be doing the same. Kudos to yo for actually taking the time to monitor your child's online activity.
Router level whitelisting. Set them up on their own SSID and block everything. The sites you want them to have access to, add those to the excepted list.
*accepted
*excepted
As in; “With whitelisting, you can set it up so that every single site on the internet is blocked, except Google and Grammarly”
Accept means to receive willingly.
Except means to exclude from a list.
But thanks for the lesson.
So, most kid-safe'ing is done via DNS.
You can switch your Home/Router DNS to use Cloudflare DNS, CleanBrowsing or SafeDNS or OpenDNS, etc.
There's even a few AV companies offering "safe browsing" like ESET, Comodo, Norton, but the differences are minimal.
https://blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-1-1-1-1-for-families…
https://cleanbrowsing.org/filters/
https://www.safedns.com/en/safe-internet-at-home/
https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/#familyshield
and there's a few other Safe/Kids DNS sites which can "lock down" most adult/risk content including ads and malware, crypto, scams. This will lock down most Wifi/internet use.
Unless you have a Telstra Router aka Dodgy Internet, which won't let you alter your DNS settings, or allow you to use 3rd party routers.
If your router DNS can't be altered, consider a hardware device like the Circle or a Mesh Wifi replacement which has Kid-Safe features, but this is an increasing cost and can have significant tradeoffs, so YMMV. If you want to have a Two-Tier system, then you also need to know how tech-savvy your kids are, as it can be easily bypassed.
Apple/Android also have VPNs that can override the network, but They or you can turn it on if they see how it's done.
DoH or Secure DNS is also opt-in, but it can be hidden in the settings, making it optional. You can then manually go on phone/tablets that adults will only use, and configure DoH or DNS over HTTPS to access regular internet, and vice versa, or install VPN's to override restrictions, or use Cell/4G/LTE networks to access "proper" internet. If the tablet/phone/PC has a browser that you can configure (This is slightly trickier with Apple iOS/Android), you can also use DoH, DNS over HTTPS, or Secure DNS, which will have a second layer of protection, that also works when you take a laptop or phone away from home wifi.
Option 1: Install a custom router that has Kids Safety / DNS routing options, i.e. Disney Circle with Netgear, or the Google Mesh WiFi, Eero, Amplifi, etc.
A lot of the Mesh systems have things where you can kick computers into a "Guest" WiFi or Guest/provisional access which filters certain computers and TV's so they can't access sites easily. Around $300 or so.
Circle/Netgear is probably the best hand-holding hardware example, since it has pre-assigned groups that you can move people from/To if a new device is added onto the network.
Option 2: Install PiHole on the router or a Raspberry Pi Mini-PC, and follow a guide on how to set up different lists for different groups of people.
Requires Very technical knowledge, and if PiHole stops working, you'll probably have a hair-pulling day or two explaining why the internet's not working since it can be fragile.
Option 3: Change your DNS on the router to an external DNS like NextDNS or OpenDNS, Cleanbrowsing, SafeDNS, etc.
This can be bypassed, so it often relies on having an advanced router that can prevent custom DNS searches, or redirects any unsecure, outgoing DNS to use the preferred result (DoH/Secure DNS can bypass this forced redirection). The advantage of External DNS is that it's more reliable, and it can be updated by professionals to add categories or new types of ads, or white/black list certain websites, i.e. school pages, banking sites, etc.
Mate that's alot of useful info (for me at least). Thanks for posting it all.
One thing to note: Mesh Wifi is probably the best for set-and-forget, since it adds a second WiFi network, or it replaces your existing WiFi, and you turn off the wifi on the old router.
If you have some skill, you can just set up a 2nd WiFi network, hard-set the IPv4/IPv6 DNS for that "Kids" group, and have an external DNS/VPN set up on each portable / 3G/4G/5G accessible device, so that the filters can follow the devices out of the house/home WiFi as well. This is a very corporate level way to do things, so it isn't always practical. MDM can achieve this, or just having a whitelist of devices on the router so each device is moved to a separate intranet/VLAN, but it won't work well outside of home, so you do have to maintain a practical approach on these things.
The parental controls on each Mesh system, are quite different, so check youtube reviews on "parental controls" sic. i.e. how it actually works, and how you alter settings, because it's often not what you really want to manage or have to get internet banking working on a tablet that you aren't aware is set up to block gambling/crypto sites, and your bank/utility company uses a 3rd party feature that's blocked by the filters. sic.
Some require moving each device into a filter group like "Parents" "Teens" "Kids" and "Guest" group, so you have to spend a few minutes setting this up, and if you add a new device, it might be forgotten about until you find Timmy is using Alexa/Google Hub to "contact Hot Asian Spies in your local area", sic. by navigating around the blocking systems using voice controls and odd requests.
While others create Family Settings like the eero, which can give you a list of per-user devices, per-user times and "homework time" blocking of sites like facebook/insta/tiktok/youtube" etc. until after dinner, etc. They have benefits and tradeoffs, namely you need to keep an eye on the app or notifications when they come up. You can have shared devices on this arrangement, but then you will get alerts for "Home" instead of "Timmy" when someone's trying to access wikipedia at 2am.
The TP-Link Deco x50/x60 or the older models are probably the best "Plug & Play" mesh system, and it's probably the cheapest. Netgear Orbi is just $500 to $1500 more for less than the Deco features. YMMV.
Google Mesh doesn't give you many options,so it can be depressing to troubleshoot.
You can also get the eero 6 mesh wifi on amazon, but, there's just a $30/$100/year subscription to access the advanced features, which you probably won't use.
There's a lot in common with the way the devices work to the DNS filtering options.
The Eero series use zScaler DNS filtering, while the Netgear/TP-Link use Trend Micro DNS filter lists, so you just tick "gambling" and it will regularly pull updated "gambling" sites into the block list. This works in a similar way to the Cleanbrowsing/SafeDNS/OpenDNS/NextDNS systems, but they also update sites more regularly, or allow for granular opt-out/opt-in of sites.
The Netgear Nighthawk / Circle system is/was used by Disney, so it has the most reliable Pre-Teen filtering, but, the advanced features aren't used by Netgear hardware. There's also a $80/yr or so subscription, but it's easy to watch a video on how Circle actually works before putting $400 down on a router and figuring out how to plug it in.
However, as noted, if you have a dodgy NBN router, or you have Telstra, the free option of switching your DNS won't be simple. FTTN is also a problem for some, as you could lose the Phone access when swapping routers. If you have FTTN, or VOIP / Phone over NBN, there are a handful of VDSL2+ routers with VOIP, and have Parental controls, but you may as well look into swapping the huawei/chinese router you were given or putting it into "Bridging Mode" or turning off the Wifi and using the faster WiFi 6 Mesh routers.
Another reason to swap to a Mesh WiFi system is if you have more than say, 10 wifi devices including phones, tablets, TV/Consoles, and WiFi smart devices, Most of the "Best Quality" NBN routers will crash after you hit a certain number of open connections (500 to 2000, so 50-200 per device) on the cheaper models. So if you have ever noticed the internet needing to be rebooted every week or so, it might be time to look into different hardware. Or, it could just be FTTN being terrible, i've had to deal with both.
https://www.androidcentral.com/best-routers-parental-control…
https://www.lifewire.com/best-parental-control-routers-41607…
Thanks toliman for your time and shared information. I learned a lot from your comments.
hmm will all of these stop Opera Browser VPN or Google Translate?
Take the modem with you when you go to 💼.
BTW. You can't stop teen 👱 from watching pron.
They'll bypass anything you can 🤔 off.
And even if you could they would just resort to using their own imagination, which might I add is completely unregulated. Disgusting.
Their mates phone/laptop is the most common hack.
Get this https://firewalla.com/. Its very easy to setup. With this you can watch what they are doing.
Also get a simcard without data plan so your kids can only access the internet at home.
After you know what they are doing, educate them.
After you know what they are doing, educate them.
And you could be proactive too, and help them ahead of time — share your values, expectations, boundaries, etc.
Thanks syhauw and Member 0230 for your comments! Cheers!
I install the Family Zone boxes for work which do exactly what you're looking for. It's basically a router which you connect your kids devices too and they have apps you install on their devices which allow/block content. Make sure you disable the ability to uninstall apps so they cant remove it. Has built in VPN so when they leave the house to jump on 4g or goto a friends place and use their wifi, it still works.
2nd option is to use the Google / Apple family controls. Invite your kids to your family and you can set up what's allowed and what's not allowed through Google / Apple. Very helpful.
I use Qustodio. Works better on Android but passable on PC. Not that great on iOS.
Parent of a special needs teen prone to serious problems with social media and very easily led.
I use a multi pronged approach. Qustodio looks after apps etc, I use my router parental controls to shut off internet access to certain devices at certain times.
I use microsoft family services to manage screen time on windows and Xbox.
I use screen time on iOS to reinforce/provide downtime and additional controls on iOS devices.
Might seem a lot of messing around but after many self harm incidents I need to do this to keep my teen safe.
Back in the day, I used a linux firewall called Clark connect. That has since changed to something else, but pfsense wold be the closest thing.
I had every device in the house set with a static IP address with a logical system. IE. Oldest kid's PC, 192.268.1.20, her phone, 192.168.1.21.
If oldest kid was playing up or being disrespectful, I could throttle bandwidth to her ips to like 10%…enough that it still worked but took 8 minutes just to load google. This was the best thing I have ever seen.
Could also pull lists of urls visited and block if needed.
Like others have said… supervise your children. You asking here for "help" and yet seeing supervision as impractical, demonstrates the parent you are that simply has no clue.
You designate the time they are to be on the internet… YOU… as a parent. And this could be on a laptop in the living room as you go about your day within the house.
Maybe you should get on the internet and research on … How to Parent.
If you get the chance, I find it useful to follow Officer Gomez on facebook : https://www.facebook.com/deputygomez
https://www.facebook.com/deputygomez/posts/3065743376997474
Top 5 Device Rules for Kids
1) No Wifi device in bedrooms
2) No social media until 13
3) Set a screen time limit and stick to it
4) Say no to Snapchat and TikTok
5) Less that 200 friends on any application
I started hacking for fun(non destructive) when I was 9 luckily I got away without much troubles. My parents didn't know what I was doing on the 28.8kbps modem. Anyway the best way to do this is monitoring. You use a software to log and monitor the URLs your kids are visiting. As long as something shows up on the blacklist you need to talk to your kids.
They will find a way to get around the blocks. For eg someone mention cheap data SIM from Aldi. Or neighbors WiFi.
I wouldn't bother filtering this stuff. Children get exposed to this stuff through ads all the time. I remember when I was 8 I started seeing these ads. You might as well just introduce your children to the concepts and be open. It's not like being exposed to it means they turn into some sexual deviant or something.
If you don't discuss it, you will find statistically will have a higher probability of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases in private school students. It can be questioned whether wealth causes this, or something else, but there are many studies on this.
You might as well just introduce your children to the concepts and be open.
100% Yes.
I wouldn't bother filtering this stuff.
I would.
As a parent of young kids who are right now going through this phase as the OP, I agree with you it's important to have these chats.
Parenting in general, I find to be already really hard work. But talking to your kids about sex and porn, what's healthy, what's abusive, what's plain toxic? That's next level tough. Especially when you haven't experienced great parenting (and specifically in this area) yourself.
But like you said it's important to have the discussions and do the hard work of parenting — to take the time and effort to research, prepare, and then intentionally walk your kids through this.
But before you can even talk to them, you need to have built good relationships, so there's an open door. Otherwise, it's a brick wall.
I'm learning though that the best filter isn't at all tech-based (though I'd advocate some measures to reduce definite harms from unwanted/early exposure, e.g., see AIFS' The effects of pornography on children and young people), but one the child has learned to use themselves - after those discussions with you - e.g., teaching them to quickly switch away when they encounter such material and make you aware.
OP, depending on your values and your relationship with your kids, a quick search brought this up — Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today's Young Kids
Can run a piHole DNS server and point your router to default all traffic to it. This will show you what IP addresses visit which websites and you can block it. However, it can be easily bypassed by manually changing DNS server address pn each device to something like 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8
However, it can be easily bypassed
By kids hotspotting on their mobile phone too…
OP, as someone smarter / more technical filter-savvy than me said,
As an IT guy who spends his days locking down PCs and iPads from these sorts of materials for students, no matter what technical solution you find to lock down the device as much as possible, there are always new websites and content that will get through filters, DNS services, etc. I strongly recommend to all parents (self included) that the best and only 100% reliable solution is parental supervision if you leave access to a web browser or YouTube. Tech solutions will never be 100% effective… sadly.
It would be a lot to easier to help you if we knew what model devices you have at home. At least legally kids are seen as incompetent until age 13 at which point companies can start targeting them and allow them to join tiktok, facebook, etc. Your goal should be to always give them slightly more access to the internet than they are ready for and to keep an eye on them so that you can teach them as they go.
Apple (definitely the best for parental controls in my opinion, allows checking what apps and websites are accessed)
Screen Time https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208982
Guided Access https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/ipad/ipada16d1374/ipad…
Classroom App https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/classroom/cla6d39b9338…
Microsoft Family controls
https://account.microsoft.com/family/about
Google Family controls
https://families.google.com/families
Try to stick to one environment and you should be fine. Stick to apple if parental controls are important and you can afford it. Veyon is a monitoring app you can use if you're only using Windows but IMO screen monitoring is way over the top. You should know what websites your kids are going to and what apps they are using but they need freedom and trust unless they have done things to break that trust (sexting/bullying/impersonation/communicating at 3am/etc.)
Supervise them whilst they use their devices.