Vodafone Ultra Hub Block sites

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boostinu13

31 posts

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#284276 11-Apr-2021 08:32

Hello,

I have a Vodafone Ultra Hub and wish to block a certain site/app.

I ideally would want all devices blocked from it but it seems you have to do each device individually...(I have to be wrong surely)

So I add a device and then it is just the day of the week and time. I do not want to stop network access.

How do I just block a simple site? I have seen on forums about using other things but it is all gibberish to me.

Thank you.

nztim

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TEAMnetwork

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#2690795 11-Apr-2021 08:43

Hi

If you want UTM functionality then you need equipment thats fit for purpose

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

xpd

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#2690801 11-Apr-2021 09:36

Is it a single machine ? Windows ? Android ?

If Windows, and the site is something you never use yourself, could just add an entry into your HOSTS file to stop it.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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freitasm

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Geekzone

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#2690806 11-Apr-2021 10:10

Not familiar with the Vodafone Ultra Hub but if it allows the use of custom DNS you could use something like OpenDNS.

Start by making sure you have a static IP address with Vodafone.

Create an OpenDNS account and add the IP address as your network. In settings you can add an option to block that domain.

Change the Vodafone Ultra Hub settings to use custom DNS instead of the ones supplied by the ISP.

This will block that specific site/domain on your network.

It works but it is also very easy to bypass. Anyone can change their own computer/phone/tablet DNS settings which will be used instead of the network provided settings. Or anyone using a VPN can also bypass this. Also it is one more thing to consider when troubleshooting connection problems. If in the future your devices lose connection you have to remember to remove this setting from the router to make sure you test with the ISP configuration.

boostinu13

31 posts

Geek

#2690811 11-Apr-2021 10:38

xpd:

Is it a single machine ? Windows ? Android ?

If Windows, and the site is something you never use yourself, could just add an entry into your HOSTS file to stop it.

windows and iphone. No idea what a HOSTS file is haha

freitasm

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#2690822 11-Apr-2021 10:56

boostinu13:

windows and iphone. No idea what a HOSTS file is haha

A HOSTS file is a text file where you can specific a hostname and an IP address for local use. This way your machine can quickly resolve a domain name to an IP address instead of going to a domain name server (DNS). This also override the DNS because the OS will use the addresses in the HOSTS file instead of going to the Internet to get it.

On Windows it will be a files in the folder C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc and by default it looks like this:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host

# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost

Morm

85 posts

Master Geek

#2691328 12-Apr-2021 11:38

Vodafones free SuperWifi add-on does it, plus lots more controls.

boostinu13

31 posts

Geek

#2691736 12-Apr-2021 20:40

Morm:

Vodafones free SuperWifi add-on does it, plus lots more controls.

That does look quite cool, to bad you have to resign for 2 years.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

Morm

85 posts

Master Geek

#2692416 14-Apr-2021 07:58

boostinu13:

Morm:

Vodafones free SuperWifi add-on does it, plus lots more controls.

That does look quite cool, to bad you have to resign for 2 years.

Only sign on for 2 years for the SuperWifi - not 2 years for the broadband at least.