Spark Net Shield service

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336 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2006890 3-May-2018 09:06

vulcannz:

correct - or any other DNS filtering system (and systems that do not do HTTPS filtering and/or let Google QUIC out).

My kids know how to do it (at school, they cannot at home). I just warn them of the consequences and tell them to let all the friends know, so if they are caught they are just part of the 'crowd'. If one person is doing it, then they're breaking the rules and can be punished. If everyone is doing it then there is fundamental problem with the system :)

Wouldn't it be easier to simply tell them they're not to do it at school - why encourage them to break the rules?

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vulcannz

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#2006907 3-May-2018 09:19

Where did I say I encouraged it?

DaveDog

336 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2006920 3-May-2018 09:28

vulcannz:

Where did I say I encouraged it?

I might have the wrong end of the stick - but telling them to show all their friends so they don't get into trouble (in my brain) encourages it.

vulcannz

436 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2006923 3-May-2018 09:36

If you read the full sentence I warn them of the consequences.

When my son went for his school enrolment interview for some reason the Dean we were talking to brought up their new filtering system and how wonderful it was. My little ratbag turned to me and said "isn't that the one that's easy to bypass" - I had to then explain. So as far as I am concerned the school should know about the hole - if the dean didn't pass it on that is their issue.

I'm a pragmatic dad.

GregV

917 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2007359 3-May-2018 17:47

I just want to be able to enable the service. Every time I select it, it says "Success! Thank you for opting in to Net Shield. Your service is currently being provisioned. If you are a Wireless Broadband customer (I'm not) please re-start your modem so that this change can take effect."

Tried multiple times since the service was announced, and every time I get the same message. Multiple browers, PCs etc.

@hio77 has offered to force it set for me, but I'd rather be able to enable/disable it myself while I'm testing it.

hio77

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#2007390 3-May-2018 17:54

GregV:
I just want to be able to enable the service. Every time I select it, it says "Success! Thank you for opting in to Net Shield. Your service is currently being provisioned. If you are a Wireless Broadband customer (I'm not) please re-start your modem so that this change can take effect."

Tried multiple times since the service was announced, and every time I get the same message. Multiple browers, PCs etc.

@hio77 has offered to force it set for me, but I'd rather be able to enable/disable it myself while I'm testing it.

I still haven't heard much back on this one.
Been flat out with my dayjob though so haven't pushed it.. Crunch time on my end! :/

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GregV

917 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2007392 3-May-2018 17:59

No worries hio - absolutely appreciate the support you've provided so far, just looking forward to being able to test this!

yitz

1873 posts

Uber Geek

#2007400 3-May-2018 18:29

Is this service 'port authenticated' like Static IP is ? Maybe your line ID is not mapped correctly.

keepexploringnz

32 posts

Geek

#2008330 5-May-2018 09:50

Just wondering if anyone has come across this, -

Was running Net Shield Premium for a few days but was finding the Internet connection was dropping every 2-3 hrs (Chrome Book/Android phone) would all connect but report no internet connection.

Im on Wireless broadband in Lyall Bay and just to see if possible it is the connection and not netshield ive also been running a spare Skinny BB modem which has had no issues.

I also find the Morepork Indoor camera I have losses its connection and the app reports there is an error and the camera can not be communicated with.

After restarting the modem it runs fine for about an hour than drops again, at the moment the only settings changes ive put in place is blocking some web sites, there is no time or any other limits.

insane

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#2008771 6-May-2018 16:21

chevrolux:
yitz: Spark do filtering for schools (publicly funded N4L) so it may be the same infrastructure vendor to that (might be Cisco?).

N4L is just a stand-alone government entity isn't it?

I assume Spark would have the resource to build something like this themselves.

Pretty much - It's a "schedule 4a company", there's about a dozen of them in NZ, REANZ, CFH and Lotto Board are some others that come to mind.

As for building themselves - don't think many integrators could build a sound business case for that. the most logical approach is to take vendor solutions and string them together via available APIs, and build a custom front end etc to make a viable service offering.

BarTender

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#2008931 6-May-2018 21:47

insane:

chevrolux:
yitz: Spark do filtering for schools (publicly funded N4L) so it may be the same infrastructure vendor to that (might be Cisco?).

N4L is just a stand-alone government entity isn't it?

I assume Spark would have the resource to build something like this themselves.

Pretty much - It's a "schedule 4a company", there's about a dozen of them in NZ, REANZ, CFH and Lotto Board are some others that come to mind.

As for building themselves - don't think many integrators could build a sound business case for that. the most logical approach is to take vendor solutions and string them together via available APIs, and build a custom front end etc to make a viable service offering.

The N4L Proxy is a large(ish) Cisco Cloud Web Security service, to do the same transparent proxy service for Fixed Broadband would be a non-trivial expense. Doing it as just pure DNS proxy from another major infrastructure providers makes a whole lot of sense in my view if you really want to provide some sort of parental controls. It handles the "non-technical" folks to provide a basic level of parental control.

If you wanted something more complex that kids can't get past go for a UTM or similar appliance and pay for it yourself IMHO.

and

vulcannz

436 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2009039 7-May-2018 09:58

Something like a Fortinet or SonicWall licensed up would be in the realm of $1200 (including a 1 year services sub), so it's a big investment for home. And of course you need to know how to use it. On the flipside it does offer more services (N4L does no IPS afaik, or sandbox scanning, same would go for netshield). So it is difficult for parents to figure out what to do.

The Netshield FAQ is vague enough to say it won't block absolutely everything inappopriate, but it's not specific enough to tell parents they still need to keep an eye on the kids imho. I notice they say the don't block search engines but enforce safe search, but iirc only google and bing support DNS based safesearch enforcement, all others require HTTPS inspection... so any kid that uses yahoo or duckduckgo or dogpile is probably going to rip through it.

insane

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#2013672 10-May-2018 22:40

BarTender:

insane:

chevrolux:
yitz: Spark do filtering for schools (publicly funded N4L) so it may be the same infrastructure vendor to that (might be Cisco?).

N4L is just a stand-alone government entity isn't it?

I assume Spark would have the resource to build something like this themselves.

Pretty much - It's a "schedule 4a company", there's about a dozen of them in NZ, REANZ, CFH and Lotto Board are some others that come to mind.

As for building themselves - don't think many integrators could build a sound business case for that. the most logical approach is to take vendor solutions and string them together via available APIs, and build a custom front end etc to make a viable service offering.

The N4L Proxy is a large(ish) Cisco Cloud Web Security service, to do the same transparent proxy service for Fixed Broadband would be a non-trivial expense. Doing it as just pure DNS proxy from another major infrastructure providers makes a whole lot of sense in my view if you really want to provide some sort of parental controls. It handles the "non-technical" folks to provide a basic level of parental control.

If you wanted something more complex that kids can't get past go for a UTM or similar appliance and pay for it yourself IMHO.

I totally agree, using DNS is smart and cost-effective! Also theoretically can protect against more than just port 80/443 unlike CCWS. I know the NZ towers/platform very well, they are HUGE, and you could never take that sledgehammer approach to a full-scale residential offering - unless you perhaps don't filter any cached content.

It's horses for courses, and as long as users aren't trying to actively bypass it, it'll provide some level of additional protection and comfort. I actually applaud Spark for offering it in such an easy to consume way.

PJ48

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2014939 12-May-2018 20:55

I have signed up for the Net Shield service and is has been provisioned but... it seems to have forced Youtube into Restricted mode so that I cannot see nor post comments. Even though my personal settings say that restricted mode is off, underneath all the videos there is a statement that "Restricted Mode has hidden comments for this video."

I then signed up for the Net shield premium and disabled the abusive content box, thinking that might have done it, but no joy. I told Net Shield to "allow" Youtube, but again it hasn't fixed it. It doesn't matter which browser I use - same behaviour.

If I force my Laptop to connect through my mobile hotspot, Youtube returns to normal, and I can see comments again, but as soon as it is back on the home wifi, I cannot see comments again. So it is clearly related to the Spark UFB connection.

Has anyone else struck this, or is there any Spark person that can help?

PJ48

274 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2014961 12-May-2018 22:24

Actually I have been toggling various filters on and off, and it has become clear that the "safe search" setting disables comments on the Youtube website and puts it into a global restricted mode. Surely this is an unintended consequence? I would really like to keep safe search activated in our house.

....Dug into the FAQ on the Net Shield site - sadly it states that this is exactly what Safe search will do - it is a real nuisance that YouTube restricted mode stops commenting on videos.

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