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jonathan18
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  #2160754 14-Jan-2019 09:37
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OT in relation to filtering, but in response to the last post: the child control app I mentioned in my last post (Kidslox) has recently added a useful feature - that of additional profiles. This enables you to provide your child access to select groups of apps at different times of the day.

 

It's the only app that I could find that would enable us to give my son access to his iPad during school hours and not have this time count towards his daily limits, but these new additional profiles will enable me to restrict certain apps during school time, or only provide access to say messaging apps outside of a set time (with access to the device fully shut down between 19.30 and 7.30).




Andib
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  #2160757 14-Jan-2019 09:45
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These are expensive but from Family friends experience they're pretty good as a general content filter for all devices.

 

 

 

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_nz/forHome/products/homenetworksecurity.html 


olivernz
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  #2160758 14-Jan-2019 09:46
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I swear by one of these all cheap and easy to install.

 

https://pi-hole.net/

 

 

If you want real inspection and stuff you'll need to technically dig a bit deeper. If you're not so inclined go with a commercial offering otherwise look at OpnSense or pfsense etc.



mdf

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  #2160782 14-Jan-2019 10:42
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olivernz: I swear by one of these all cheap and easy to install. https://pi-hole.net/ If you want real inspection and stuff you'll need to technically dig a bit deeper. If you're not so inclined go with a commercial offering otherwise look at OpnSense or pfsense etc.

 

We use PiHole with Cleanbrowsing.org as the upstream DNS provider. This is content filtering, forcing safe search, and adblocking. I am not usually one for wholesale adblocking but my kids seem to be served up particularly egregious rubbish (that they don't have any money to pay for anyway).

 

If your kids use Chromebooks, Google has rolled out a new suite of parental controls for those. I haven't gotten around to trying these yet myself.


jonathan18
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  #2160797 14-Jan-2019 11:01
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mdf:

 

If your kids use Chromebooks, Google has rolled out a new suite of parental controls for those. I haven't gotten around to trying these yet myself.

 

 

This uses Google's Family Link, which can also be used to manage kids' Android devices; we've got it on the phones my kids use, and will use it when the older one a Chromebook later this month. It has some filtering settings - for Chrome and Google Search - but I'm not sure if it'll have any control over other browsers etc? It also provides for controls over app installation, eg we have it set up so one of us parents has to approve it (much like the iOS set-up)

 

An important point for using Google's family controls - the Google account needs to have been established as a kid's account from the beginning, ie you can't 'convert' a standard Google account to a kid's account. We had the latter for both our boys (I think it was because Google previously didn't allow accounts for under a certain age, so we had to fudge their age), so ended up having to create new Google kids' accounts for this purpose.


jonathan18
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  #2192019 6-Mar-2019 11:09
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jonathan18:

 

...based on previous advice I got here on GZ I came to the conclusion that filtering can only do so much, and talking to the kids was probably a more effective solution.

 

 

Well, it didn't take too long until I got bitten on the @rse with this one! (perhaps a bad metaphor in this case?!)

 

My 11-year old son 'fessed up to accessing dodgy content on his laptop yesterday; luckily he was silly enough not to use an incognito tab, and then wasn't smart enough to be able to work out how to clear his history (it was at that point he admitted it). Interestingly, it's happened soon after starting intermediate, where he's now exposed to a much wider 'cross section' of his community, shall we say: when asked why he did it he said he hears so many kids talking about it (a sad indictment of our society), which of course isn't enough of a reason to do so but I reckon this is more out of curiosity than anything more substantive.

 

The only way he was able to access what he did was via his school account on his Chromebook; his iPad is running Kidslox which has filtering built in, and similarly his personal account on his Chromebook is controlled by Google's FamilyLink which also has filters.

 

Part of our response has been to ensure he only uses suitably filtered devices until such time he can be trusted; it's frustrating that his school account will remain a vulnerability I can't control. Is there anything I can do on this front? (I'm wondering about changing the wifi password, and only allowing his personal account to have wifi access.) He'll also be limited to a child account on the PS4, so will lose the ability to play networked games with his friends.

 

Another thing is that it's been a wake-up call, especially for my wife, in regards to letting him use devices in his bedroom, which will stop from this point forward.

 

He also admitted later to searching for something similarly dodgy at his grandparents' place the day prior; this is a good example of the limits to parental control. There's no way my MIL will be proactive about monitoring his online habits, and even if it's not at their place there'll be other situations where he has the opportunity for unfettered and unsupervised access. Hence it still comes back in the end to the conversations and dialogue with one's kids - which we have, of course, ramped up now! - plus of course active supervision...

 

 


mdf

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  #2192055 6-Mar-2019 12:01
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+1 talking.

 

If you did want to take some additional technology preventions, you can change the DNS settings so that questionable sites will not resolve properly. Quick and free. We use Cleanbrowsing.org, but there are others.

 

If you change these on your router, the whole house will be filtered but using either a non-wifi connection or going elsewhere won't be blocked.

 

You can also change these on his Chromebook, but only for known wifi networks (e.g. home, grandparents, possibly friends). It's not foolproof since someone savvy could change them back, but it is a little obscure:

 

Settings > Network > Network name > Network (follows Advanced) > Name Servers > Custom Name servers

 

Enter each of the following on separate lines (these are Cleanbrowsing.org DNS servers):

 

185.228.168.168

 

185.228.169.168

 

Repeat for each wifi network.


 
 
 

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jonathan18
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  #2192060 6-Mar-2019 12:09
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mdf:

 

+1 talking.

 

If you did want to take some additional technology preventions, you can change the DNS settings so that questionable sites will not resolve properly. Quick and free. We use Cleanbrowsing.org, but there are others.

 

If you change these on your router, the whole house will be filtered but using either a non-wifi connection or going elsewhere won't be blocked.

 

You can also change these on his Chromebook, but only for known wifi networks (e.g. home, grandparents, possibly friends). It's not foolproof since someone savvy could change them back, but it is a little obscure:

 

Settings > Network > Network name > Network (follows Advanced) > Name Servers > Custom Name servers

 

Enter each of the following on separate lines (these are Cleanbrowsing.org DNS servers):

 

185.228.168.168

 

185.228.169.168

 

Repeat for each wifi network.

 

 

Cheers for that. Yep, the conversation piece is an on-going process, so I am also keen on employing some quick technological interventions.

 

The reason why we've not gone down the approach of altering the DNS at the router level is because we used a DNS service for BBC etc, with these services being accessed on a number of devices across the house.

 

I like the idea of changing it on his own devices, though, and will give that a go tonight; thanks for the info! 

 

 


mdf

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  #2192088 6-Mar-2019 12:25
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jonathan18:

 

Cheers for that. Yep, the conversation piece is an on-going process, so I am also keen on employing some quick technological interventions.

 

The reason why we've not gone down the approach of altering the DNS at the router level is because we used a DNS service for BBC etc, with these services being accessed on a number of devices across the house.

 

I like the idea of changing it on his own devices, though, and will give that a go tonight; thanks for the info! 

 

 

Totally makes sense. I've gone for layered protections. In addition to fiddling with the DNS settings on their devices that go to their Nanna's house, we have a separate "kids" wifi network at home set up to use different DNS servers so that anything new or friends coming over etc. are forced on to the safe (er) part of the internet as well. If your router supports multiple wifi networks or a guest network, could be another tool in the kit. 


jonathan18
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  #2192105 6-Mar-2019 12:42
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mdf:

 

jonathan18:

 

Cheers for that. Yep, the conversation piece is an on-going process, so I am also keen on employing some quick technological interventions.

 

The reason why we've not gone down the approach of altering the DNS at the router level is because we used a DNS service for BBC etc, with these services being accessed on a number of devices across the house.

 

I like the idea of changing it on his own devices, though, and will give that a go tonight; thanks for the info! 

 

 

Totally makes sense. I've gone for layered protections. In addition to fiddling with the DNS settings on their devices that go to their Nanna's house, we have a separate "kids" wifi network at home set up to use different DNS servers so that anything new or friends coming over etc. are forced on to the safe (er) part of the internet as well. If your router supports multiple wifi networks or a guest network, could be another tool in the kit. 

 

 

Good thinking Batman! I'm not sure if we can achieve this with our current gear, but you or someone else may be able to advise.

 

Using just the ol' standard HG659B for router duties.

 

Wifi via 2x Grandstream 7610s, which allow for additional SSIDs, but I'm not sure how I would ensure the kids' SSID uses different DNS settings?

 

Thanks again.


mdf

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  #2192137 6-Mar-2019 12:54
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Good thinking Batman! I'm not sure if we can achieve this with our current gear, but you or someone else may be able to advise.

 

Using just the ol' standard HG659B for router duties.

 

Wifi via 2x Grandstream 7610s, which allow for additional SSIDs, but I'm not sure how I would ensure the kids' SSID uses different DNS settings?

 

Thanks again.

 

 

I have nae used Grandstream WAPs (we've got Cambiums - possible on those) but google suggests it should be possible: https://forums.grandstream.com/t/dhcp-server-on-gwn7610/33693

 

@michaelmurfy might be able to provide a definitive answer as to whether you can configure a Grandstream WAP with two SSIDs and different DNS servers?

 

BTW, multiple SSIDs make for great parenting (well, possibly terrible parenting). My nephews were staying with us and Not Behaving Appropriately. Wifi privileges were revoked. The self satisfied smirks thinking that the grown ups and little kids wouldn't have internet either made the resulting triumph of two wifi networks much sweeter.


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