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lorenzo

91 posts

Master Geek


#101457 2-May-2012 11:24
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I replaced my Linksys WAG160N as it was getting unreliable and kept dropping DSL (requiring reboot - a known feature of this product) The TP-Link 8960N seems to perform great BUT the access rules and parental controls don't seem as flexible as those on the old Linksys.

Problem:
I previously used to be able to block internet access based on keyword which was real useful, eg youtube, vimeo, mtv - to slowdown the teenage broadband plan consumption rate (usually in the back end of the month). Advantage on keyword blocking was if the word appears anywhere in the url it is stopped. 

Question:
Is there anyway I can restore this kind of functionality, or am I missing something in the TP8960N setup that could replicate.  I did have a brainwave and reinstated the 160N as a bridged router, BUT in this mode it seems to ignore any of the Access / Parental rules, it is in DHCP disabled mode. 

Any clues?

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garvani
1873 posts

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  #618271 2-May-2012 11:31
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I have had problems with this in the past and came up with the following solution that worked remarkably well for my situation (boarding house with 50+ teenagers).

Towards the end of the month when usage is starting to get low redirect the routers DNS to Opendns, and disable those sites in opendns, you will also be able to block the majority of proxy sites as well.
Then if you block the opendns website in your tplink router they will never see the "Opendns block page" so they won't know why they have been blocked. For your personal machine if you set your dns to your isp you will not get blocked.

This will work as long as they leave there dns servers alone, the general majority of people wouldn't know about dns servers so you should be fine



Ragnor
8218 posts

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  #618329 2-May-2012 13:08
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Windows Live Family Safety is not a bad option for filtering and access control on Windows 7 or Vista

lorenzo

91 posts

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  #618331 2-May-2012 13:13
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The router based control appealed because I could filter by MAC address which devices to apply to eg son's iPod on wireless, smartphone in addition to the PCs.  Also means I can administer from anywhere I can access the router from.



semigeek
1606 posts

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  #618346 2-May-2012 13:48
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You haven't tried the URL filter in the 8960N? Sure its not keyword,  but its probably the next best thing. 
Though I have my 8960N connected to a 1043ND and its filter allows keywords in the domain field for blocking. 

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