Parental Controls

[KentuckyWildcat]

Any of you guys ever used any parental control hardware at your house? I would like to find a hardware solution that everything goes through at some point. Would like to be able to block websites and monitor what comes in and out.

I'm familiar with some commercial solutions, but I am wanting something a little more affordable. Seems like most of the best home solutions are software/cloud based and I'm not loving the ones I've tried.

[PedroDaGr8]

Any of you guys ever used any parental control hardware at your house? I would like to find a hardware solution that everything goes through at some point. Would like to be able to block websites and monitor what comes in and out.

I'm familiar with some commercial solutions, but I am wanting something a little more affordable. Seems like most of the best home solutions are software/cloud based and I'm not loving the ones I've tried.

I hate to say it but the best parental control is addressing topics with your kids and teaching them how to handle them. If they WANT to access something, they will. My parents tried that as a kid and I was a wizard at getting around them. In someways it made me a better at computers because I was always finding ways around their blocks. Eventually, they gave up. Almost any parental control method that you try, I can think of a dozen ways to get around it and most kids (unless these are kids like 5-8 yo) will figure these out too. A simple VPN, or TOR, both of which many kids learn very quickly how to use to get around school blocks, will evade 99% of the devices out there.

If you just want to filter out pornography and other basic stuff then something like OpenDNS will do the trick. Otherwise, I'm about the worst person to ask on this, because they all have flaws and I pretty much know all of them.

[KentuckyWildcat]

I hate to say it but the best parental control is addressing topics with your kids and teaching them how to handle them.

Agree 100% and we will


(unless these are kids like 5-8 yo) will figure these out too

This what I want to protect. Emily is not yet 2 but speaks well enough to bring up searches via voice. Just don't want her exposed before the necessary time.


If you just want to filter out pornography and other basic stuff then something like OpenDNS will do the trick. Otherwise, I'm about the worst person to ask on this, because they all have flaws and I pretty much know all of them.

I've tried OpenDNS, seems there can be some problems with it and some areas that offer Comcast. It was blocking very little of most of the sites that Doc recommends :)



KW

[PedroDaGr8]

KW

Yeah, then at that age a DNS type filter is the main thing you will use. Nothing is perfect, there will still be a few sites that slip through. Thankfully at her age, the occasional site appearing will likely not even draw her attention.

As for OpenDNS, I use it with Comcast because quite frankly Comcast DNS servers suck. That being said, did you follow the instructions on this page: https://support.opendns.com/entries/46060260-FamilyShield-Router-Configuration-Instructions The FamilyShield uses a different setup than the normal OpenDNS servers. Also, the blocking isn't always immediate. Sometimes DNS links are saved locally on your computer for a few days (you can flush them out if need be), so it is better to try to go to sites you haven't visited before to see if the blocking is working.

[KentuckyWildcat]

Yeah, then at that age a DNS type filter is the main thing you will use. Nothing is perfect, there will still be a few sites that slip through. Thankfully at her age, the occasional site appearing will likely not even draw her attention.

As for OpenDNS, I use it with Comcast because quite frankly Comcast DNS servers suck. That being said, did you follow the instructions on this page: https://support.opendns.com/entries/46060260-FamilyShield-Router-Configuration-Instructions The FamilyShield uses a different setup than the normal OpenDNS servers. Also, the blocking isn't always immediate. Sometimes DNS links are saved locally on your computer for a few days (you can flush them out if need be), so it is better to try to go to sites you haven't visited before to see if the blocking is working.

It's been a few months now, but that page looks familiar. It did some weird some stuff. Like it would block videos and pictures but not the ads. Block some much lesser sites, like break.com entirely. Maybe I just need to get back in it and customize more with keywords and urls.

[PedroDaGr8]

For ads, I use ublock on my PC and a hosts file blocking on my tablet. The tablet can be a pain in the ass because it blocks ALL advertising related websites, which can break some links like at slickdeals.