Sheduled block of devices

[Olle]

Hi,

My current setup. Netgear R7000 and a Ubiquiti ac pro for wireless. Wireless are completely deactivated on my R7000.

Now to my question. I got kids in the house that have picked up interest for internet, Netflix, Youtube, Minecraft etc. They are currently using Android tablets, so its quite easy for us to manage how much they use them. But now they have asked for PC:s. Its not that easy for us to collect them at night and make sure they are charged until the next day. Our concern are not how they use internet (we have that discussion) but rather when they are using internet. We don't want our kids to wake up in the middle of the night to start playing games. School always goes first.

We have tried solutions like Circle with Disney. I really like how it manage to pick up all devices on our network and apply rules based on the expected user. You can apply rules on "new" devices (not detected before), devices marked as "unmanaged" (access points, smart switches, chromecasts etc.) or devices owned by a specific person (like the kids). I don't quite like the tracking features where its very easy to find out ever website visited (both for the kids and adults). And i also don't like that it makes the internet connection very unstable on my R7000 (even if its quite cool that its build into that device).

I think I need to find a new device (router?) to manage the kids internet time. It would ideally work in the same manner as Circle with Disney where you attach each device with a user and manage that user in a uniform way. I basically want to use a scheduler to make sure the devices are not used during bed time or other times its not suitable for internet use. I have a 250/100 internet connection and the possibility to upgrade to 1000/1000, so a router needs to handle at least most of that. I don't need a super fast wifi router since I'm very happy with my current wifi solution.

Any ideas about devices that would solve my needs?

 

[degrub]

Give them each their own private vlan on wireless and wired (if needed) tied to the device(s) MAC address(es). Simple firewall rules to turn off the access through the firewall to the internet during specific hours. Allows local network device access and usage or not. Then be prepared to be a 24/7 network sysadmin when they don't finish their school's online homework before they run out of access time and are cut off.

They will soon figure out how to spoof MAC addresses, borrow each others devices, use a proxy or vpn, etc. But you can buy some time. Better put in a packet sniffer logger too with programmed alerts to your phone to let you know when they have figured out how to get around the current access control.

oh and do they have a smart phone yet ? good luck on that side.

One way is to have the computer in "public" area where they cannot hide in their room to use it. They will get distracted by all google search shows them anyway. But of course, that is how children and we learn, by exploring. They just don't have the impulse control developed to stay on task until they leave the house for college, if then. That part of the brain is the last to develop i have been told.

no magic device or method short of old fashioned patient parenting and keeping a working relationship.

 

[hedly]

I've been using OpenDNS. I think it's similar to the Disney thing, but it's free. What I really liked about it is that no matter what device comes in the house, if they use WiFi it blocks content.

But there are still limits. If you go to google and search for some unsavory image, it will be seen. That's because google doesn't put thumbnails of their images in a separate directory (Bing does this). So the only way to block thumbnails from google is to block google completely. That's kind of a no-go at the moment since my wife and I have google accounts for various things.

concerning the time. I have a TP-Link C8 router that allows me to turn off/on the wifi at certain times. I also just got a EAP245 access point that does this as well. Not sure if you can do it by MAC address so that the parents' devices are not affected.

I think in the end, @degrub has great advice. Only have them use their devices in a 'public' area of the house. We have only one kiddo and a small house. He's also not one to explore. As bad as this may sound, I haven't really taught him how to use google yet. I figure there's plenty of time.

when he get's a little older, I'll have to sit him down and kind of warn him about the stuff on the web. There's s kid his same age (11 years old) who found it and developed a bit of an addition resulting in him lying to his parents about using their devices when they weren't looking. Yikes!