Blocking sites - but only on one connection ???

[The.King]

Hi all,

I've been 'googling' to find a complete solution to this, but haven't been successful thus far. I've also read several threads here since joining the community, but they were more geared towards entire networks & therefore had a different approach.

First off, I know a bit about PCs. I can re-image my own, built my own PC from scratch & set up my network, routers, etc. - BUT I am not a 'techy' & I don't have an IT background. I just like techy stuff.

So, of the many connections on my home network - I need to control access to certain websites on one particular laptop, but not on anything else like other tablets, smartphones, my desktop, etc.

I've read and implemented the whole 'host' procedure (Windows>system32>drivers>etc) and entered a number of URL's after the usual 127.0.0.1 thingy, which worked great and blocked the sites.

The problem now is twofold. (1) Although this method worked in preventing access to the site by directly typing the url in the address bar, if I Google the site and click on the first result - I gain access to the site again via some kind of backdoor? (2) While the 'host' option works to an extent, it's only good with IE. If I try to access the same (supposedly) restricted site via Firefox or Chrome, I can waltz straight in the front door!

How can I block my kid's access to any site (a) regardless of what browser they use, (b) without a Google search giving them backdoor access, (c) without them knowing I have done it and (d) without taking their laptop away?

As above, it's only applicable to one laptop on home network, so I don't want any restrictions on the rest of the network - hence why I didn't look at firewall settings (applicable to everyone) or router settings.

Obviously the laptop in question jumps onto the wireless network sporadically, so the internal IP often changes.

Hope I've been clear enough and would greatly appreciate any IT wisdom (in semi-layman's terms of course).

Many thanks for reading this.

 

[carnageX]

Setup firewall restrictions to that 1 computer via MAC address on the router.

If you can't do it by MAC, then do it by IP - you should be able to setup a static route on the router to give the laptop a static IP on the router level as well.

 

[The.King]

Hi carnageX,

Thanks for your reply. I'm operating via a Netgear router (WNDR4500v2) as although I have a cable modem (a crappy Thompson from my ISP) I was able to hack the MIB string to enable 'bridge mode'.

Anyway, as a result - I have access to the Netgear Genie so I can see 'attached devices' to determine MAC addresses. Under the 'advanced settings > security', there is also an option to block sites from either; (A) all devices or, (B) from all devices apart from one exception. Neither of these options are suitable for me as I need to block sites for "only one" device on my network.

There also seems to be a thing called 'parental control', but it looks a little simplified and shows a message on-screen ("Website blocked by Netgear Firewall") when a blocked site is attempting to be accessed, which is not ideal.

So, as I can determine the MAC address of the laptop in question, can you give me a bit of into on how to setup the firewall restrictions you mentioned?

 

[The.King]

Hi again carnageX,

OK, so I've managed to navigate my way around the router's advanced settings and made various changes which appear to be working.

As above however, I'd ideally prefer not to have a message saying that X website is "Blocked by Netgear Firewall" in big bold letters splashed across the screen and would much prefer to have the usual (albeit misleading) message to say; "this website appears to be offline", or something to that effect.

Anyway, that minor issue aside - blocking X websites this way is not suitable or a solution to my problem, as I only have the option to allow "one trusted IP" through this firewall setting, meaning all other devices on my network are also blocked.

It doesn't appear that from my router settings, there is a way to identify one solitary IP or MAC address and then apply website blocks solely to that address?

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[carnageX]

Sounds like you need a new router with more advanced settings, or a hardware firewall (which, unless you keep locked up with the other networking devices like modem/router, it could just be easily unplugged and bypassed).

Tried looking, and your router doesn't officially support any custom firmwares either (like DD-WRT).

 

[The.King]

Thanks again for the further reply. From what I understood a few months ago when making the purchase, the Netgear WNDR4500v2 router (N900-WiFi Dual Band Gigabit Router-Premium Edition) was fairly advanced and certainly overkill for what I needed. It handles all of my traffic and copes flawlessly with my Smarthomes (Control4) system. Ok, it's not 802.11ac like the Nighthawk or got a mega-fast processor or Beamforming - but that's hardly relevant at the current time for a multitude of valid reasons - like the number of attached devices, their capabilities, their backwards compatibility and the size of house in question.

I find it hard to believe that in the "information age", there are not 1000 different & simple ways to block an number of websites from one specific device on a network? We can somehow control equipment in deep space via satellites and share information on two devices simply by touching them together - but blocking a URL on a solitary laptop on a network and suddenly technology is back to the Mesopotamian age unless you have a router that is capable of flying commercial aircraft or something?

 

[carnageX]

Setting the rules at the router level is going to be the best way. You don't need a super-advanced/high-end router necessarily...just one with the security options you need. Heck, you could even just go find an old Linksys WRT54G, install DD-WRT custom firmware on it, and set that as a bridged network and do all your restrictions there.

Either that, or setup an Admin account on the 1 system, and create a limited user account with Windows Parental Controls enabled and/or K-9 installed on it.

Those are the easiest ways I can think of at the moment.

 

[The.King]

Hi,

Thanks again for the quick reply. Not really looking to get another router and/or reconfigure it for now - my Netgear is practically brand new.

Never ventured anywhere near Windows Parental Controls and/or whatever K-9 is either.

I'll play around with the advanced router settings I have now and see if I can come up with something. Thanks.

 

[carnageX]

Hi,

Thanks again for the quick reply. Not really looking to get another router and/or reconfigure it for now - my Netgear is practically brand new.

Your call - I was just giving you some of the better available options.

Another option I just thought of is OpenDNS (though I don't believe is has a way to only block 1 system...can't remember for sure):
https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/parental-controls/

Never ventured anywhere near Windows Parental Controls and/or whatever K-9 is either.

K-9 is like Parental Controls except 3rd party software that has a multitude of config options.

I'll play around with the advanced router settings I have now and see if I can come up with something. Thanks.

From what I looked at in your router's manual, there isn't a way to block 1 computer - it's just like you said, block all except 1 (which IMO is a stupid design).