Question DNS, website blocking/logging & BT Home Hub query

[whackbangdeadly]

Morning.

I've been asked to help a mate out because 'you know computers'

They have a family member with a gambling issue and they want to be able to block a number of websites and enable some sort of logging where they can check what has been accessed over their router. I know this won't catch everything with free wifi all over the place and mobile phones etc but it will help them I'm told.

I've already enabled restrictions on this persons iPad and phone so they no longer have a browser or the ability to install apps, but they also have access to Windows laptops.

So, I'd like to use something like OpenDNS on their HomeHub but haven't done this before. What we don't want to do is have some blanket restriction that interferes with the rest of the families internet usage.

They'd like to be able to access a webpage or spreadsheet that shows the last week/day/whatever of router traffic so they can help this person help themselves.

Thanks

 

[whackbangdeadly]

Other help is being sought by the way so we don't need to go into all that here, thanks.

 

[cybershot]

There's a specific gambling category that you should be able to block from the BT user portal.

Blocking categories on Parental Controls | BT

Obviously this won't stop him from using a mobile phone as a hotspot to get around, if they want to gamble, they will, but as you've said, that's another discussion, just pointing out the obvious workarounds.

 

[cybershot]

As for the other stuff, You'd probably need to replace the router with one that can probably can be flashed with DD-WRT at the very least, if it doesn't do what you need out the box.

www.dd-wrt.com | Unleash Your Router

 

[whackbangdeadly]

Cheers for that - very helpful - I'll have a look at the BT blocking categories and test it out to see if it is up to the job. It looks like the easiest option.

I don't think they'll want to get a new router or flash the one they have but I'll run it past them and show them the info on dd-wrt.

 

[chandlerp]

Be aware that any DNS settings on your router will be bypassed in favour of any DNS settings on any device being used. Device DNS has priority.

 

[existentialist]

Be aware that any DNS settings on your router will be bypassed in favour of any DNS settings on any device being used. Device DNS has priority.

Unless you block DNS traffic from the LAN from going through the router. I imagine that's probably as simple as blocking all traffic on port 53 (assuming that doesn't stop the router itself from doing it)

 

[whackbangdeadly]

Be aware that any DNS settings on your router will be bypassed in favour of any DNS settings on any device being used. Device DNS has priority.

Unless you block DNS traffic from the LAN from going through the router. I imagine that's probably as simple as blocking all traffic on port 53 (assuming that doesn't stop the router itself from doing it)

Sorry - I don't know what these responses mean - could you dumb it down for me when you get a moment?

 

[existentialist]

Sorry - I don't know what these responses mean - could you dumb it down for me when you get a moment?

It's one of those things where, if it needs to be explained, you probably don't need to know - I was responding to chandlerp.

But the point's a good one: there are things that you can do that can stop someone accessing particular sites, but if you are not careful about how you do them, you can end up thinking you've done a nice job on it only to later discover that there was an easy way around it.

In general terms, technological approaches to preventing people from doing things on the Internet are generally somewhat limited in scope - it doesn't take much to get round lots of them, which isn't surprising given that the whole premise on which the Internet was constructed was to "route around" difficulties. Obviously, if your person with a gambling problem is even less techie than you, you've got the advantage. But it's not always that simple - you could reasonably interpret the statement I made as saying "if someone knows how, they can bypass most things you might try to put in the way".

Taking my IT hat off for a moment, and replacing it with my psychological therapies one, what you may be setting up here is a contest - a situation where your person with a gambling problem is, effectively, being invited to take part in a game where he gets to find ways past your attempts to stop him accessing online gambling sites. This has two downsides: 1. his motivation to do so is almost certainly massively greater than your motivation to stop him (no matter how great your motivation - it's rational, his isn't); 2. it's now a game - any psychological benefit that might have been derived from creating a "no gamble zone" is almost certainly lost against the distracting influence of the "game" of getting past the restrictions imposed on him.

TBH, you'd be far better challenging his actual use of devices when he's with you - "Are you on a gambling site right now?", etc., challenging the actions, rather than trying to get tricksy with the tech.

Good on you for trying to help...just have a care as to how you do it, and what the limitations might be.