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Need to monitor son's internet activity
- Thread starter mrmatthew
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and this is why kids do still whatever they want to do because parents do not know how to configure their devices properly to stop accessing website/bypassing dns in a minute. just using a simply restriction by adding dns address in your router is a good example. that isnt enough. only using dns isnt restricting anything unless you configure your router and e.g. firewall rules which needs more technical knowledge - like forwarding any other dns reguests and blocking other ip addresses. if you are going to restrict web surfing/accessing, you have to prepare educate yourself.
i still believe parents should guide kids rather than trying restrict everything and monitoring them.
This might have been said already, but I doubt your son is clearing browser history every time he clicks a new link. If he is actually visiting websites you don't approve of, he's most likely using private browsing, which wouldn't show up in the browser history.
I have no solution to your problem, though.
I have no solution to your problem, though.
Sounds like a great product, only problem is: its made by Symantec.
There maybe trouble ahead...
The downside is that changing the DNS might make the internet slower. I don't know similar services that can do the same, but be advised this can happen. Of course you need to do this in the router, since if you only do in the device the user can easily change it back. All devices using the wi-fi signal use the DNS configured by the router, and that means you need to change the router's password to prevent unauthorized access, too.
My router can be accessed from 192.168.1.1.
Moral support is nice, but I think OP wanted practical advice. Could you post how you do this?
not enough unless you can block other requests in your router.
put that "safe" dns to your router and try to access some site that is restricted. you cant access them, right? so it works as intended?
next, go to your network settings (wifi settings, in your computer, tcp/ipv4), change the dns to 8.8.8.8 , second one 8.8.4.4 for example. (those belongs to google.) Boot your computer if necessary. can you now enter the same site that was earlier restricted? if not, try some other free dns settings. the thing is that the end client can bypass the routers dns. (this doesnt work IF your router can be configured to block other dns requests.)
then there is always e.g. Tor browser or LiveUSB which both can be run from the usb stick.
Why do you monitor your wife... that's a bit weird...
There is a thing called privacy.
Very true and I have no doubt that savvy 14 year old would find about the Google DNS workaround.
Because... some things are alright and some things are not alright. In my opinion, tracking and monitoring your own wife isn't alright.
Even if she says yes, it's still a bit weird to me.
And she can be saying that and doing things out of the scope of your monitoring. I don't think there's a way to really monitor someone once that someone already knows you are doing.
For instance, assume you want to know what I am typing here in my PC. If you say you have put a keylogger in it, I can simply find a way to circumvent it or use another device (unlikely, but possible - I can use the computer from my work) to do things you won't ever suspect. It's a bit naive to act this way, specially with women, that are known to lie all the time about pretty much everything.
You mentioned it on a public forum, hence everyone now has the right to comment on it.
Take security from another point of view. With restrictions you can define the sites that are allowed for view. Rather than allowing everything up front.
Agreed. From a sysadmin's perspective (which you would essentially be), instead of having a "Allow all, then deny from" rule, reverse it; Deny all, then allow some. If there are any sites that the child needs to get to that aren't allowed, he'll have to come to you and ask.
BL.
To block or to monitor, that is the question. To monitor only the solutions are few (like Wireshark mentioned). To block, good luck with that. Having raised a child at the height of the Internet Explosion (She's 21 now so she can do whatever she wants) and being a rather accomplished tech director during that time, well, to quote Dr. Malcolm in Jurassic Park, "Nature finds a way".
you're 100% correct. If it works for you 2, who says you're right or wrong? Don't let anyone say you're wrong on how your marriage is.
For all you people who think this is "creepy", it's none of your business. Besides, if ANYONE uses Family Sharing, you would know everyone in the family is on Find My Friends. My wife can see where I am anytime she wants, and I don't care at all. Why? We are a team, she's my life, and I couldn't care less what she knows about me. Marriage shouldn't be hiding stuff anyways. She doesn't care if I know too, what do we have to hide? Oh, she has access to all my passwords... OMG the horror.! I also have hers, and not once have I felt like I needed to use them.
One thing I have learned from past person experience and friends, the ones who think it's privacy were the ones who were doing crap they shouldn't be doing. Ever. Single. One.
Now to help the OP:
On iOS, it's not as easy. When my daughter was young and had an iPod Touch, I actually blocked her from safari because she was young under the restrictions. After that, I've tried apps (in think one was McGruff or something?) and I was able to control what sites she couldn't go on. Safari was still blocked, but that web browser was great, but not sure if they still have it.
Now with sharing an Apple ID, I've heard more horror stored due to this. The "oops the wrong family member got that message", if my daughter saw what my wife and talk about, the poor kid would be in therapy hahaha. I would set up the family sharing. You can also make an Apple ID for a kids though iCloud. This way you can make it so you need to approve all apps the child wants.
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There is the easy way, costs some money; and the hard way, costs a little bit less, but requires a lot of reading and you must still purchase and build an appliance
1) Give him his own AppleID. ( why wouldn't you? Just add his account to the family ).
2) Purchase pfSense Appliance https://store.pfsense.org/SG-2220/
3) Install LightSquid
Google pfSense and LightSquid monitoring. You will have l33t intranet powers. Show him what you are doing, let him learn, it may provide a pretty good paying job someday.
While I agree mostly with everything you've said, I believe what everyone is trying to bring up isn't a creepy or privacy issue, but an issue of trust.
As we all know that every marriage let alone any relationship is built on trust; and while you are right that it isn't anyone's right to judge anyone's relationship, it does call into scrutiny the level of trust one has for another. If it is that one person doesn't believe and trust in the trust that that relationship is built in that they have to monitor the other, that does say a lot.
Again, no judgement passed, but instead a reminder that trust is a must in any relationship.
BL.