What consumer aimed router has the best parental controls?

[Mahaguru]

I am aware of Netgear with circle, and TP-link. I only have experience with TP-link routers, but for circle I have read reviews.

My requirements are simple.

1) Block by mac address (not IP)
2) Set time schedules
3) Be controllable by an app, rather than having to login to the GUI
4) Not easy to bypass (reseting the router should not clear the blocked MAC list)

I thought my TP-link had it all, but seems like if you block a device, but the connected device gets a new IP, it can access the internet.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Stupid question, but I feel the need to ask since I'm going to in this position in the distant future...

What is the point of router cobtrols... unless you take up their cell phone every night as well?

 

[Ketchup]

I really like the Netgear integration of openDNS, but after the untimely demise of my last two Netgear routers, I switched to Tp-link. You can use openDNS with Tp-link routers, but this requires additional manual steps (which are listed on the openDNS site).

 

[Mahaguru]

Stupid question, but I feel the need to ask since I'm going to in this position in the distant future...

What is the point of router cobtrols... unless you take up their cell phone every night as well?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Well, my kids are too young for cell phones. So it's wifi only ipad for them, or a computer in the living room. It used to be that they would share ipad for an hour or so. Then they figured out that they can get up really early and get on the ipad. Ok so then the obvious solution, put the ipad on the top shelf at night. So they got a step ladder....

They are good kids (6 and 9), and haven't had to worry. It became kind of a joke now, I hide it, they find it. So recently the ipad fell and cracked. So no ipad for them for three weeks, I was putting off getting the screen fixed. Well in those three weeks, I found them reading, playing random board games, arguing to go in the back yard even though there are ants there, running around and all that. Ipad is one form of entertainment, I don't want it to become the only form of entertainment. I see it all around me.

Regarding cell phones, when the time comes, we will see how to deal with that.

My philosophy is, if you are not bored, you wont do anything creative. Looking back, I got stuck a few times at my grandma for an extended period. Grainy OTA tv only with no remote.. yeah did a lot of reading and stuff. Got so bored, I was reading old Archie comics! That Archie, him was a playa.

 

[sdifox]

No one builds router that cannot be factory reset.

 

[mikeymikec]

No one builds router that cannot be factory reset.

However, given that ISPs in the UK routinely send out pre-configured routers that if factory-reset go back to the ISP configuration, it could be worth the OP's while to look into flashing the router's factory image with their own? I have no idea, I've never tried it.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Notwithstanding the above concerns about resetting (resets work because they're resets) I'm pretty sure Ubiquiti Unify does all of the above and more.

 

[mxnerd]

The only way to prevent resetting a router is to lock it in a wooden closet.

 

[bfun_x1]

Consumer routers aren't that great at web filtering. An inline devices between the modem and router is best but also more expensive and complicated. I set up a Sophos UTM box at my house. I paid about $230 for a fanless quad core Celeron mini PC and the software is free. It also provides the benefit of inline IPS for everything on your network.

 

[Rifter]

The only way to prevent resetting a router is to lock it in a wooden closet.

Buddy of mine 3d printed a new enclosure for his router and moved the board/antenna into it with a fake reset button to screw with his kids, all the reset button does it trigger a hidden cam also in the enclosure so he knows which kid is trying to reset the router.

 

[Kristi2k]

Check out the Synology routers. https://www.synology.com/en-us/solution/AirPort_replacement

 

[Pulsar]

My solution was a nighthawk router with 2 bands. Different passwords. The kid's band is scheduled, the parent's band is always on. That stops the whole rush-to-the-device thing, or even the sneak it to bed thing. I use a free family-friendly DNS that does filtering. I use dd-wrt on the router with keyword filtering. Of course this filters both the parents band and the kids band. That plus the DNS gets 80 to 90% of the nasty stuff. But once they get old enough to get really inventive, you might as well quit. My 14 year old installed a free vpn on his browser to get around all the blocks. The kids in his school host porn videos on their google drives to get around it. So how far are you going to take it? Prevent all app installs? etc etc.

 

[Burner27]

I know it's not a 'consumer level' router, but to get the features I wanted, I use a Meraki MX64 router with an MR33 WAP. I created separate SSIDs for the parents and the kids. The kids' SSID has layer 3 & 7 filtering on it, time restrictions and bandwidth control. The parent's SSID is wide open. When they are hardwired via PC, I have a separate policy set in place for their machines via the MX64. I set their IP address to static and authentication is done by Meraki splash page using that and their MAC address. If they try to change their IP address (they cant as I took away admin rights to their boxes, but you know how kids are...) the policy will still look at their MAC address and force the splash screen authentication. Their policy has similar restrictions to their wireless one. Parents are 'whitelisted' and do not get the Meraki splash page to enter credentials. Just goes straight to internet.


The trade off is Meraki = $$$ and you have to renew it ($$$) I got my setup from attending a webinar from Meraki. So we'll see in a few years when my licenses expire how much it'll be to keep this going. By then my kids will be older and I wont have to police them.

 

[PliotronX]

Buddy of mine 3d printed a new enclosure for his router and moved the board/antenna into it with a fake reset button to screw with his kids, all the reset button does it trigger a hidden cam also in the enclosure so he knows which kid is trying to reset the router.

I love this so much

 

[VirtualLarry]

No one builds router that cannot be factory reset.

Verizon does. Got one here, ordered off of ebay, Verizon firmware, cannot log in, cannot access router settings via TR-069 head-end, cannot factory reset (does nothing).

If I recall the VZ router firmware settings, that's not too hard to do, if you're a "network wiz":
1) set a different password for admin account, other than what's on the sticker.
2) block the TR-069 port on the firewall.
3) change the "Reset Button Action", to "Do Nothing", or something OTHER than "Factory Reset". (Yes, in all stupidity, VZ lets you do this. Tomato does do.)

If you think that you have SkillZ, and can Factory Reset it, let me know, I'll send it to you. I've tried the Factory Reset instructions in the manual, as well as a so-called 30/30/30 reset. No dice.

Edit: Ok, the offer is off of the table. After posting the above, I decided to give it another go, trying to factory reset this darn VZ G1100 router, and I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

What was really happening, I guess, is that it WAS resetting, but due to me using Firefox Nightly, it was going directly to the Login screen, and NOT accepting the password on the label.

I tried using IE8 (or was it IE11) on this Windows 7 64-bit laptop, and it went to a sort of introductory thing, like "Let's set up this router". Quite a difference the browser makes!

Once set up with IE, I logged off, closed IE, and then I was finally able to Login with Firefox. Weirdness.

Bad firmware coding, to be so dependent on Windows-based browsers? What if I were a Linux user, and didn't have a Windows box with IE handy?

Strangely, though, the replacement router that I got from the same ebay vendor, when I told him I couldn't reset or login to the router he sent, he had another one sent, and that one worked fine with Firefox. Again. Really weird. And I'm glad that I turned out to be wrong. I've got a second G1100 router.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Fortigate. One of the kids was messing around on the internet instead of doing his chores, right from my iphone I was able to select his IP address and ban it from internet access I can set permabann or timed bans. Its like an internet remote control, so satisfying to be able to do this

Anyhow the app can control all aspects. you can reserve the IP addresses the fortigate hands out and it will not lose the reservation etc.. you can do timed policies etc.. You can get the 30E with 3 years subscription to all the features (Web Filtering, Application control, Shaping, IPS, Virus scanning, traffic shaping etc..) for 800-863 dollars. There is no reset button. For an extra 200 dollars you can get the DoD rated version that has a non explosive thermite charge that will initiate on tamper attempts

 

[VirtualLarry]

For an extra 200 dollars you can get the DoD rated version that has a non explosive thermite charge that will initiate on tamper attempts

Now THAT ought to show those little buggers! Hands off the router, kids!