Router with parental controls

[jhob]

A friend of ours is having issues with their daughter accessing inappropriate material on the web (suicide/self harm related) and is keen to block access to these sites as best they can and has asked for my help in doing so.

My first thought was that getting a router where you can set up device-level access controls would be the best bet.  I'd be interested if anyone could either recommend routers that serve this purpose well, or other solutions that could be implemented.

[jsabine]

A friend of ours is having issues with their daughter accessing inappropriate material on the web (suicide/self harm related) and is keen to block access to these sites as best they can and has asked for my help in doing so.

Strikes me that if she's looking at this sort of stuff, she's pretty troubled, and while I'm sure (well, I hope) that they are looking into ways of ensuring she has appropriate support, trying to stop her accessing material like this - that she may well be drawing some comfort from, however perverse it seems - risks being entirely counter-productive.

Even if you accept the concept of 'inappropriate' material, which I have some difficulty with in this sort of area, there's also the practical danger of blocking helpful and supportive material or services (Mind, NSHN, Papyrus, Samaritans, SupportLine - there are many others) because any sort of content filter is likely to throw a wobbly at them as well.

[jhob]

A friend of ours is having issues with their daughter accessing inappropriate material on the web (suicide/self harm related) and is keen to block access to these sites as best they can and has asked for my help in doing so.

Strikes me that if she's looking at this sort of stuff, she's pretty troubled, and while I'm sure (well, I hope) that they are looking into ways of ensuring she has appropriate support, trying to stop her accessing material like this - that she may well be drawing some comfort from, however perverse it seems - risks being entirely counter-productive.

Even if you accept the concept of 'inappropriate' material, which I have some difficulty with in this sort of area, there's also the practical danger of blocking helpful and supportive material or services (Mind, NSHN, Papyrus, Samaritans, SupportLine - there are many others) because any sort of content filter is likely to throw a wobbly at them as well.

This is a last resort solution - she's been self-harming, spent most of last year off school, is actively receiving counselling etc.  This school year she has been much better but has recently had a bit of a wobble which is when her parents discovered quite what she'd been viewing.  It's self-harm/suicide promoting instagram, blogs etc that they are most concerned about.

[mrcharly-YHT]

If they are trying to block instagram, then they will have to block pretty much everything.

Instead of blocking, might be better to try active encouragement to engage with groups like the ones suggested by jsabine.

[Kim]

When I was a troubled teen, access to LGBT stuff on FidoNet / the Internet is probably the main thing that kept me from suicide.

Blocking access isn't the answer, unless you want to either:  a) exacerbate their issues  or  b) give them a crash course in black-hat networking techniques.  Tread carefully, and consider that the family (your friend) may be part of the underlying problem.


This isn't a Ctrl-Alt-Del question, IMHO.

[Afasoas]

There are issues trying to block content, depending on how it's implemented.

1) blacklisting

You can try blacklisting sites, however trying to produce a comprehensive blacklist could prove to be arduous and would have to include every on-line proxy. Keeping it current would prove to be a total PITA.

2) category/content filtering

There are more dynamic ways of blocking websites based on their actual content. There are several ways of implementing this, but it's all a bit involved and probably almost nigh on impossible for websites viewed over HTTPs connections. This type of filtering also tends to be over-zealous too, blocking legitimate content.




I would worry that any action of censorship would probably compound the situation. I feel that the parents probably need a more traditional approach. At the most, I would suggest using a firewall that would allow the parents to record details of the websites the young lady in question visits.

[jhob]

When I was a troubled teen, access to LGBT stuff on FidoNet / the Internet is probably the main thing that kept me from suicide.

Blocking access isn't the answer, unless you want to either:  a) exacerbate their issues  or  b) give them a crash course in black-hat networking techniques.  Tread carefully, and consider that the family (your friend) may be part of the underlying problem.

This isn't a Ctrl-Alt-Del question, IMHO.

I think the distinction is between material that may cause further harm as opposed to that which could be used more in a supportive context.  That's clearly not a black line but a very grey one.  I absolutely agree it's not a ctrl-alt-delete question.

I can understand why they would want to filter out extreme, unfiltered, content, or at least make it harder to get at.

He says "No I'm sure we'll never stop her, but we have been very trusting - too trusting perhaps so we have to take control. Some of the stuff she has been looking at is hard for us to process, never mind a 13 year old."

I think part of is trying to better ensure that content is age appropriate.  As we all know the internet is home to extreme views from any subject you care to mention, much of it not suitable for children.  Much like films have an age rating on them, so too should some of the internet.

I really don't know the answer to a lot of this, it's not a problem my parents had to face when I was young and one that I have not yet had to face with my own kids who are currently still very young. 

[Biggsy]

Don't all young people these days own/share/borrow/steal a smartphone with mobile internet access?

[mrcharly-YHT]

yes - but that isn't the same as unfettered browsing for hours when sat at home.

[jhob]

Thanks for the responses everyone.  I have collated them and sent on to my friend.

[Tewdric]

Draytek routers (or some of them at least) offer a subscription filtering service.

[Jaded]

Get them to switch to BT.

BT routers seem to let through almost nothing...

[fuaran]

Another option is Open DNS.  You should be able to set most routers to use that. They have a basic filtering service for free, or you can pay if you want more customisation.