Checking Visited Websites On Bt Router Is It Possible?

[sare^baw's]

I have the latest BT Hub router so is it possible to check the websites being visited by someone on their smartphone? I just want to check what sites my daughter visits. I dont want to enable parental controls as that will just make my life difficult.

If i cant do this on the BT router can i replace it with one that can do this?

 

[sare^baw's]

No. You can replace the router and use something like OpenDNS VIP Home, but that really only works nicely with a static IP.
Not sure what routers have the features you're after built into them.

Ok thanks for your reply anyway.

You can replace the router or augment your network with something else.

Cheapest way I can think of is to put a Raspberry Pi loaded with PiHole on your LAN, turn off DHCP on your HH and let the PiHole be the DHCP server as well. As a nice aside you'll get network wide ad blocking and the PiHole query logs will show which IP address accessed what URLs.

PiHole would also be able to network wide block sites you didn't like the look of your daughter surfing. It also does this without big scary messages to your daughter - it just won't load the site no matter where she tries from ( her phone, laptop, friend's phone, Dad's PC etc.)

This sounds very interesting but complicated. I know nothing about the rasberry pi, is it something i can configure myself quite easily to do what you suggest? I do like the idea idea of the network wide adblocking too.

Actually on second thoughts it's not going to quite do what you want. You'll be able to see the domains she's going to but not the URLs. That may be enough for you but only you'd know that.

Replacing your HH with a home made pfSense router with the ntopng plugin is going to do all you need and more, but it requires some decent networking knowledge and you'd need a wireless access point as well. Not sure if £250 and the hassle is worth it for you.

Others on here may be able to advise on some of the good open source firmwares that can be installed on cheaper consumer routers and might be able to do it. I'm not familiar with them.

Yes the domains should be fine, this would give me a gerneral idea of what sites she is visiting although not the actual pages, is that correct?

I dont have great networking knowledge and the £250 is a bit too much on this occasion. £100 maybe is ok but not £250.

 

[sare^baw's]

Sounds good. I should be able to tackle this if i do a little research on the subject and watch the youtube videos. Thanks to you for being so helpful, it does not sound impossible for me. Would i just plug the raspberry pi into a monitor or tv and connect it to my router via a Ethernet cable?

 

[sare^baw's]

No need for a display, you can do everything you need via SSH. I recommend Putty as a good SSH client.

Is putty similar to teamviewer which I currently use? Would I set the Pi up with a monitor and once configured use Putty to control it?

 

[sare^baw's]

Lol the call centre monkeys will not have access to this information. Not gonna happen.

Plus by the sounds of it, sounds like OP Just wants to spy on his kids/family anyway. Make sure they aren't on anything naughty I imagine, so wants to regularly check.

Spying is fun but your right, trying to get the info off bt would not be a practical solution.

Set it up with a monitor. Then run it headless and all configuration is done via a web browser. PiHole includes a built in web server and a nice interface you can use to manage it from any PC or tablet/phone on your network.

Ok great info and thanks, i had a look at a setting up video on youtube and it looks easy enough. So ill probably order one in the next week or so.

Putty is an SSH & Telnet client. It allows you to control the Pi using a Command Line Interface. I've never used PiHole (I use Squidguard) so I'm unsure as to whether you would need a full GUI to control it or if a CLI would suffice.

I dont honestly know at this moment, im going to but the Pi and throw myself into the deep end, once i have it here i can fathom it out using the internet guides and the hep given here. Let the spying commence

 

[sare^baw's]

Where is the best place to buy a Pi? Is ebay a bad idea as im concerned about buying a fake. Should i get the starter kit with the case and charger, is there anything else i will need? I have a usb mouse and keyboard.

 

[sare^baw's]

https://thepihut.com/collections/raspberry-pi-kits-and-bundles/products/raspberry-pi-3-starter-kit

Many thanks for that mate it certainly looks better value than the other site listed on the raspberrypi website. Ill order tomorrow, this gives me what i need in an easy bundle.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/

Two distributors are listed.

Cheers for that mate, rs do seem a tad expensive, the other distributer just sells tshirts and stuff, not the actual device.

 

[sare^baw's]

and hardware.

It'll show up after you click through.

Are you talking about the SWAG site, it does not have the actual Raspberry Pi that i can see, just tshirts and magazines.

 

[sare^baw's]

nothing there

 

[sare^baw's]

Couldn't you just run wireshark off the router and filter the results for her phone?

I have no idea what wireshark is or how it works, do you know much about it?

 

[sare^baw's]

@RoyMi6 thanks for all the good info mate and confirming what is the best route for me. Can you tell me what the rainforrest is though? I do have a hdmi tv i can use to set up the Pi with. What would cause the 'access blocked' messages to appear when people are using the internet? Having an add free internet would be awesome too.

@APM Many thanks for posting the links for wireshark. It does seen a bit too complicated for me at this point. I think i can figure out how to configure the Pi. This is where my basic knowledge lets me down im afraid. Ill install it and see if its not as intimidating as it looks. Would i get the mac address of her phone from my router?

 

[sare^baw's]

The Rainforest = Amazon.co.uk

cheers, searching did not enlighten me

Yes,your router should be able to tell you what devices are connected and what their MAC addresses are.

Ok many thanks, i installed Wireshark, its quite confusing, i will have a little play with it and see how i get on, if i dont get anywhere ill order my Pi from the rainforest

 

[sare^baw's]

Wireshark was completely baffling for me,then after some random messing about it clicked into place and I could use it.

The power of that tool is astonishing though and it's one that's worth getting to know.

Have a look at the filter options and see if that narrows things down for you.

Many thanks, there is also some tutorials on youtube which will maybe help me, reading things can sometimes seem too complicated but video tutorials can make it easier.

 

[sare^baw's]

Wireshark was completely baffling for me,then after some random messing about it clicked into place and I could use it.

The power of that tool is astonishing though and it's one that's worth getting to know.

Have a look at the filter options and see if that narrows things down for you.

Do you know how i can add my daughters iphone to wireshark, i have searched for this but everything seems to suggest getting the traffic routed through your pc like the Raspberry Pi idea. I have opened wireshark and found how to look for http packets and look at the info, the host usually says which website this was. Will i get the same info from an iphone or do they use different protocols for apps and browser?

I might well buy the Raspberry Pi anyway as i like the idea of an advert free internet.

 

[sare^baw's]

Cheers for the reply and help. So far im not having much luck. The mac address shown on my router settings foor the iphone does not seem to match anything in the results in wireshark. There is a Sagecom device listed and i dont know if that is her device or not.

 

[sare^baw's]

@RoyMi6 From what you have said it looks like this is getting too complicated for someone like me, the reading and understanding of packets is very challenging. Also it looks like my router is not really suitable as well. I have took your advice and of the others earlier in the thread and order the Raspberry Pi 3 starter kit from the rainforrest, it was £47 for the 16bg model i bought and £46 for the 8gb. Hopefully setting this up with Pihole will be easier for me and there is plenty of info on youtube too.

 

[sare^baw's]

@RoyMi6 What an brilliant informative post, i wish i could buy you copious amount of beer dear sir. This explains things very well so when my Pi turns up i can get to work and hope nobody is needing the internet, i also have unlimited data on my phone so f i get any problems i can tether my laptop to my mobile. I also already have ad-blockers too. I cant really ask anything more at this moment because i will understand it easier once i have my Pi in front of me. Its all very exciting Many thanks Roy, i think you will get an award for the biggest reply ever ha ha