Linksys WAG320N: How do we block my sister from accessing the internet at night?

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Hey

We are pleased with out Linksys WAG320N so far. The signal seems good and the software has a lot more features than the Netgear we trialled.

One feature we wish to use is the 'access restriction' facility to regulate the internet. My 15-year-old sister is staying up to 2-3am on Facebook each night, which is clearly not good for school - so we need to stop access after 2130.

The Internet Access Restriction page seems a little complicated. I assumed it would have a list of computers with a drop-down box, but it seems I need to type in MAC and IP addresses.

Here is a screenshot. The window on the right is the 'Edit List of Computers' box that appears when the respective button on the left is clicked.

What information do I need to put in to these boxes to stop internet access to my sister's PC after 2130 - and how do I find it?

RestrictionScreenshot.jpg
 
I fear you are correct about her using it on her phone - although am confident she will not figure out how to use the router. Seperately, when she gets her iPod touch back I'll have to ban that too.

Only having the phone available is a far less attractive option though - so I'd definitely like to work this out please!
 
It's probably best to filter by MAC as an IP address can change with DHCP and is easily changed if static.

So, find the MAC address of her wireless adaptor by opening a command prompt and typing ' ipconfig /all ' . The MAC will show as 'physical address'.

Copy this MAC to the restrictions list on the router page, put www.facebook.com in to the URL field then set to 'Deny' or 'Allow' and set your times.
 
It's probably best to filter by MAC as an IP address can change with DHCP and is easily changed if static.

So, find the MAC address of her wireless adaptor by opening a command prompt and typing ' ipconfig /all ' . The MAC will show as 'physical address'.

Copy this MAC to the restrictions list on the router page, put www.facebook.com in to the URL field then set to 'Deny' or 'Allow' and set your times.

He'll be best off just shutting the net off completely as I cant imagine its too difficult for a proxy to fool the router
 
Some prevention is better than nothing, if she's determined to get past the filter then fine but that's Alex's lookout isn't it, I'm just helping with the OP question.
 
Thanks guys. If possible, then I'd like to lock out the whole internet please - I'm quite sure the Jack Wills website is more then capable of entertaining her too!

She really isn't too hot on the internet. She's fine with web browsing etc. but I really can't see her having any idea about router login - just having a password she doesn't know should be more than enough.

So do I have to run ip config/all on her laptop? If not, how do I know which is hers? (We have many computers).

Once I have her MAC address, how do I configure to block the whole internet?

Many thanks - my mum will really appreciate getting this sorted out!
 
If her computer has a name set up to show on the network something along the lines of "sisters name" pc then you maybe able to find her MAC address in the routers list of connected clients, although I'm not sure where it would be on this perticular model so it'l probably be easier to run ip config /all on her laptop to get it.
Once youve got it put it in the MAC 01 box and hit save then on the access restriction page.
keep all the settings as they are apart from the times click the from-to radio button then input the times you dont want her on the web i.e from 2130 till 0900
 
Great seems to work perfectly. I snuck her laptop out to test whilst she was cooking. I set it to kick in earlier today and it meant no web-pages would load - as soon as I changed the time to 2200 it worked - and I left it at that.

I just had her run at me squarking and scratching when she found out, with the classic line "It's so unfair!"

Just to check, will she still be able to access computers on our network? I have a shared folder of movies on my PC I don't mind her watching after 2200, as (from experience) they tend to make me fall asleep.

Thanks very much for the help. It's not the single thing that will help her do better in GCSEs, but it's surely a help.
 
10pm is a bit harsh?

Just put a cutoff when she should be asleep. 10pm for a 15-16 year old is a bit early.

I had to do a similar thing for someone (13yr old who went to sleep anywhere from 1am to 2am even on school nights) and put a cutoff at midnight. Lo and behold, they started going to sleep around 11.30 getting at least the minimum 6 hrs of sleep they need. Simple MAC address filtering is perfect for preventing ipods/phones and it requires a bit of effort to get around it on laptops/computers.

Rather than antagonising your sister, you should have sat down with her to come up with a reasonable time.
 
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10pm is a bit harsh?

Just put a cutoff when she should be asleep. 10pm for a 15-16 year old is a bit early.

I had to do a similar thing for someone (13yr old who went to sleep anywhere from 1am to 2am even on school nights) and put a cutoff at midnight. Lo and behold, they started going to sleep around 11.30 getting at least the minimum 6 hrs of sleep they need. Simple MAC address filtering is perfect for preventing ipods/phones and it requires a bit of effort to get around it on laptops/computers.

Rather than antagonising your sister, you should have sat down with her to come up with a reasonable time.

What if she has to be up at 6am for travel to school etc.? I agree they should have consulted the time however...
 
10pm is a bit harsh?

Just put a cutoff when she should be asleep. 10pm for a 15-16 year old is a bit early.

I had to do a similar thing for someone (13yr old who went to sleep anywhere from 1am to 2am even on school nights) and put a cutoff at midnight. Lo and behold, they started going to sleep around 11.30 getting at least the minimum 6 hrs of sleep they need. Simple MAC address filtering is perfect for preventing ipods/phones and it requires a bit of effort to get around it on laptops/computers.

Rather than antagonising your sister, you should have sat down with her to come up with a reasonable time.

Hey. She has to be up by 0700 latest for school; and I know she'll use Facebook right up until the last minute it's on. Most importantly, browsing does tend to keep you awake - if she stopped using it at 1200 then she may not be asleep until 0100. Eight hours sleep is what is more healthy for someone her age.

We don't expect her to sleep at 2200. The idea is that if it turns off at that time, then she can pack her bag for school and perhaps stick a movie on - being asleep by midnight. I know movies knock me out quickly - whereas browsing keeps me awake for hours.

She has problems with dyslexia at school anyway and tends to get ill fairly often, so I think going to be early is particularly important for her. I know she's angry now, but think this is going to be very beneficial - and is far easier to enforce than demanding her laptop back every night.

Reasoning with her would be an ideal situation, but she is very much in the unreasonable teenager stage currently - so a few firm systems like this seem good.
 
yer all young girls know how to do that....

Most school kids do as its exactly how theyl try and get round school filters, they probably wont understand how it works but if their mate says it does theyl try it
 
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