can I block someone's wifi access to certain sites

Question

Level 1

8 points

can I block someone's wifi access to certain sites

I already have my child on timed access control. It has been helpful to neutrally set a limit. however, whilst doing homework, my child is watching tv shows on hulu and facebooking etc. We have gone back and forth about not doing this..consequences etc. the school is a wired school, so I can't take her computer away but I woud like to just simply block her access to facebook, etc. but I cann't do this on her computer because the school is the admin.

She accesses the internet via our airport extreme through wifi. Can I block (or add to the time access control) sites that she cannot access online via wifi so while she is studying between 7-10pm, can I somehow block facebook, etc. so she cannot access the site during that time? I would like to be able to do this somehow through the airport utility on our main computer just as the timed acces control is set?

thank you

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5), airport extreme 4th gen A1354

Posted on Mar 10, 2013 8:44 PM

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Answer 1

edex67

Level 4

3,255 points

Mar 11, 2013 12:59 AM in response to SallyTung

You can't do this. Is the laptop a Mac and do you have admin access?

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Answer 2

HossBud

Level 1

15 points

Mar 14, 2013 8:14 PM in response to SallyTung

I use a service called OpenDNS, it's free and you can set it up to block access to specific sites that you choose or categories of sites. The site list is community based, so it's not perfect, but it is the best solution I've found. They have instructions on how to set up your Airport to use the OpenDNS servers. Once the Airport is set with the OpenDNS servers, no user on the network can access a blocked site, so that will prevent you from going to them unless you specify a different DNS server on your machine to bypass the Airport configured DNS. I use 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2, which are Level3's servers, I think, and they are the fastest in my area.

I'll add this caveat though, it's not perfect, and if your child really wants to get somewhere on the internet, they'll eventually find a way if they're smart! 🙂 The fact your kid doesn't have admin rights is good, though, it makes it a lot harder to get around it.

hope this helps!

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