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Netgear Live Parental Controls

barnyandpippa
Rising Star
Posts: 106
Thanks: 6
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎05-10-2007

Netgear Live Parental Controls

I've just set up my new Netgear WNR3500v2 router, supplied by PlusNet with the Live Parental Controls feature.
According to the video and to Netgear support, you can set up a high default level of content filtering and then have "bypass accounts" to allow specific users greater unfiltered access. Sounds great. The bypass accounts are indeed easy to set up BUT there is no way to log in and use them!
The knowledge base refers to logging in through a "user utility" but the only software that can be downloaded from Netgear is the Management Utility, which doesn't let you change users.
According to the installation tutorial, to install the User Utility, you just click on it - but as it isn't on the CD with the router or the Netgear or opendns websites, I don't know where to point the mouse!
Has anybody ever found the download location for the user utility?
6 REPLIES 6
Bigtime
Newbie
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎11-01-2008

Re: Netgear Live Parental Controls

This may help if you cannot get a solution
http://forum1.netgear.com/member.php?s=4b3ee8e874408e8e775469d7ace6dca8&u=8616
Regards Barry King
barnyandpippa
Rising Star
Posts: 106
Thanks: 6
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎05-10-2007

Re: Netgear Live Parental Controls

Thanks Barry,
I'll give that a try if nobody here has a solution.
barnyandpippa
Rising Star
Posts: 106
Thanks: 6
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎05-10-2007

Re: Netgear Live Parental Controls

I solved this elsewhere but in case anyone else has the same problem, you can download the User Utility in the page where you create new bypass accounts.
aclow
Dabbler
Posts: 11
Registered: ‎05-08-2008

Re: Netgear Live Parental Controls

I had trouble running the Live Parental Controls Management Utility, but NETGEAR Genie http://www.netgear.com/landing/en-us/netgear-genie.aspx works beautifully for me.
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Netgear Live Parental Controls

I think this form of parental control works by assigning particular DNS servers (provided by OpenDNS) where parental controls are required.  As such, any child who is tech. savvy (or who has a tech. savvy friend) can bypass the controls by setting a public DNS server on their device and their parents will remain completely unaware of this.     
aclow
Dabbler
Posts: 11
Registered: ‎05-08-2008

Re: Netgear Live Parental Controls

[That's the way plain OpenDNS works, and you're right, plain OpenDNS is very much open to that exploit, BUT....]
Live Parental Controls (which I've recently installed) is more secure.
It messes with the internal workings of the router, and setting your own DNS servers on your device doesn't bypass it. (I tested on windows XP and on an iPod touch.)
As far as I can tell, ALL traffic via the router is filtered, no matter what you do to your DNS settings on a local machine.
The vulnerabilities I can see with this are just:
1. Factory reset of router using the hardware. I can't get round this one, but I can hide my config backup where children can't get it so they can't restore it to previous working and I'll spot it, because of the way my network is set up - in particular, wireless will stop working on all my devices.
2. Accessing the internet elsehow, eg data contract on a mobile (not on the cards for my children anytime soon) or nearby insecure wireless network. For example, my neighbours are with BT, so there's an OpenZone hotspot nearby, and savvy children could discover an openzone username and password online I'm sure. There's just not a lot I can do about that unless I want to start giving tech support to my neighbours.
(3. Stupidly easy password on router or allowing children admin rights on the PC where my config backup is. Easy to plug!)