Plus Guard

[#1]

Can someone please tell me how to turn of Plus Guard.

I turned it on to investigate the features and I can't turn the thing off again.

There are no children with access to my computer and until I'm made to use such things by big brother I'd like it gone.

The Safe Guard page says it's turned off but it stops access still to various sites.

I've turned the router off and on a number of times but to no avail. When I try to turn Plus Guard off I get a message "there is a problem".

I even tried it with Safe Guard turned on and the various topics all set to allow but it still won't work.

Could it be because I'm using a non Plusnet router ?

All suggestions gratefully received.

Oldgeezer

[#2]

I believe that this works by changing the router's DNS servers so if it's not a Plusnet router you should be able to log into the router admin advanced settings and reset the primary and secondary DNS servers. The Google addresses are 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. There are many alternatives if you don't want to use Google. 

If you need more help then let us know which router you have.

[#3]

Thank you for that information Baldrick1, it worked a treat.

It has also had the bonus effect of speeding up my browsing.

Regards.

oldgeezer

[#4]

We're aware of an issue affecting certain customers that can lead to what's being observed here (ref: IMT-1927). As I understand it, engineers are looking into things.

A workaround is to change your DNS resolvers to Plusnet's defaults:

212.159.6.9
212.159.6.10
212.159.13.49
212.159.13.50

Or a third party's.

This is not easily achieved when using our Hub One though I'm afraid.

[#5]

That's a very serious flaw in a modem-router - locked down DNS addresses!

Luckily, I don't use a hub router.

Anyway, its trivial to select your own DNS addresses in Linux.

[#6]

Hi I have a similar problem. Everytime I try to change my PlusGuard settings it tells me ' sorry, we cannot save your changes, try again later' I have been trying for a few weeks now and the helpline say they have raised the issue with technical but still nothing happens.

I have been using the facility which allows you to unblock a category of website (solitaire game in my case) quite successfully for months and now thtahas stoppede working too. 

I have tried resetting the router a number of times but still no joy. Very frustrating!!

Cheers

Elaine

[#7]

31.185.158.232 This is my IP address. I have a PlusNet router the model number is 2704N PlusNet fttc how do I reset this model. Sorry for the size of text, I cannot alter it!

Moderator's note: Font size fixed.

[#8]

Yes unfortunately its due to Plusnets free cheepo router as its locked down , fortunately i have my own so it may be a option for yourself

[#9]

Your choices are:-

1. Check its not dependent on your IP address by switching the router off overnight & trying the next day.

2. Try using a Web proxy server - not sure whose DNS gets used here...

3. Try to borrow a non-Plusnet FTTC-capable router.

4. Buy a cheap? secondhand FTTC-capable router on fleabay.

OR

Booting from a free Linux DVD/USB, set the connection (wireless or ethernet) to use a non-Plusnet DNS address such as 1.1.1.1, using firefox to make the change to your Plusnet web page - which will hopefully become permanent. This option will not make changes to your hard disks etc.

[#10]

Why the need for Linux in your final suggestion? You can just as easily configure alternative DNS resolvers in the network adapter properties of a Windows machine

Edit: @rongtw FYI DNS *can* be changed on the 2704n.

[#11]

I remember Windows networking (only vaguely) from when I was working & forced to use the likes of NT4, 3.1, XP, 7.

It was totally horrible - you had to bind adaptors, protocols & some other stuff (which I forget) - it certainly wasn't plug & go.

I wonder if its been improved in the last few years?

[#12]

---

@VileReynard wrote:

I wonder if its been improved in the last few years?

Less than 10 clicks from the desktop, can be done quicker of course if you know what you're doing.

We're aware of an issue affecting certain customers that can lead to what's being observed here (ref: IMT-1927)

Our engineers have made some changes that we're hoping have helped.

@oldgeezer & @Staceybird, fancy giving things another go and letting me know how you get on?

---

[#13]

Thanks for the offer but my browsing has speeded up considerably since I used a non plusnet DNS server.

I am using a Netgear modem-router which allows to make the changes very quickly.

[#14]

@oldgeezer, understood but it would still be really helpful if you could confirm whether or not our changes have helped?

If our website says the service is currently disabled, you should re-enable it, and wait a couple of hours before disabling it again (this can be done without interrupting your current router configuration).

After a couple of hours, quickly swap the the non-Plusnet DNS addresses in your router with the following and check to see if anything's blocked (hopefully it won't be):

213.120.234.42
213.120.234.38

Obviously, you're free to flip back to your current resolvers once you've done this.

[#15]

It works! Many thanks to everyone who contributed and to the engineers who fixed it

Cheers