So, we have a young adult who’s moving to a new place and has admitted to spending way too much time gaming. They want some help limiting their internet access to work hours only. Our first thought was to set up a Spectrum account in our name, so we’d have control, and set up an on/off schedule. But the problem is that Spectrum’s parental controls only work at the device level, and apparently, this person can just change their IP address to get around it.
Does anyone here know of a way to control internet access remotely in a way that can’t be bypassed easily? I was even thinking about a lockable device on the cable line where it enters the house. Any ideas?
Yeah, but they’re on a Windows machine and can change the MAC address easily. We tried blocking it on our Eero network once, but pretty soon a ‘new device’ showed up.
@Adeline
You could do the reverse then. Whitelist only your devices and put theirs on a timer. Any new devices will automatically be blocked unless you whitelist them.
Reese said: @Adeline
You could do the reverse then. Whitelist only your devices and put theirs on a timer. Any new devices will automatically be blocked unless you whitelist them.
I work in IT, and there are a few options you could try.
If you’re willing to get some extra equipment, you could set up two WiFi networks. One could be scheduled to turn off and on (I know Unifi and Mikrotik access points can do this), and the other could stay on for smart devices only (smart home stuff like thermostats and speakers). He’d only know the password to the scheduled network, while you keep the always-on one.
Another idea is to use a firewall that can block online gaming servers, but it might not be perfect. And you’d still need to secure the router so he can’t directly connect to it.
Question for you though - does he want to block gaming completely, or just limit it? Turning off WiFi won’t stop him from playing local games or using his phone as a hotspot.
@Cody
Honestly, it might be like a person trying to stop drinking by locking up the beer. They’ll probably just find another way to get it. If he’s really serious about quitting, he might need to get rid of his smartphone and gaming PC altogether.
Well, that doesn’t change much if he’s asking for help with this. Here’s another option: Set up a guest network with a new password, and only give him access to that one. You keep the main network password private and control the guest network’s schedule.