how do I stop kids accessing my wireless network (sagem)

wonkycows

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Two of my kids are banned from the net (serious reasons for this). I've previously stopped their laptops accessing the net from the laptop end of things. But xmas has landed and so have ipods. Trouble is I don't know a thing about ios and I feel that I need to disable access from the router. Its a Sky sagem router and I've managed to get to the routers control page, but I'm not sure how to block these devices. Networks are not my strong point. Any advice would be useful before my kids get into trouble again. Help!!!!
 
Wouldn't it be easiest to set a password on the network and not tell the kids?
 
Just don't give them the wireless key. Problem solved. No need to bother blocking device or things like that.
 
If they don't already have the (current) wireless key, their iPods cannot connect to it. If they do have it, then you can just change it, and their iPods cannot connect to it.
 
Wouldn't it be easiest to set a password on the network and not tell the kids?[/QUOTE

Kids these days know loads. They've looked at the sky box and taken network key off the side of the box. I have many things connected to the router (xbox, phones, laptops, network receivers etc.) and was hoping for just a way to block these ipods without having to run through every network attached device I own. If it's not possible I guess I'll just have to change the key and then go through all my networkable stuff. Maybe thats the way to go anyway.
 
The way I do it is to set up an access list on the router. Every device that wirelessly connects to the router has a 'mac address'. You can allow each 'trusted' device's mac address access to your router. A google search will give you the instructions to do this.

Also you will need to change the password for access to your router from the default set by Sky because this is readily available on the internet.

Setting up an access list also stops them giving the WPA/WEP key to their mates like happened to a family member of mine who's neighbours kids got his key.
 
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The way I do it is to set up an access list on the router. Every device that wirelessly connects to the router has a 'mac address'. You can allow each 'trusted' device's mac address access to your router. A google search will give you the instructions to do this.

Also you will need to change the password for access to your router from the default set by Sky because this is readily available on the internet.

Setting up an access list also stops them giving the key to their mates like happened to a family member of mine.

That sounds like what I need to do. I'm gonna have a go at this and see how it goes. Thanks
 
so you dont want your kids hogging your internet then go out and buy them devices almost entirely suited to internet use? what should they do sit in mcdonalds all night?
 
A similar thought went through my mind however, let's not turn this into a discussion on parenting but try to answer the technical question asked.:)
 
so you dont want your kids hogging your internet then go out and buy them devices almost entirely suited to internet use? what should they do sit in mcdonalds all night?

Hey, who said I bought them ipods? Thats the joy of grandperants. Not that it's anybody's business.
There are a large number of reasons these days that many people wish to control access to they're wi-fi though. In this case it's got nothing to do with 'hogging' the bandwidth and everything to do with stopping trouble and keeping them safe. You don't know the circumstances and I'm not about to discuss them here, but when it's of such a serious nature as to threaten your Kids safety you come to reluctantly realise that there's more important things in life than letting your kids have access to the net. Parenting is a thing that's changing and technology is amplifying problems and dangers. There's a lot written about this stuff. If you're lucky enough to have never had problems from your kids on the net, then I'm really happy for you (although it could well be that they had problems and you never knew about it), but many people, like myself, have seen serious issues arise.
You can't even imagine how hard a decision it was to controlling access (goes against everything I believe in), or even the various situations that have brought us to this point. It's easy to judge when you don't know the facts. Trust me on this, any responsible person would have ended up making the same decision in this situation.
Also, an ipod is just one of those modern devices that blurs the line in terms of what it actually is, but I'm fairly sure that it's original and therefor true purpose is to play music. Grandparents don't know about the other things they can do.

Anyway, from what I remember, MAC numbers are specific to each wifi device(unlike IP adresses for instance that change). So by the looks of the controls on my router I need to know which device has which MAC number and allow those MAC numbers as trusted. Does this sound correct?
I know how to find the MAC numbers of my laptops, but not sure about the xbox. Anybody know how to do this?
 
So let me get this straight: I make a ruling about not turning this into a rant on parenting and then you do?
 
Just change the password!! Trust me it will be a lot less hassle than hunting round on every device to find their MAC numbers :)
 
You can get the mac address from within each device, or you can let your router tell you the mac address of the device that is trying to connect. You must have access list switched on in the router.

1) Switch off every wireless device you have.
2) Go into your wireless access list settings on your router and switch on one of the devices.
3) The mac address of that device should show up on the router access list page.
4) You can now give the device the correct name e.g. Sky HD, Mrs Laptop etc.
5) Then click add and then apply.

Do this for each device until you have them all added to your access list.
 
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You can get the mac address from within each device, or you can let your router tell you the mac address of the device that is trying to connect. You must have access list switched on in the router.

1) Switch off every wireless device you have.
2) Go into your wireless access list settings on your router and switch on one of the devices.
3) The mac address of that device should show up on the router access list page.
4) You can now give the device the correct name e.g. Sky HD, Mrs Laptop etc.
5) Then click add and then apply.

Do this for each device until you have them all added to your access list.

That's brilliant. Thanks for that, you're a life saver.
Probably be tomorrow before I get round to it, but thats ok cos there's relatives over today, so they shouldn't have much opportunity for trouble.
Thanks again:smashin:
 
Few options.
Change default router pass word
Make new wireless key
Use mac filtering
Hide the ssid.
Use opendns on router if safe guarding is a issue. Even in open mode you can check sites accessed.

If they want to get. Line they will tho.

You could use parental controls on iPods too.
 
There is absolutely no need to use MAC filtering or anything else other than WPA2. Just change the WPA2 key, then change the password for access to the Sky router's setup. If you do both of those things no one who does not have the new key will be able to connect and nor will they be able to read the new key from the router.

BTW particularly do not hide the SSID. It achieves nothing, in terms of security, and can be a PITA in future. A customer of mine can attest to that; a "helpful" person did that to his network and didn't bother to tell him. I hope that he passed my half-hour charge on to the helper.
 
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I'd simply change the password, remembering to change it on the Xbox and any other devices you have on the network.

Something else that might interest you is OpenDNS - Cloud Internet Security and DNS

This way they can still access the web but you can restrict what sites they visit by means of custom black / white lists. See the link above for details. I use it on my home network, mainly to stop accidental visits to mallware / spam sites and such. Works great without being too obstructive. It does take a little bit of setting up, but totally worth it.
 

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