Block internet access if unaproved site is visited

Question

When a child gets of an age of curiousity with adult content sites (that are so easily accessible) and having to have both my wife and I work leaves time where little oversite can be managed. My thought was that if a site was visited that should not be, that I could block all interent access to the computer he is using for a duration of time as a way to enforce restiction or deter visitation to such sites.

In a perfect world, one of us would always be home and the laptop would stay in the kitchen work area as it always is when we are there under observation.

I do not know if this is possible and I am not skilled in programming. I would imagine that the net nanny and other blockers would/could be comprimised by an engeniring and determind mind.

Is such a thing possible?

Answer 1

Bypassing NetNanny (etc) is as simple as booting to a LiveCD of some sort. In order to block porn, you are best served by a router that supports porn blocking. Many of them integrate with NetNanny and other services, blocking them at your internet source (the router). Still, there are ways around, like connecting to an open WiFi hotspot in your area. For every layer of security, there is a workaround.

Personally, I wouldnt spend too much effort. You can go as far as to stop paying for internet service and your child will find his porn somewhere else. You are better off doing the basics and having a talk.

Answer 2

Untangle, an open source firewall software application can create such kind of rules, but you need an extra computer with two NICs, and a little patience / computer skills.

Site, category, and keyword blocking is possible and not very difficult to configure. You can also block proxy sites to deter that way of evasion.

To specifically shut down internet if a condition is met, you will need to pay a monthly/yearly fee as it depends on non-free modules or applications offered by Untangle.

I'm afraid I agree with @Keltari about determined kids finding porn anyway. With Untangle you could at least monitor your network traffic and find out which pages are being visited.