Comments on: Accountability for wireless devices in our home?

Question: Accountability for wireless devices in our home?

crapples — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:29:17 -0800

We want to add some accountability to the use of mobile devices on our home wifi - what are our options? Ideally we just want to be able to review how the internet is being used.

This is for my kids, who are between young and young-ish, all minors. Ideally we would like to have unfiltered internet for all of them coupled with a system that keeps track of all of the URL's visited. That way we don't have to hassle with filters that NEVER seem to work, but we can tell our kids that their online behavior isn't a secret.

For example: I love Netflix because it's all unfiltered, but you can't delete the history.

Is there any way to set up this kind of accountability at the router level? How about with software added to the devices? If not, I guess we'll look at filters, but man I hate those things.

By: zug

zug — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:33:35 -0800

Step by step instructions.

By: crapples

crapples — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 12:29:59 -0800

What the?? Thanks a lot. That's perfect.

By: crapples

crapples — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 12:46:01 -0800

Whoops! This is a Windows solution (Wallwatcher). I should have mentioned that I'm using a Mac. Is there an equivalent tool that can be used?

By: contrarian

contrarian — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 15:22:01 -0800

This is definitely possible, but it may take some medium-level technical screwing around to make it happen. Here's a potentially useful thread:
http://hintsforums.macworld.com/archive/index.php/t-9090.html

and another potentially useful set of instructions on setting up Lion as a syslog server (which may be helpful)
http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/OS_X_Lion_as_a_syslog_server

Hope this helps.