Help Detecting Internet Usage via Router
January 21, 2015 8:24 AM Subscribe
How to find an activity log on my Verizon M1424WR Router to see if our babysitter is spending more time surfing the internet than playing with our kids.
I will stipulate to being a relative idiot when it comes to technology, so I'd appreciate some assistance from those in the know.
Due to my wife's recent transition from home-based consulting to a full-time office job, we hired a babysitter/nanny (20 hours a week, mostly to watch the kids after school until we get home from work). She seems great, had great references, and from my thus far limited perspective, she's reliable and conscientious. Without hesitation we gave her our wi-fi password so she could access the internet on her iPhone while at our house, with the expectation (stated out-front) that internet usage would be reserved for the times when our kids were watching their daily 30-min alotment of post-school tv, or when they were otherwise heavily engaged in playing with each other. We ask nothing from the babysitter in terms of housekeeping, and I don't think it's unreasonable if she wants to flip around reddit or facebook while the kids are watching Magic Schoolbus, so long as she's monitoring them.
However, our older child has been complaining that the babysitter is "always" on her phone and "never" plays with them. Given my oldest daughter's penchant for exaggeration and recent episodes of lying, I'd like to give our nanny the benefit of the doubt before confronting her or doing something like just turning the wi-fi off during the day. On the other hand, I know our nanny is trying to run a side business selling items on the internet, so perhaps that is what she is doing while we are paying her to watch our kids. So ideally I'd like to be able to use our router admin function to look at the internet browsing that is actually going on during her work time. If it's a half hour, then a periodic blip here and there, I don't think it's an issue. But if it turns out that is indeed surfing the web for hours straight and ignoring our kids, it'd be a problem and a serious talk would ensue.
We have a Verizon M1424WR router, and I know how to get to the main admin function page and identify her device, but I can't seem to find any meaningful information beyond that. I don't really care WHICH websites she's visiting (within obvious reason), mostly just the frequency of her surfing. Could anyone help me figure out if it's possible to access this info on this router?
Of course if it's a problem, we'll talk to her about it, but at this point I just want to collect some objective information. My daughteer was not happy about my wife returning to full-time work (hence the nanny), thus the reason for my skepticism of her claims like "always" and "never". And turning the internet off completely seems like we're treating our nanny like a child if indeed she is not overstepping her bounds.
TL:DR: Wondering if nanny is surfing the net instead of watching our kids -- don't know who to belive, would like to check an objective source (router log, hopefully) before confronting anyone, but am clueless about how to do so.
Any help appreciated!
I will stipulate to being a relative idiot when it comes to technology, so I'd appreciate some assistance from those in the know.
Due to my wife's recent transition from home-based consulting to a full-time office job, we hired a babysitter/nanny (20 hours a week, mostly to watch the kids after school until we get home from work). She seems great, had great references, and from my thus far limited perspective, she's reliable and conscientious. Without hesitation we gave her our wi-fi password so she could access the internet on her iPhone while at our house, with the expectation (stated out-front) that internet usage would be reserved for the times when our kids were watching their daily 30-min alotment of post-school tv, or when they were otherwise heavily engaged in playing with each other. We ask nothing from the babysitter in terms of housekeeping, and I don't think it's unreasonable if she wants to flip around reddit or facebook while the kids are watching Magic Schoolbus, so long as she's monitoring them.
However, our older child has been complaining that the babysitter is "always" on her phone and "never" plays with them. Given my oldest daughter's penchant for exaggeration and recent episodes of lying, I'd like to give our nanny the benefit of the doubt before confronting her or doing something like just turning the wi-fi off during the day. On the other hand, I know our nanny is trying to run a side business selling items on the internet, so perhaps that is what she is doing while we are paying her to watch our kids. So ideally I'd like to be able to use our router admin function to look at the internet browsing that is actually going on during her work time. If it's a half hour, then a periodic blip here and there, I don't think it's an issue. But if it turns out that is indeed surfing the web for hours straight and ignoring our kids, it'd be a problem and a serious talk would ensue.
We have a Verizon M1424WR router, and I know how to get to the main admin function page and identify her device, but I can't seem to find any meaningful information beyond that. I don't really care WHICH websites she's visiting (within obvious reason), mostly just the frequency of her surfing. Could anyone help me figure out if it's possible to access this info on this router?
Of course if it's a problem, we'll talk to her about it, but at this point I just want to collect some objective information. My daughteer was not happy about my wife returning to full-time work (hence the nanny), thus the reason for my skepticism of her claims like "always" and "never". And turning the internet off completely seems like we're treating our nanny like a child if indeed she is not overstepping her bounds.
TL:DR: Wondering if nanny is surfing the net instead of watching our kids -- don't know who to belive, would like to check an objective source (router log, hopefully) before confronting anyone, but am clueless about how to do so.
Any help appreciated!
If you're looking for something like you'd get in a web browser's history interface to see what websites the babysitter has viewed, I don't think the FIOS router will support that.
If you're technical and interested in an alternative approach, it may be possible to run all DNS requests through something like OpenDNS. If you do that, you'll be able to see all website domains requested, but not the actual content - you'd know if she was accessing youtube.com, but you wouldn't know what video is playing.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 8:48 AM on January 21, 2015
If you're technical and interested in an alternative approach, it may be possible to run all DNS requests through something like OpenDNS. If you do that, you'll be able to see all website domains requested, but not the actual content - you'd know if she was accessing youtube.com, but you wouldn't know what video is playing.
posted by Fidel Cashflow at 8:48 AM on January 21, 2015
Fidel Cashflow beat me to it. I was going to suggest using OpenDNS. It has a logging feature that you can use for the purpose you described. Getting the information directly from the router would be difficult. You could also set up a proxy server running Squid, but that's not a project for the faint of heart.
Have you considered installing some "nanny cams"?
posted by alex1965 at 8:56 AM on January 21, 2015
Have you considered installing some "nanny cams"?
posted by alex1965 at 8:56 AM on January 21, 2015
If she's on her phone, she could very well be texting or using data; the router information won't be definitive.
posted by mskyle at 9:01 AM on January 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by mskyle at 9:01 AM on January 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
All sorts of apps and websites will automatically reload/draw data/auto-update. So she very well may be playing with your kids while her phone is chattering away on the internet.
Likewise, she may be inattentive and using her data plan. Or she may be loading a large website once and then sit there on her phone reading it for half an hour.
That is, this is unlikely to be data you can draw firm conclusions from either way. It'll come back to trust, regarding both her and your kids.
posted by vacapinta at 9:12 AM on January 21, 2015 [17 favorites]
Likewise, she may be inattentive and using her data plan. Or she may be loading a large website once and then sit there on her phone reading it for half an hour.
That is, this is unlikely to be data you can draw firm conclusions from either way. It'll come back to trust, regarding both her and your kids.
posted by vacapinta at 9:12 AM on January 21, 2015 [17 favorites]
You're looking for a technical solution to an interpersonal problem. You're not going to get a definitive answer from your router for many of the reasons stated above. Just ask her if she's spending a lot of time on her phone instead of playing with the kids. Or put a camera up.
posted by empath at 9:32 AM on January 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by empath at 9:32 AM on January 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
However, our older child has been complaining that the babysitter is "always" on her phone and "never" plays with them. Given my oldest daughter's penchant for exaggeration and recent episodes of lying, I'd like to give our nanny the benefit of the doubt before confronting her or doing something like just turning the wi-fi off during the day.
I admire your desire to be fair, but I just wanted to put in a word for believing your child on this. Given how common it is for younger people to be glued to their phones these days, and how unlikely it is that your child would lie so convincingly, I want to urge you to give great weight to your young one's first hand report.
posted by jayder at 10:09 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
I admire your desire to be fair, but I just wanted to put in a word for believing your child on this. Given how common it is for younger people to be glued to their phones these days, and how unlikely it is that your child would lie so convincingly, I want to urge you to give great weight to your young one's first hand report.
posted by jayder at 10:09 AM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
I feel a bit bad for your babysitter because you sound just like a boss who failed to communicate what the real expectations of the job are, and acted like you were cool with something that you actually aren't cool with at all.
Before you go confronting anyone, you need to get a lot clearer about what your own expectations of your babysitter's behavior actually are.
You chose to give the babysitter your express permission and direct access to your wi-fi, allowing her to use the internet and/or run her e-commerce business on your dime "so long as she's monitoring" your kids when your kids are "watching their daily 30-min alotment of post-school tv, or when they were otherwise heavily engaged in playing with each other."
Think that through a bit more. Can you see how right now you are completely incentivizing her to work on her phone the whole time, and to direct your kids to TV or kid-only play??
Do you want a babysitter who actually plays with your kids? Because it does not sound like you have communicated that expectation to her AT ALL. When the initial conversations at the time of hiring a babysitter are more about wi-fi codes and side businesses, you really can't expect her to think you are super invested in having her spend lots of quality time engaging with the kids.
We ask nothing from the babysitter in terms of housekeeping
You can and should ask that she clean up any messes that are created by her or the children while she is working.
posted by hush at 10:27 AM on January 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
Before you go confronting anyone, you need to get a lot clearer about what your own expectations of your babysitter's behavior actually are.
You chose to give the babysitter your express permission and direct access to your wi-fi, allowing her to use the internet and/or run her e-commerce business on your dime "so long as she's monitoring" your kids when your kids are "watching their daily 30-min alotment of post-school tv, or when they were otherwise heavily engaged in playing with each other."
Think that through a bit more. Can you see how right now you are completely incentivizing her to work on her phone the whole time, and to direct your kids to TV or kid-only play??
Do you want a babysitter who actually plays with your kids? Because it does not sound like you have communicated that expectation to her AT ALL. When the initial conversations at the time of hiring a babysitter are more about wi-fi codes and side businesses, you really can't expect her to think you are super invested in having her spend lots of quality time engaging with the kids.
We ask nothing from the babysitter in terms of housekeeping
You can and should ask that she clean up any messes that are created by her or the children while she is working.
posted by hush at 10:27 AM on January 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
The reality is that even if you cut wifi off completely, she could still be on her phone all day doing things.
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:39 AM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:39 AM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: I appreciated the responses that actually answered my question. I will look into OpenDNS. Oddly enough, she doesn't have data on her phone (even though it's an iPhone...I suspect she's had recent cashflow troubles...so her only internet is at home or at our house). To those who latched on to other parts of the question in order to provide unsolicted advice, I guess that's metafilter.
posted by GorgeousPorridge at 12:48 PM on January 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by GorgeousPorridge at 12:48 PM on January 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
I don't know that router specifically, but MOST routers these days have a "connected devices" page, or at least a page with active DHCP leases (the device's IP address on the local network.) You SHOULD be able to simply ban the MAC address of the device (which should also be listed right there), and she won't be able to connect at all. You can also likely set up schedules for access by MAC address or keyword (no pages containing the word "facebook" between X and X times, for example). You can also consider getting an aftermarket router to do this for you, they are *relatively* inexpensive and *almost* always way better than what your provider gives you.
If you feel like it, screenshot the pages of your router config and we'll be able to help you.
It should also be said that if any of your neighbors has open/unsecured wifi, she can just connect to that instead.
posted by TomMelee at 5:39 AM on January 22, 2015
If you feel like it, screenshot the pages of your router config and we'll be able to help you.
It should also be said that if any of your neighbors has open/unsecured wifi, she can just connect to that instead.
posted by TomMelee at 5:39 AM on January 22, 2015
You SHOULD be able to simply ban the MAC address of the device (which should also be listed right there), and she won't be able to connect at all.
As a working IT technician, my best advice to you is not to use MAC address whitelists or blacklists. They will cause you far more grief than they prevent.
I have never seen a consumer-grade router whose factory firmware implements the kind of logging you're after, so OpenDNS is probably your best bet. But if your nanny is more net-savvy than you are, don't be surprised if the only address you ever see her look up belongs to her VPN provider.
posted by flabdablet at 12:06 PM on January 22, 2015
As a working IT technician, my best advice to you is not to use MAC address whitelists or blacklists. They will cause you far more grief than they prevent.
I have never seen a consumer-grade router whose factory firmware implements the kind of logging you're after, so OpenDNS is probably your best bet. But if your nanny is more net-savvy than you are, don't be surprised if the only address you ever see her look up belongs to her VPN provider.
posted by flabdablet at 12:06 PM on January 22, 2015
I too am an IT technician, and would counter that this isn't a 1000 device network, or even a 10 device network, nor a savvy admin nor a savvy user, so a MAC ban would be perfectly acceptable. Whitelisting is problematic, but not blacklisting on a small network, imo.
Just last year I discovered that someone had bruteforced their way into my wifi, so I mac-banned him and watched. He/she pretty quickly spoofed and came back, so I portscanned him and found open/listening RDP and waited till the middle of the night...at which point I maybe executed a malicious payload and disconnected, then dramatically increased the wifi password strength and enabled antihammer, and he's never been back since.
posted by TomMelee at 1:26 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Just last year I discovered that someone had bruteforced their way into my wifi, so I mac-banned him and watched. He/she pretty quickly spoofed and came back, so I portscanned him and found open/listening RDP and waited till the middle of the night...at which point I maybe executed a malicious payload and disconnected, then dramatically increased the wifi password strength and enabled antihammer, and he's never been back since.
posted by TomMelee at 1:26 PM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:31 AM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]