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How to bypass parental controls completely...

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How to bypass parental controls completely...

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27 Reply
Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2017-12-01 17:33:29
Let me rephrase it:
When steps into bedtime, internet for those in the profile is paused automatically, you don't have to manually click the button to pause the internet.
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2017-12-06 08:19:56
Matt, no need to rephrase. I understood what you meant. Perhaps I needed to rephrase.

It seemed that the OP was manually pausing the profile, but the devices could still access the network. My question was, does the same happen if the profile is pause automatically instead using the Bed Time setting. I realize that the end result should be the same, but if a bug exists with manually pausing, perhaps that bug does not exist with a scheduled automatic pause.
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#13
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2017-12-07 06:41:44
I will try out the "Bed Time setting" as soon as possible.

Not sure what he has done with his iPhone but at this moment he is not able anymore to connect to the WiFi, even with the VPN on his iPhone removed and all restrictions removed from the DECO.
Looks like a factory reset is the only option...
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#14
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2017-12-07 07:16:27

hansremmerswaal wrote

Not sure what he has done with his iPhone but at this moment he is not able anymore to connect to the WiFi, even with the VPN on his iPhone removed and all restrictions removed from the DECO.
Looks like a factory reset is the only option...


Interesting... I have restarted the main DECO and after that his iPhone could connect again. It's a pity that I already removed that VPN app, now I can't test the "Bed Time setting" in combination with VPN.
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2018-03-12 07:41:32
I am also not fully convinced that the parental control time functions work as I would expect.
It appears that if my son starts some games before the hourly limit has been reached, then game play can extend way beyond this limit.
My suspicion is that the game sets up secure peer-to-peer links between players that the Deco cannot interrogate within.
However, what puzzles me is that the time limit has definitely expired yet the device status clearly shows data flow both to and from the device. The Deco shouldn't need to look outside these connections to shut them down based on traffic alone.
My only explanation for this is that the time limit prevents new connections being established but does not affect existing ones.
TP-Link, there's definitely something fishy going on here, care to comment?
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#16
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2018-03-13 14:54:12
Hi, what did you setup, Time Limits or Bed Time? What game did your son play?

xbkeeper wrote

I am also not fully convinced that the parental control time functions work as I would expect.
It appears that if my son starts some games before the hourly limit has been reached, then game play can extend way beyond this limit.
My suspicion is that the game sets up secure peer-to-peer links between players that the Deco cannot interrogate within.
However, what puzzles me is that the time limit has definitely expired yet the device status clearly shows data flow both to and from the device. The Deco shouldn't need to look outside these connections to shut them down based on traffic alone.
My only explanation for this is that the time limit prevents new connections being established but does not affect existing ones.
TP-Link, there's definitely something fishy going on here, care to comment?
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#17
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2018-03-17 09:51:51
So, my son has 2 profiles, one for phone which has unlimited hours and bedtimes set from 2130h to 0830h, and one for pc which has 5 hours and bedtimes set for 2130h and 0830h.
It is quite clear that the 2130h bed time is NOT being enforced on either device by the Deco, and on the Pc, the 5h time limit is also being circumvented.
Game usually CSGO. Video is usually Twitch on the phone.
After 2130 both the game and twitch will still be live.
Internet pause on the profile does nothing.
Blacklist does nothing... Unless I blacklist then power cycle the router.
I suspect doing this breaks whatever VPN type links are set up, then he can't reattach to the Deco to establish new connections.
It baffles me why the Deco is simply not stopping all traffic to the offending devices after the time limit is exceeded, whether they are somehow encrypted or not... You can clearly see the traffic to and from the device in the status page when they should be blocked.
What is going on, TP Link?
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#18
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2018-04-01 06:16:43

xbkeeper wrote

It baffles me why the Deco is simply not stopping all traffic to the offending devices after the time limit is exceeded, whether they are somehow encrypted or not... You can clearly see the traffic to and from the device in the status page when they should be blocked.


I fully agree...

I check the DECO app on my iPhone and see traffic during bedtimes and/or after the maximum number of hours has passed.
When I see this I then put these devices on the blacklist and the traffic stops (and my son starts yelling...).

So why is it possible to block the internet via the blacklist and not via time controls? What is (technically) the difference?
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#19
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2018-04-02 01:20:46
So, it transpires that my son is using a VPN service on both his phone and his PC.The one he is using is betternet which had a free tier that appears to be enough.I suggest, TP-Link, that you probably need to have the ability to restrict VPN sites in the parental controls, in the same way that you restrict gambling or adult sites.
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#20
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Re:How to bypass parental controls completely...
2019-12-01 21:24:05

I am having the exact same problem with weak parental controls as described here, except mine is an AC2300 not a Deco.

I suspect the software is similar and contains similar bugs.

My son has an Android phone and its activity isn't even showing up in Parental Controls>Insights.
I can block my own phone (an iPhone) and windows PC just fine using an exact duplicate configuration.

 

Elsewhere I discovered that the way to block Betternet is to block UDP port 500 - ref. https://forums.untangle.com/web-filter/37765-blocking-betternet-potential-solution.html


The AC2300 software is apparently based on an old version (12.x) of OpenWRT.

I'm going to try to enable shell access to the AC2300 by following the methods described here: https://github.com/acc-/tplink-archer-c2300/wiki

Having done that may provide access to the missing capabilities for true port filtering that the 'modern' interface now lacks.

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#21
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