Anyone using any other tech to make the internet "safer" for their kids?

[BBIssues]

Are there any good tools out there that let you block certain websites or monitor things at the device or network level and work with Virgin Media?

We do trust our kids and talk to them about this stuff but I don't want them to stumble across bad stuff or get sent links to naughty content etc. 

We use Google Family Link on their phone to control access to apps and set time limits.

I've installed Bark on the phone, which is supposed to monitor and block things. It's hard to know if it works as I don't know what gets through. 

They have Kindle Fire Tablets too, but they aren't locked down at all.

Is there anything else that people are using?

Maybe hardware-based, that stops things at the source? Or is installing apps on devices OK or better?

Thanks.

[legacy1 · Accepted solution]

You could get a hardware firewall with Content filtering that you have to pay for as a year subscription.
https://www.zyxel.com/uk/en-gb/products/vpn-firewall

[BBIssues]

Thanks, will look into that.

I use a VPN myself for privacy, but it triggers loads of captchas and some sites and apps block me when I use the VPN.

Will this happen with a hardware VPN like you linked to?

[speckett]

zyxel.com/uk/en-gb/products/vpn-firewall

Whilst a good choice for many small business users and larger households/estates often the use of these devices can be complex for the everyday user, I myself use pfsense running on a pi-hole hardwall and this surfices, being that its relatively cheap and with a little knowledge is simple to setup and blocks any domain or range required. (note if you are a parent looking wanting block a domain from your children I can help advise you in this aspect)

All to often do I see posts on the www pertaining to how poorly moderated it is, and how much material their children are exposed to, when in reality it should be the parents supervising what they watch, setting limits on access to the www. "which can be done via the router settings"

Alternatively you can use:

OpenDNS Home is a free internet based parental control solution which allows parents to manage web access on every device that accesses the Internet on a home network including, wired and wireless computers and laptops, network enabled game systems and internet enabled wireless devices such as IPods and Ipads

If you are interested in the pi-hole hardwall I can walk you through the process, by far this is the cheaper and better option, alternatively you can look here

https://www.wired.com/story/diy-raspberry-pi-home-network-content-filter/

[legacy1]

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@BBIssues wrote:

Thanks, will look into that.

I use a VPN myself for privacy, but it triggers loads of captchas and some sites and apps block me when I use the VPN.

Will this happen with a hardware VPN like you linked to?

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VPN you use is the problem as sites know if your coming from a VPN IP

You currently can't use the Zywall as a client DHCP to VPN server its more for site to site or setup a server L2TP/IPsce for clients to connect too not sure why you can do PPTP as a DHCP client to server but not L2TP/IPsec DHCP client to server so you still need to do that on the PC.