Norton ConnectSafe

useful info
1

Recently I was looking at easy and quick solutions of providing filtered Internet content for the house.

Previously I was using Smoothwall with URL Filter to filter out nasty web sites (porn etc), but currently with a constrained electricity supply I’m not able to run a Smoothwall box 24x7.

So… there were a couple of options left to me :

  1. Download an app (iOS Android etc) that will manage/block websites deemed to be unsuitable. This was ruled out as this is just another extra app that can easily be bypassed.

  2. Buy a small form PC, install Smoothwall on it and use that as content filter. Problem then will be that I’ll need an extra wifi AP. Supposedly I could route traffic back to the Mikrotik on another port connected to the wifi AP, but that’ll be complicating matters.

  3. OpenDNS. Apparently they can block unsavoury websites, but you’ll need a client on your network for this to work properly. There is a Mikrotik client. But, again, complexity.

  4. I then found Norton ConnectSafe which have three DNS servers (six, actually, if you include the backup servers), and three categories of content filtering :

    Security (malware, phishing websites)
    Preferred DNS Server: 198.153.192.40
    Alternate DNS Server: 198.153.194.40

    Security + Pornography
    Preferred DNS Server: 198.153.192.50
    Alternate DNS Server: 198.153.194.50

    Security + Pornography + Non-Family Friendly
    Preferred DNS Server: 198.153.192.60
    Alternate DNS Server: 198.153.194.60

There is a Wikipedia entry on this for more information : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_ConnectSafe

Now I can relax a bit, knowing my kids won’t stumble by accident on unsavoury websites.

Just as an FYI : here’s a quick overview of some services that offer DNS blocking : https://www.raymond.cc/blog/how-to-block-pornographic-websites-without-spending-money-on-software/

I will use it for now, but may look at going the openDNS route at a later stage.

3 Likes
2

Thanks. I’ll try to remember to send this to my friends who have kids or concerns. I’ve been pointing them at OpenDNS, which is pretty simple.