question re. wireless network

dontwannabeindebt

Just wondering if anyone can help me...
I have my PC and my 15 y.o son has a laptop, I am wondering if I can put a password on the network or something so that he can only use it when I allow him to. I am sick of asking him to do things then having to wait hours for him to get off the bloody thing, so I want it so that he needs my permission to use it in the first place.

Also I've heard lots lately about wireless networks and people being able to access my files etc, is there a way I can tell if anyone is using/ accessing my network.

I'm not very techie so any help would be very much appreciated.

mascherano

you could try and instill some discipline and respect into your son then you wouldnt have to lock his computer to get him to listen to you.

dontwannabeindebt

Thats a bit judgemental isn't it?
For you information my son receives lots of discipline and is very respectful,

when he has nothing to do he just gets stuck into his computer and then never wants to get off when he's chatting to friends etc.
If I tell him off he will get off it, but if I for eg, tell his tea is ready he takes ages to come to get it.
I just want it so that I can decide when he can/ can't go on it, because he spends too much time on the thing.

So it is nothing to do with respect or discipline

albertross_2

is it encrypted? which router?

dontwannabeindebt

router is BT VOYAGER 2110
not sure about it being encrypted, it took me ages to install the thing and I can't remember anything about it.

albertross_2

Does it say secure wpa when you look in the wireless network icon at the bottom right?

cledor

You should be able to set up the router to allow/prevent internet access in total or to particular sites. This can be done manually by going to the config screen of the router and selecting the relevant sections for blocking sites or restricting access. I know Netgear routers also have a schedule menu which can be set to allow/restrict access at certain times, check what you can do in your router's manual.

joshm_2

The two solutions suggested sp far are good ones. I can add a third: if your PC is conncted via an ethernet cable, you could simply log into the router (i.e. go to its web page), 1) password protect the administration of the router, 2) password protect your PC if not already done, and 3) disable wireless access.

The problem with such a solution (as with the others) is that your son will be able to reset the router to its factory defaults and set up the connection again if he's a techie. Alternatively, he just has to connect to the router using a cable rather than through wireless. I know that at 15, I would have been able to circumvent such setups (and probably lock my parents out of the system to boot!).

One further way of restricting access would, in addition to the ones above, be to disable the DHCP server on the router. Again, this can be circumvented by someone with a little know-how.

Maybe it'd just be easier reasoning with him after all !

wayne

dontwannabeindebt wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone can help me...
I have my PC and my 15 y.o son has a laptop, I am wondering if I can put a password on the network or something so that he can only use it when I allow him to. I am sick of asking him to do things then having to wait hours for him to get off the bloody thing, so I want it so that he needs my permission to use it in the first place.

Also I've heard lots lately about wireless networks and people being able to access my files etc, is there a way I can tell if anyone is using/ accessing my network.

I'm not very techie so any help would be very much appreciated.

hi al.we had same problem with our daughter.kept warning her i,d turn the router off if she didn,t come for her tea when shouted so i did one day.only had to do it four times.now she knows that after the third shout the router goes off so comes down for tea.mind you she will wait till we,ve shouted three times.lol

Enterprise_1701C

We are fully cabled - have some near neighbours who are well into computers and are fully capable of getting through passworded wireless access!!

Found our daughter on internet chatting to Australian friend at 3 o/c in the morning with no idea as to the time, promptly started unplugging the cables at 10pm until she learned to limit herself!

OK it may be judgemental (previous post) but she could just as easily have been chatting to someone less savoury and sneaked out to meet them without us ever knowing!