Connecting to the internet with no hub?!

Jet

My 16 year old son is an absolute whizz with technology.

I have had a sneaky suspicion for a while he has been accessing the internet despite setting up access controls and latterly removing the router.

I thought that maybe he was somehow using the 3g on his phone and using that through the pc.

However, having checked his pc today, his browsing history and his internet connections I can see he is accessing a completely different router to our own after I take ours away at night. He has been accessing the internet when he has run out of credit (and 3g) on his mobile phone, so I know it can't be that.

We live very remotely and there are no other houses near to us apart from my partners office and I am pretty certain it is not that internet he is connecting to, and certainly I can't access it from in the house on my phone or laptop as it's too far away.

So, how on earth is he doing this?

I have heard him talk about connecting to other servers etc but surely he needs our router or a hardwired connection to do this. He has neither but is still connected to the internet.

Stiggy

If a neighbour has a Wi-Fi network within range, he can connect to that. He would either need the Wi-Fi password (given to him by a friend maybe) or the neighbours network is 'open' with no password.


You may not be looking for parental advice, but it might be best to confront him and have an honest discussion about what's going on and how you can reach a compromise.

Jet

Thanks, but like I say I'm convinced he's not logged in to a neighbours internet, our neighbours are half a mile away.

I like to be armed with knowledge before I confront him. I don't want to be fobbed off by him because I don't really understand.

Stiggy

Has he bought a 3G dongle maybe?


What version of Windows does your PC have? If you lock down his account and turn on parental controls you might be able to restrict Internet access to certain times and sites.


Also, 16-year olds are not especially gifted with technology (I used to be an IT teacher, so believe me!) but they are highly motivated and sneaky.

NiftyDigits

He can have another SIM or a MiFi unit....

Jet

I have parental controls and access controls and I think he's over ridden both. Certainly the access controls as new ip addresses appear every day.

The wifi he is connecting to says its a public network and is listed as a home hub 3.

What is mifi?

NiftyDigits

That is someone's BT Router. Are you with BT?

He could be using BT FON.

Stiggy

Jet wrote: »

I have parental controls and access controls and I think he's over ridden both. Certainly the access controls as new ip addresses appear every day.

The wifi he is connecting to says its a public network and is listed as a home hub 3.

What is mifi?

A MiFi is a gadget which you put a 3G mobile SIM in and it creates a Wi-Fi network, so you have your own portable Internet router.


What Internet company are you with, and what equipment do you have? How are you getting these statistics on IP addresses etc?

Jet

Yes we are with bt but we have a hub 4. Never had a 3.

I've just checked my partners office Internet and it's a different password, so it can't be that one.

Stiggy

So, are you imposing parental control through the BT Hub, or the PC, or both?

Jet

I'm with bt and when I go into hub management and access controls, I can see different pieces of equipment accessing the router, he gives them
Names only he would give so I know it's him adding new ip addresses or mac addresses (I am not sure which is which).