wacky.banana

Help required here please gents.

I have a number of computers (laptops) that connect to the internet via a wireless access point connected to my wired network.

What I would like to do is to have the means to lock them out of network access for a period of time then let them on again. The idea I have in mind is to run a software package somewhere where I can set the time, day of week, etc when access can be enabled/disabled. Put another way I am looking for something that works like an electronic 13 amp plug timer, if you get my drift.

By the way, if its a software package, it needs to be secure so no one but me can change the settings.

Simple inexpensive solutions appreciated.

Many thanks

WB

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Depends on the reasons really ..

If you just want to stop people, you could enable remote log into your router and turn it on and off at will !

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

some of the wireless access points available have configurable access times as part of their management set up .... think it was a netgear one i saw that supported it but that was 6months ago now so i could be wrong on the manufacturer

wacky.banana

Pimmo,

Apologies, kind of did not make myself as clear as I could. I actually want to switch on and switch off access directly at the laptop end, ie localised, not at the router. Hopefully this should leave the router/access point available for others that need to use it.

Are you saying that I can achieve this with your suggestion?

Cheers

WB

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

afterthought : alternatively, assuming you have an ops master / pdc server running microsoft win2k or above set access time restrictions in Active Directory .... that might have to be done by user rather than machine though - my A.D. knowledge isn't as comprehensive as i'd like so hopefully someone else can confirm that

wacky.banana

Scoobymad,

Just been onto my acces point, no facility to setup timed on/off intervals on it. In terms of the network I run its a relatively simple home network with PCs able to access the internet either via a wired modem router or via a wireless access router as required.

I am not running any fancy fileserver windows server setup I'm afraid. Any other ideas please?

Thanks

WB

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

ahhhh! so this would be a config to achieve something like stopping "junior.banana" from logging on after bed-time then yeah?

on that basis, the only AUTOMATED way i can think of in your setup would be something like a firewall setting on the router to block outgoing traffic before / after defined times. Technically the laptop would still be able to connect to the local network but it wouldn't be able to get out to the outside world.

you could block the laptops from connecting by denying connection on a mac address basis but i haven't seen any access points that allow you to configure that with time settings so you'd have to do that manually each time which would suck lol!

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

thinking about it, you may be able to configure times for when the user can log into the laptop too .... i need to double-check it to be sure (i don't tend to deal much with microsoft systems anymore) of the exact names but its something like "Computer Management" in the Advanced / Admin menu on the programs list. Through that program you can specify a local users rights and properties that you can't do through the normal user manager one .... got a laptop knocking around somewhere with xp on it so i'll check later

wacky.banana

Scoobymad,

Your understanding of my problem is absolutely spot on and does indeed involve "junior banana".

If there is a solution that can be put in place using policies then I'm all for it as long as it is "automated", if you catch my drift.

I am watching this space with baited breath...

Cheers in advance for the help. Much appreciated.

WB

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

lol hmmmm out of curiosity .... would i be catching a correct drift by assuming it was also "junior banana" as opposed to a "junior banana-ette" ? i.e. content filtering for certain junior individuals would be considered a responsibly appropriate measure also? lol! ..... if so then methinks the answer would be a software solution as you thought rather than trying to configure firewall settings on your router which is likely to get, well, messy lol!

The software you're looking for is referred to as "Parental Control Software" and generally installs on the local machine with the setup of it tied to specific users. Some versions will support multiple user profiles (i.e. several people sharing one pc with different access rights) and some are single user only. Most different versions all carry the same basic functionality but the bells and whistles bits seem to vary a fair amount as does the pricing. Also with regard to the pricing, look closely at that section as some look for a monthly fee aswell which personally i've always objected to in a domestic market for things like that.

A quick google search and some blog reads turned up this kiddie for £50 which seems to have most of the features i reckon you'd want :

Parental Control Software for junior bananas

but a bit of legwork googling bits n bobs would probably turn up a freeware or shareware version that may do what you want for considerably lower cost .... you take the risk of not such effective / stable software with those options though and of course they'll most likely have less functionality than a commercially produced effort like the above ..... depends how tight you're feeling really!

wacky.banana

Scoobymad,

What you propose is a different solution to what I was thinking of but seems will do the job even better than I first thought. I do like the timing controls within the software which is exactly what I am looking for.

My problem with junior banana isn't access to inappropriate sites but simply too much access to the internet at times when he should be doing other things e.g. some much needed preparatory work for his exams!

I will do some further googling on this now that you have pointed me in the right direction (never thought about parental control software; I was all set on acess control from the router side or policy controls on his lappy and other items that he has access to).

Thanks for the help here; much appreciated.

WB

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

In effect the software does operate on a policy style basis but it's just far easier to apply and manage than getting "down n dirty" with actual policies which can cause considerable problems if they're not done right

Just a comment regarding the internet access - you may find that content filtering is a useful function to have available since there are quite a few internet based sites now for revision purposes and certainly many of the schools in my area at least, do tend to point their students towards them, particularly sites like "Bitesize" (a reasonable percentage of my client base at the moment are schools). It's also worth noting that some of the schools have revision support and file sharing access to their students network areas etc available via dedicated sites or via their own school websites. With that in mind, it may be a better approach to simply filter / restrict the access that "JB" has to the internet rather than completely deny it.

Happy Google-hunting! Glad to have helped

wacky.banana

Thanks for this. Much appreciate the input.

Now looking forward to seeing junior banana's face when he finds he can't log onto to his favourite sites as often as he used to and actually has to do some work like the rest of us!

Thanks again.

WB