The internet is also an endless source of entertainment and education for children. Unfortunately, a lot of content is not suitable for young children. We are rightly concerned about that. Fortunately, there are tools with which we as parents and grandparents can keep a watchful eye on children. In short: this way you can block websites for them.
When making the online experience safer for children, a solid education is of course always central; with candid conversations and concrete agreements. In this article we focus exclusively on the technical means. If you are looking for information from a more pedagogical point of view, you can visit various websites, such as: www.kwikr.nl/kindveilig.
In any case, it is good to realize that excessive parental supervision of children’s online activities (so-called ‘creeping’) can be counterproductive. Please also note that rigorous auditing behavior may violate Article 16 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Also, know that no parental control tool may be foolproof: some sites still get through the filtering or resourceful kids manage to get around filters. Finally, also realize that configuring and monitoring parental control tools takes some effort on your part.
In this article we first look at the techniques that can work network-wide or that you can apply in the same way on various platforms. We then talk specifically about Windows and finally about mobile platforms, with or without built-in tools.
DNS filter
You can manually block sites in some routers or activate a time lock on the internet connection per computer. Some routers even come with a real (often not free) parental control module. Consult the manual for your router for this.
In addition, or instead, you can set a so-called DNS filter. You do this if your main intention is to block pornographic and other inappropriate sites.
We take the free OpenDNS Family Shield as an example, but there are some even more.
Surf via www.kwikr.nl/famshield and note there the two ip addresses of the DNS servers: 208.67.222.123 and 208.67.220.123. Through www.kwikr.nl/devconfig you will find the necessary instructions to use these addresses at once for your entire home network (via your router) or on individual devices, such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
DNS in Windows
We’ll show you how to set up such a DNS filter in Windows 11. Go to Settings / Network & Internet. Choose Ethernet if you have a wired network connection and click To process Bee DNS server assignment. Switch IPv4 in, select Manually and fill in the DNS addresses Preferred DNS and Alternative DNS. Confirm with Save and reboot your system: now (most) ‘offensive’ sites should be unreachable. If your PC is connected wirelessly, you also do this for WiFi.
If you can no longer surf, this may have to do with settings in your browser. Let’s take Chrome as an example. Tap chrome://settings/security in the address bar and scroll to Advanced. Here you switch Using Secure DNS off or, better yet, turn it on and choose at Of the DNS provider OpenDNS.
OpenDNS Home
OpenDNS offers a free alternative that allows you to decide for yourself which sites or types of sites you want to block. This does require some configuration. We give you a solid start here.
Create an account. Click on the link in the confirmation email to https://dashboard.opendns.com ends up. Click here Add a network. Bee IP enter the public IP address of your network (see above, at Your current IP is). Confirm with Add this network. Give your network a name, leave the check mark at Yes, it’s dynamic and confirm with Done.
Click on the link in the second confirmation email. Through www.kwikr.nl/dnsconfig read what you have to do now. This means that you change the DNS addresses of your (grand)child’s device to 208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222.
You still have to set which sites you want to filter exactly. To do this, go to your dashboard again, open the tab Settings and click on your public ip address. Select custom and indicate the site categories you want to block, such as pornography and Gambling. Confirm with Apply. The changes will take effect after a few minutes.
Dynamic DNS
In order for OpenDNS Home to work properly, the service must know the current public IP address of your network. Chances are that your internet provider assigns this address dynamically, so it can change just like that.
You must then provide a mechanism to pass the changed address to OpenDNS. Such a function may already be built into your NAS or router, but you can also download a specific client for this and install it on your PC. Just such a tool it is free Marc’s Updater.
Download and install the app and launch it. On the tab General select you OpenDNS.com Bee DNS Service Provider, after which you enter your OpenDNS ID (email address and password) here. Bee hostname enter the network name you entered in OpenDNS. After your confirmation with OK the app checks your current public IP address and passes it on to OpenDNS.
This check takes place every five minutes, but you can change this at IP Check Interval. It is of course the intention that this app remains active in the background.
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