The ability to block smartphones

Not planned

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chris.fulcher

July 07, 2013 05:37

An option to block smartphones from being able to use a network being controlled by OpenDNS.

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  rotblitz July 07, 2013 10:23

  This would be a pure router function. An external service like OpenDNS can't do this.

  And no, OpenDNS can't wash your car either. :-)

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  chris.fulcher July 08, 2013 05:36

  Rotblitz,  Do you know of a way to set a router to do this such as which ports, web address etc to block?

  Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated, they are eating up our bandwidth.

  Thanks

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  rotblitz July 08, 2013 06:20

  You should be able to control access by MAC address on your router. And depending on what they do with the smartphones via WLAN, you may be able to block related ports and maybe URLs. QoS settings are another option if available.

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  cervezafria July 08, 2013 12:56

  Whenever I have a blocked site I need to access from my cell, I revert to 4G, circumventing OpenDNS. That works for temporary situations. 

  If you want a more permanent solution, you can define your preferred DNS service directly on your Android phone. Depending upon your phone and android version, you may be able to define your DNS servers by going to Settings/Wireless/WiFi Settings/Advanced (this last section is menu accessed). Use a Static IP from your router's range (enter it here), and then enter your preferred DNS servers. If you want to bypass OpenDNS, you might use Google DNS (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4). To flush your DNS caches, reboot or restart your phone.

  Alternately you can install SetDNS (for example) from the Play Store. You do not require a rooted phone to use its DNS setting capability. Again you might use Google DNS (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4). If you like the app, you'll want to buy the paid version to get full 24/7 DNS control.

   

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  chris.fulcher July 08, 2013 18:03

  Thanks for the info. What we're looking for is not for an individual phone.  We have a wifi at our resident camp and we are needing to block the campers from connecting their phones to our wifi to keep from eating up all our bandwidth.

  So I'm not sure if there are ports or urls that can be blocked on the router to keep them from accessing services on there phones.

  I've been told that if our wifi had an acceptance of use page that they would not be able to connect to the network.

  Any suggestions?

  thanks!

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  cervezafria July 08, 2013 19:37

  Blocking leechers is an entirely different topic (ha, I really missed that), and has nothing to do with OpenDNS. That said, the simplest/safest/surest router implementation would be to use WPA2 (or WPA, but not WEP) encryption (w/passphrase) for staff-only use. You should have this capability built-in to your router. When your authorized users log in to your wireless network for the first time, their cell phones should "remember" the passphrase authorization for all future connections.

  Assuming you don't distribute or leak out your passphrase, campers will be denied access. It's probably a good practice to change passphrases monthly in your situation.

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  Brian Hartvigsen July 08, 2013 21:15

  As indicated by rotblitz, this functionality is better suited to an on-premise device such as your router.

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