Blacklist isn't preventing my wifi connected iPod from visiting a site
I'm trying to block access to Snapchat by using the blacklist function on OpenDNS. I entered the following 2 domains into the blacklist section based on a recent forum post (elsewhere):
- 'feelinsonice-hrd.appspot.com'
- 'feelinsonice.appspot.com'.
Once both domains were entered, I could still use Snapchat. My assumption is that all devices connecting to my wifi network will be impacted by the blacklist. Is this assumption correct? What have I missed doing here?
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"Once both domains were entered, I could still use Snapchat."
Are you sure that these two domains are being used by your iPod and are needed for Snapchat at all?
Let's see if your settings are in effect. Post the complete plain text output of the following commands from a computer's terminal window here:
nslookup -type=txt debug.opendns.com.
nslookup feelinsonice-hrd.appspot.com.
nslookup feelinsonice.appspot.com."My assumption is that all devices connecting to my wifi network will be impacted by the blacklist. Is this assumption correct?"
Yes, if these devices actually use OpenDNS. Check on your iPod that it is using OpenDNS by visiting http://welcome.opendns.com/
"What have I missed doing here?"
Maybe didn't flush your local caches? Or something is wrong with your configuration?
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Hello,
I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulties. Try rebooting your devices to flush the DNS caches, then visit http://welcome.opendns.com to test if you're using OpenDNS. As @rotblitz mentioned, there's a possibility that the snapchat app uses a different source to connect to the appropriate server. You might be able to download an app on your device to help you detect the domains/connections requested when using the app. This will help you identify the appropriate domain to block, however if they are using an IP address, then we cannot block it.
Please let us know if you have any other questions, and we'll be more than happy to help you.
Best regards
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I have found that this does not reliably block snapchat, at least not from a wifi connected ios device. It did appear to work one night, and then didn't the next day. I've noticed the dns entries for snapchat appear to be dynamic and really shows how unsafe the app really is for teens. I think if you look at a web activity log and then block the curent dns servers it may work for a bit, but when they change its broken again. Its sad because the solution listed in the thread is documented all over the place, but I see no evidence that it actually works beyond working "sometimes" at best.
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