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Forum Discussion
Parental control easily bypass by my kids
I set up parental controls, but my 13-year-old son easily bypassed them by simply forgetting and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi. Now, a new device appears on the list, different from the old one.
Not a difficult guess - the Parental Control depends heavily on the device hardware MAC address, the lowest common denominator.
Said this, there is no way round enabling strict access control, not allowing any device accessing the network, even if they know the wireless password - the crux is this isn't available on all routers, but I guess it is on all routers or Mesh systems supporting Parental Control. In general it's located here:
ADVANCED > Security > Access Control
Keep in mind this requires identifying and knowing -all- devices in your home using wireless access, like home automation, kitchen appliances, ... Essential is not to forget this additional security if adding new devices. Before doing so, ensure and instruct all your family members not using these wonderful random privacy MAC address schemes, and let them know the must use the hardware address, accepting the Privacy Warning, and not enable these Private Wi-Fi Address feature how Apple is misleadingly designating this crap.
Don't blame your kids for spotting these features, on their mobile devices and sometimes computers - misleadingly claiming Privacy Warnings, despite being connected to a trusted home network.
Before accepting connected devices MAC addresses, a good rule is to consult the Wireshark OUI Lookup Tool where you must clearly see the MAC address you trust fits to the connected device product vendor.