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Forum Discussion
Parental Control CG3000 - Optus Making Customer Lives Unbearable & Children's Lives Unsafe
"Optus has stripped out the parental control functionality sir, but I'm not supposed to tell you. You need to speak to them." "God no, why would they do something evil like that?" "Well Sir,...
If your kids are confined to using specific devices, then you can override the DNS settings on just those devices. Hopefully, the number of such devices is manageable.
Granted, adding a router is an additional expense, but it is not that complicated. The gap between the router and modem can be made a non-issue by co-locating them in a closet where access is difficult.
Anyway, I respect your viewpoint. I'm just here to present options for working around the restrictions imposed by Optus.
I certainly appreciate the work around you suggest and the time you have taken to respond.
Practically speaking the additional expense and complexity will not be undertaken by the average average modem purchaser.
You have address the technical consideration.
Optus needs to consider their ethical and social responsibilities:
Optus is compromising the standard software which modem manufacturers ship with their modems. It removes basic and critical safety functions which guardians would otherwise use to protect their children or other vulnerable internet users .
The importance of this functionality has been recognised by socially responsible companies like Netgear which is why they have written it into the standard firmware.
Optus “re-packages” the "stolen" functionality for profit:
Optus offers back the basic parental control functions for more than the cost of the original modem via an ongoing subscription.
To add insult to injury Optus says it is just a service provider and parents need to make their own arrangements for protecting their children.
Minimum Safety Standards - Where Children Are End Users
Any product or service which is going to end up in the hands of children should be shipped with a minimum standard of "safety equipment". Indeed this is what the socially responsible modem manufactuers are doing.
Not to exaggerate the matter but I cannot see the difference between this and a bicycle reseller taking the brakes off children's bikes and then offering them as optional extras – arguing that it’s the responsibility of parents to make sure their children can stop in time!
I'm not sure I would consider parental controls as the equivalent of brakes on a bicycle. I think it's more apt to consider them equivalent to a companion rider on a tandem bicycle that prevents a child from entering known, bad neighborhoods. But this companion doesn't know about all bad neighborhoods. Worse, this companion cannot accompany the child on a different bike. The latter comes into play when a child has access to a smartphone. Parental controls on a cable modem will only filter Internet access via Wi-Fi. They will not help at all via cellular.
I am not condoning the Optus' profit-minded motive of removing built-in support of parental controls. But I don't think we can consider parental controls basic safety equipment. It's a handy supplemental tool, but it's no substitute for close, parental oversight and coaching.
I would suggest that you head over to the Optus Community Forum and express your thoughts, there. I think your beef is more with Optus than with Netgear.
Finally, if it's an option, you can vote with your feet. If Telstra is available in your area, then you can switch providers.