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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, you'll have to speak to Optus about it, but I think they did it so they could sell you a subscription to their parental control service."
"I have spoken to them, they said speak to Netgear."
"Sorry Sir."
And so it goes ..
Rround and round in circles ..
Year after year..
Modem model after modem model..
Most people think it must be something they cant understand - and they just give up in frustration ...
Well my friends, if you think it's unethical to strip out firmware which responsible modem producers like Netgear and Cisco etc have installed to protect children and the vulnerable then get on the phone and start blasting Optus -
- Write it on your Facebook page,
- Start an online petition.
- Tweet it
- Instagram it
- Write to the telecommunication ombudsman
- Tell the press
Because it's a shameful and disgraceful situation and it's hard to believe it's been going on for so long. And it has nothing to do with the technical characteristics of the broadband service. It's got lots to do with greed and undirect exploitation of our young people.
5 Replies
You have two possible options:
- Disable NAT on the CG3000. This will put it into bridge mode. Then you can install your own router and use your preferred parental control solution. This thread on Optus's own forum has the instructions, about half-way down.
- Netgear's parental controls are based on OpenDNS technology. It works by using OpenDNS DNS servers to filter lookups to websites with objectionable material. The CG3000 is probably hard coded to use Optus DNS servers; hence, no Netgear parental controls.
Well, there's a way around that. You can change the DNS servers on your devices. OpenDNS has instructions for Mac and Windows. For Android or IOS devices, query your favorite search engine for change android dns server or change iphone dns server. You can use either OpenDNS's main servers (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) or their FamilyShield servers (208.67.222.123 and 208.67.220.123).
FamilyShield is a set and forget service. You trust OpenDNS to filter content correctly. On the other hand, if you want to customize the filtering, then use the main servers and create an OpenDNS account. They have free and paid versions of their filtering service.
Thanks for taking the time to post.
Perhaps the most basic observation is that the modem firmware is sufficient to achieve what needs to be done if Optus didnt tamper with things. It actually worked nicely until something (no doubt on the Optus side) threw a spanner in the works.
The key issue with functionality at the moment is the lack of Bypass. Bypass accounts can be set up but loggin doesnt respond. (I've removed the double account situation at OpenDNS which seems to be a regular issue when people have trouble with their Bypass accounts.)
The device side options you mention have never been feasible because of the number of devices kicking around the place - it has to be a central solution.
I know the router option is kicked around a bit but the bottom line is it would require doubling the hardware, expense and complexity. I also lose control of the "gap" between the router and the modem.
Again I appreciate your comment.
You have two possible options:
- Disable NAT on the CG3000. This will put it into bridge mode. Then you can install your own router and use your preferred parental control solution. This thread on Optus's own forum has the instructions, about half-way down.
- Netgear's parental controls are based on OpenDNS technology. It works by using OpenDNS DNS servers to filter lookups to websites with objectionable material. The CG3000 is probably hard coded to use Optus DNS servers; hence, no Netgear parental controls.
Well, there's a way around that. You can change the DNS servers on your devices. OpenDNS has instructions for Mac and Windows. For Android or IOS devices, query your favorite search engine for change android dns server or change iphone dns server. You can use either OpenDNS's main servers (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) or their FamilyShield servers (208.67.222.123 and 208.67.220.123).
FamilyShield is a set and forget service. You trust OpenDNS to filter content correctly. On the other hand, if you want to customize the filtering, then use the main servers and create an OpenDNS account. They have free and paid versions of their filtering service.
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.
