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Re: Parental Controls not working properly

gworley
Aspirant

Parental Controls not working properly

I manage 2 sites -- home and a homeless shelter.  Both sites I have installed Netgear routers.  At the homeless shelter I have a WNR2000v3 installed and it supports Parental Control.  At home I have WNDR4300 and it supports parental controls. The issue I am having is very simple on my personal laptop when I try to go to parental controls I get an error message:

 

Screenshot 2015-09-20 03.14.22.png

 

Yet on another PC on the same network I am able to configure parental controls.  At home I have the same error message yet from 5 other devices (2 PC's and 3 Android devices) I am able to confiigure the Parental Controls.  At the homeless shelter every device that we have I was able to run Netgear Genie to get to the Parental Controls settings.

 

Laptop information is HP Pavilion Notebook 17-g034cy N5Y50UA#ABA running Windows 10 build 10240.   One other piece of information -- websites aren't being blocked from the laptop   I configured the router at the homeless shelter to block adult sites and on all tested devices accept this laptop http://www.playboy.com was blocked.  This laptop was able to display it without any blockage.

 

Here is ipconfig /all if that helps:

[C:\Program Files\JPSoft\TCMD18_x64]ipconfig /all

 

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : george-laptop-2

   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

 

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe FE Family

                                       Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 3C-A8-2A-B1-3C-CB
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 13:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct

                                       Virtual Adapter #3
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : C6-8E-8F-CF-40-C1
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 14:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct

                                       Virtual Adapter #4
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : C4-8E-8F-CF-40-C1
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi 2:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8188EE 802.11 bgn

                                       Wi-Fi Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : C4-8E-8F-CF-40-C1
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . :      

                            fe80::3d2d:a843:47f3:9837%23(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.23(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, September 19, 2015

                                       11:58:52 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, September 21, 2015                                          12:51:24 AM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 113544847
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . :

                          00-01-00-01-1D-21-26-C0-3C-A8-2A-B1-3C-CB
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

 

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Teredo Tunneling

                                       Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . :

                     2001:0:9d38:6ab8:1c9a:e82:3f57:fee8(Preferred)
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . :

                              fe80::1c9a:e82:3f57:fee8%9(Preferred)
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 150994944
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . :

                         00-01-00-01-1D-21-26-C0-3C-A8-2A-B1-3C-CB
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

   Tunnel adapter isatap.{ED89777E-7703-4214-91EC-B8B2A2598D78}:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #3
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

I am using the lastest version of Netgear Genie version 2.4.12.   Here is the computer profile as generated by Netgear Genie:

 

Your Computer Details:

Network Interface

20

Id: 20

Name: Ethernet

HardwareAddress: 3C:A8:2A:B1:3C:CB

IP Address: fe80::644e:a40:d5ec:a382%21

Netmask: ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff::

Broadcast:

IP Address: 169.254.163.130

Netmask:

Broadcast:

Description: Realtek PCIe FE Family Controller

9

Id: 9

Name: Wi-Fi 2

HardwareAddress: C4:8E:8F:CF:40:C1

IP Address: fe80::3d2d:a843:47f3:9837%23

Netmask: ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff::

Broadcast:

IP Address: 192.168.1.23

Netmask: 255.255.255.0

Broadcast: 192.168.1.255

Description: Realtek RTL8188EE 802.11 bgn Wi-Fi Adapter

Your Computer Details:

Operating System

Caption: Windows 8

CSDVersion: No Service Pack Installed

WindowsDirectory: C:\WINDOWS

 

Note I am running Windows 10 even though it says 8

 

This very frustrating.

 

George

MSCE

 

 

Message 1 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

May I know if you are using the Insider Preview build of Windows 10?

 

You may try setting a static DNS for your laptop and use the OpenDNS one which are 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220 and see if the Parental Controls work.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 2 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @DexterJB,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I am currently using build 1024 of Windows 10.

 

I am using the OpenDNS DNS servers on the router but will try them on the laptop.

 

Thanks,

George Worley

MSCE

Message 3 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi again @DexterJB

 

I meant to ask, how can I do a clean install of Netgear Genie?

 

George

 

Message 4 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

You may uninstall and re-install it just the way you would with other programs, through the Control Panel.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 5 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

I have done that many of times and reinstalled with the same results.   Cannot get to Parental Controls throught Genie. Netgear sent me a link to a stand-a-lone product that works. The last reinstalled made things worst -- on my home router I could get to them after about 4 or 5 retries and now I cannot get to Parental Controls on the home router.  Never could on the router at the homeless shelter were I work. Other PC's work and other devices like Android work.  Plus this PC doesn't get blocked on adult sites at the homeless shelter while the ones where Netgear Genie works get blocked trying to go to the Adult sites. Network settings are the same -- DHCP assigned IP and DNS assigned to router -- DNS on the router points to OpenDNS servers.  There has to be some setting that isn't getting uninstalled on this laptop that is the reason I asked how to do a clean install.  BTW: Going through the Control Pannel and uninstalling then reinstalling is not considered a Clean Install as there is always something left on the machine -- mostly registry settings and user profile settings.

 

George

MSCE

Message 6 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

1. May I know which stand-alone product you are referring to?

2. Have you tried manually setting a static DNS for the laptop using the OpenDNS?

3. NETGEAR does not have any specific removal tool for the NETGEAR Genie program.

4. I would also recommend updating your Windows version to the latest stable build since I believe you are currently using the Insider Preview build.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 7 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hello Dexter:

 

 

  1. NETGEAR Live Parental Controls Management Utility 2.1.6.   Netgear tech support sent me the link to it.
  2. Yes I have and it doesn't change anything.
  3. Most companies "uninstall" doesn't do a clean uninstall as they are expecting you to re-install it at some point.  However they do tell where files, both program and user files, are installed and what registry settings are made so that you can, if you are having problems with it, re-install it like it was never installed in the first place.
  4. According to Microsoft, if you have Windows 10 Build 10240. you have the “final” Release to Manufacturing (RTM) build of Windows 10.  I am running build 10240, not a preview or insider build, on two computers with build 10240, one works and one doesn't.   Both are HP laptops, one was upgraded from Windows 7 (#1) and one was upgraded from Window 8.1 (#2) (WIndows 8.1 was never used as I bought the laptop after Windows 10 was released -- I put the necessary updates on it to get Windows 8.1 and then upgraded to 10.)    The one with Windows 7 on it originally Works while the one that had Windows 8.1 on it originally doesn't work.  Since it is working on a system that has the same identical build (final) of Windows 10 with the same updates -- the only difference is hardware.... 

#1 Network hardware is:

 

Screenshot 2015-09-25 21.23.53.png

With 2 network adaptors:  Realtek PCIe FE Family Controler and Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adaptor.   It is currently hardwired to the network.

 

#2 is:

Screenshot 2015-09-25 21.27.59.png

 

With 2 network adaptors:  Realtek PCIe FE Family Controler and Realtek RTL8188CE 802.11b/g/n WiFi Adaptor.   It is currently on the WiFi adaptor to the network.  Have tried on the LAN adaptor with the same results.

 

So that leaves the registry and user files.  I have created a new admin user and logged into the system with that user and run Netgear Genie with the same results as first had.  I have even compared the %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\NETGEARGenie\ sub-folders on both machines and the appear to be the same.  Compared both of the installed folders and the appeared the same.

 

I thought about viruses and malware... I have Avast! Internet Security Premier 2015 and MalwareBytes Home Premium version 2.1.8 on them so I have run them and found no viruses (Avast! has a boot time scan so I ran it also without finding any viruses or rootkits).  MalwareBytes found nothing.    So the only thing I cannot troubleshoot on my own as the registry as I do not know what settings Netgear Genie actually adds or modifies.  It almost appears like that Netgear Genie isn't loading GeniePlugin_ParentalControl.dll properly on machine #2.

 

I know how to troubleshoot after all I worked as a computer engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center for almost 10 years as a computer engineer and in my last job working for someone else I was responsible for 250 servers.   And, at both positions I did things that MS said could not be done at the time -- one was imaging a computer so that we didn't have to spend 5 plus hours installing WIndows and the software on the computers (had several batch of 200 computers configured with the same hardware) -- circa 1992 and remote control over dialup connections of servers -- 1996.

 

George

MSCE 

 

 

 

 

 

Message 8 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

Thank you for providing a very detailed description. It seems that this is a very unique case. We will try to further isolate it by testing an older version of the app. Please refer to the download link below then install the program and see if it works.

 

http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=NdnpqxKsgE

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 9 of 37
MrRoach
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

It seems that I have the same problem that George is having but don't have nearly the computer knowledge he has. I purchased an N600 Cable Modem Router model # C3700 a while back. One of my cheif reasons for choosing it was the parental controls but they have never worked. I initially used the help services that came with teh modem/router and was told there was a known issue but they offered no help. Now I am past the end of the initial Help period and there is no help offered without paying. It seems to me that if you had a known issue you would continue to support your product until it was fixed. Has anything been done to deal with this issue and get the information out to your customers?

 

Any help you can provide would be gratefully appreciated.

Frustrated Father

Message 10 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @MrRoach,

 

It is a slightly different case when it comes to cable modem-routers like the C3700 since the firmware for those types of devices will still need to go through a certification process with the Internet Service Providers. That means that any update to the device firmware may take longer compared to stand-alone routers. Rest assured, this is currently being worked on by NETGEAR to have and improve this functionality.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 11 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly


@DexterJB wrote:

Hi @gworley,

 

Thank you for providing a very detailed description. It seems that this is a very unique case. We will try to further isolate it by testing an older version of the app. Please refer to the download link below then install the program and see if it works.

 

http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=NdnpqxKsgE

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team


 

Status Update:

 

Upgraded to the recent version of Netgear Genie -- version 2.4.16.  Netgear Genie would not start.   And it hosed my Windows 10 install.   All of the Modern UI (Metro) apps failed to start -- Store would not start.   All desktop applications started just fine.

 

This happened on Tuesday 10/13/2015.   Had to do a PowerPoint presentation yesterday, 10/14/2015 so I could not do anything about it.

 

I did do some research on why Modern UI (Metro) apps would not start and none of the solutions worked.   So Today, 10/15/2015, I used the HP facility to take the computer back to factory defaults -- meaning Windows 8.1 as that is what comes from the factory.   Before I installed anything else I installed  Netgear Genie -- the latest from Netgear.   installed just fine. Didn't destroy Windows 8.1 as Metro Apps and Store launched just fine.    I was able to get to the Parental Controls on the Router at home just fine so I changed the settings on OpenDNS to block Adult Sites.   On two other computers, www.playboy.com was blocked however on this laptop, HP Pavilion Notebook - 17-g034cy (Touch) (ENERGY STAR), I could open up www.playboy.com.   I haven't tested it at my place of work yet.   Will shortly test there before I upgrade to Windows 10.  I even changed  DNS on the local machine to see if that help and it didn't not block the sites that it is suppose to blocking.

 

I need to leave -- I will post a list of pre-installed programs to see if that one of these programs might be causing an issue.

 

Thanks,

George Worley

 

 

Message 12 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

I got to work and guess what... the one at work blocked me from going to www.playboy.com.

 

I am going to upgrade to Windows 10 and see if it still works.

 

George

 

 

Message 13 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

bam not working and crashing everytime I load the new version.   Installed the older version loads but refuses to go to Parental Controls. 

Message 14 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly


@DexterJB wrote:

Hi @gworley,

 

 

http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=NdnpqxKsgE

 


 

File doiesn't exist.    The the next thing I get is a login screen where my user name and password for the forum doesn't work.

 

George

 

Message 15 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

Here is the new download link for the ZIP file of the previous versions (2.4.12 and 2.4.14) of the NETGEAR Genie program.

 

http://files.netgear-support.com/go/?a=d&i=AneFfQXr6G

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 16 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

The current version crashes with "NETGEAR Genie has stopped working"  A problem caused the program to stop working correctly.   Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.

 

Version 2.4.14 crashes with the above also  2.4.12. seems to be working at work.   Lets see what happens when I get home.

Message 17 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

Please keep us posted.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 18 of 37
gworley
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Culrrent Status:

 

  1. Did a factory reset of my laptop:  Windows 8.1
  2. Installed the latest version of the the website
  3. Everything worked at both work and home
  4. Upgraded to Windows 10
  5. Netgear Genie ran once.  After a reboot "NETGEAR Genie has stopped working" at both places
  6. Uninstalled and removed %UserProfile%\appdata\local\NETGEARGenie folder
  7. Reinstalled and had the same failure
  8. Uninstalled and Instated 2.4.14 with the same results
  9. Uninstaled 2.4.12 and installed 2.4.12 worked properly at work but didn't not at home -- could not change setings or should I say could change them but they reverted back to previous settings at home.
  10. I did a clean install of Windows 10
  11. Installed the latest Netgear Geniue and had the the same results as with an upgrade from Windows 8.1.  Only version of Netgear Genie I could get to run is 2.4.12 and worked properly at work (WNR2000v3) but not at home (WNDR4300) on a clean install of Windows 10.   I can go to OpenDNS website and change it to moderate but it never translates to the router.   I can change it on the router which has sent me to the website and it still remains the same as when I first setup it up or most of the time it says I don't have a connection to the Internet.  Sometimes I can clear this up by rebooting the computer.  However, I should not have to restart the computer.

The newest version says compatable with Windows 10 well it seems that even with a clean install of Windows 10 that it isn't.

 

George

 

Message 19 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @gworley,

 

I have already sent an inquiry to Engineering about this concern due to multiple reports about the NETGEAR Genie program crashing on Windows 10. I am awaiting their response regarding this. You may refer to the link below for the thread about it. However, version 2.4.12 has worked for most, if not all.

 

https://community.netgear.com/t5/Genie/genie-installer-updater-not-windows-10-compatable/m-p/992432#...

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Post

Message 20 of 37
krus5
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

please help, i have the same problem with my netgear n300, i cant log in to parent controls, i already tried all 3 versions of genie 12, 14 and 16 and it still does not work always the same error: there is an error signing in, please make sure you are connected to internet and try again

Message 21 of 37
DexterJB
NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Hi @krus5,

 

This has already been reported and Engineering is currently working on a fix for Windows and Android. However, if you have an iOS or MAC OS X device, you should be able to log in to your OpenDNS account through the NETGEAR Genie program.

 

Regards,

 

Dexter

Community Team

Message 22 of 37
krus5
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Thank you for update, I will wait than 🙂

Message 23 of 37
TheWombat
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

Avast Premier has a secure dns feature which is on by default and will break Opendns filtering because it hooks the dns requests and redirects them. I know this because I spent all of today banging my head on the desk trying to work out why one of my PCs wasn't filtering anything. It may or may not be responsible for your original problem but it will mean your filtering is inoperative. Try disabling Avast temporarily to see what happens. You can leave Avast running but disable the secure dns option, which is what I ended up doing. 

Message 24 of 37
krus5
Aspirant

Re: Parental Controls not working properly

looks like it works now.

Message 25 of 37
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