Blue Curve Parental Controls - it was a good start -

[rmikeyt]

The Blue Curve parental controls do NOT work as advertised. My 16 year old son has consistently been able to bypass any and all restrictions with the help of YouTube. I have gone so far as to seek help here in this forum with very little success at finding an adequate solution for parents who have kids learning from home and cannot simply take it all away. 

We are being backed into a corner and forced by Shaw to become networking experts in an effort to lock this down. I've gone so far (with the help of this forum) as to network aftermarket routers together in an attempt to create something FAR more complicated than the all in one platform that they have been marketing. But when I try to contact anyone in technical support I'm required to rehash it all over again (six times now) with a new "agent" which ultimately results in them telling me, "No one at Shaw can assist you at this time we did not build the modem or crate the software. I hope you are able to find an answer you are looking for. Thanks for choosing Shaw and have a great day!" This was after an hour and a half of hoping that I was finally chatting with an "agent" who was either savvy or empathetic enough to actually help me find a solution. 

I guess, what I'm trying to say is that, this is a heck an opportunity for a savvy networking software designer to make a product that actually works. People will continue to work/learn from home... millions to be made guys and gals. 

Shame on you Shaw. 

[g-idk]

Hi @rmikeyt ,  I guess you didn't know that the Blue Curve System is from Comcast/Xfinity in the States, both Shaw and Rogers use this system under license, for all the hardware and core software.  So not much Shaw can do about changing core software.  It doesn't surprise me in the least that a tech savy 16 year old can break any parental controls if they try hard enough.  Why is your son constantly and repeatedly disobeying your wishes, this sounds like a deeper problem than parental controls on Blue Curve.  I wish you luck but your son needs to co-operate as well.   

[mdk]

@rmikeyt -- take a few steps:

1. get a third-party router, and configure it with a WiFi password;
2. set the "administrative" password for the router's web-interface, so that your child cannot login, and make any configuration changes, and do not tell the password to your child;
3. set the administrative password for the BlueCurve's web-interface, and do not tell the password to your child;
4. connect the "uplink" (or "WAN") port on that router to a LAN port on your BlueCurve;
5. change the WiFi password on your BlueCurve, and do not tell the password to your child;
6. tell the WiFi password of the third-party router to your child -- it will be his only way to connect to your Shaw Internet service;
7. the BlueCurve will assign an IP-address, e.g., "10.0.0.2" to the WAN port on the third-party router. That IP-address will be permanently "fixed" -- there is no way for the child to change it, without administrative privileges on the BlueCurve;
8. Manage that IP-address, to limit the child's access;
9. No matter how much or how often the child changes to one of the 250+ IP-addresses available from the third-party router, it does not matter to you, because you have full administrative control of that "10.0.0.2" IP-address.

Your child can connect either "wired" or "wirelessly" to the third-party router. It does not matter to you.

[mdk]

P.S. If a Shaw employee tells you that you cannot have two WiFi networks, ask about the BlueCurve device. It can easily have one WiFi network for the 2.4 Ghz channel, and a second WiFi network for the 5.0 Ghz channel, just by turning-off "band steering".

[rmikeyt]

Hey @g-idk, 

Yes, it's definitely a deeper problem than technological deficiencies of a marketed solution that seemed to be custom made for my scenario. My son is sincerely testing the limits of my patience but that is not the point of this thread. There are other forums available for parenting strategies; I reached out on here (separate thread) to seek help with a technical solution that I can employ in my efforts to maintain balance between online learning and earned play time. This thread was simply to spread the word of Shaw's lack of empathy and, in this latest conversation, complete disregard for customer service. There seems to be no mechanism for escalation beyond a front line "agent" to address ANY issues... 

[g-idk]

Hi again @rmikeyt ,  ok got your point now.  I apologize if I also sounded without empathy, that was never my intention.  One of the biggest problems with parental controls on any platform is a determined kid,  as soon as they implement new safety measures to block access, there will always be someone out there bound and determined to break it and will post there success on youtube or similar for all the other tech savy kids to use.  And then we go round and round again.  It's a constant battle new safety measures then someone breaks it and they have to start all over again.  I do truly hope you can find a reasonable solution, and if I knew of one other than what @mdk has mentioned, I would certainly recommend it to you.  Bye for now and Stay Safe.      

[rmikeyt]

Hey @mdk 

This is exactly what I have done but the wifi speeds on the second router are still less than 100MBPS. We live in a split level house so the signal loss from the router to his room at these speeds is a non-starter. There must be a setting I'm missing. Ethernet connectivity from the second router is amazing and I can run a line to his room pretty easily but that doesn't give me the control I need because (according to the lovey "agent") there is no password protection on the Blue Curve modem ethernet ports. I can lock it down with the second router but he could simply swap the ethernet cable from his router to the BC and have unfettered access throughout the night. 

I'm perplexed though... why am I seeing >450MBPS on the BC wifi, >550MBPS on the secondary ethernet, and  <100MBPS on the secondary wifi?

I've got the network set up as LAN to WAN in a very similar configuration as you've laid out above. All user and admin passwords have been secured giving me sole access. I have static IP's making up a simple network that blocks his access to other computers/routers.

All that's left is a usable signal... What could possibly be the bottleneck for the wireless transfer rates?

[rmikeyt]

No apologies necessary... I know you're trying to help. When I was in school I had to anticipate the teacher... when I was teaching school I had to anticipate the smartest as well as the slowest person in the room... now I have to anticipate the internet! Its a rabbit hole of colossal proportions! All I wanted from Shaw was the solution that they marketed and maybe some help to close the gaps where they arose. What I got was a "thanks for your money but, basically, F U." 

I do appreciate you taking the time to join the conversation.

[mdk]

@rmikeyt -- he could simply swap the ethernet cable from his router to the BC and have unfettered access throughout the night. 

Why are you allowing your child to do that?

Is it possible for you to physically put the BlueCurve into a LOCKED wooden (not metal) box? The WiFi signal can penetrate the wood, but physical access to the 2 LAN ports is prevented.

However, the BlueCurve can be configured to "allow" just a few specific MAC-addresses, namely the MAC-address for your Ethenet-connected computer, the MAC-address for your smart-phone, and the MAC-address for the "WAN" port on the third-party router. So, unless he can "spoof" the MAC-address of the WAN port on the third-party router, he will not be allowed to connect to the BlueCurve.

> why am I seeing >450MBPS on the BC wifi, >550MBPS on the secondary ethernet, and  <100MBPS on the secondary wifi?

> What could possibly be the bottleneck for the wireless transfer rates?

The secondary WiFi speed depends on 2 things:

* the wireless adapter inside the secondary router -- if it only supports "Wireless N" protocol, not "Wireless AC" protocol, it will be limited to 150 Mbps (or 300 Mbps, if 2 "channels" can be "bonded");

* the wireless adapter inside your WiFi device -- if it only supports "Wireless N" protocol, then the same limit applies.

The "Wireless AC" protocol can transfer between 600 and 1200 Mbits/second.

Check the specifications of the wireless adapter inside your WiFi-capable device, to see which protocol it supports.

[mdk]

>  why am I seeing >450MBPS on the BC wifi,

Addendum: this is because the wireless adapter inside your WiFi device, and the wireless adapter inside the BlueCurve, are using the "Wireless AC" protocol, you are getting "better-than-Wireless-N" speeds, when connected to the BlueCurve.