Submitted by PoisonIvy on 04/03/2014.
My husband illegally downloaded material from the Internet while he was at our house over the weekend. (He mostly lives with his parents, for whom he provides caregiving services, now.) I received a warning letter from our Internet provider. I'm extremely upset. Is there any way I can keep him from doing this in the future, short of preventing him from bringing his computer into the house when he is here? Thank you.
blocking internet access
Submitted by george on
You can easily block an individual computer, or you can block all computers other than the ones you specifically authorize. Access is controlled by the router (which in many cases also provides wireless access).
If he is connecting via a wired connection, you can block his computer's MAC address, a unique number associated with every network card. It consists of 6 pairs of hexidecimal numbers (like A9:6e:03:23:67:ef). Most routers have the ability to block computers by their MAC addresses. The router will show a list of MAC addresses of the attached computers. Pick the one next to his, enter it into the "block" box.
If he is connecting via wireless, you can do the same as above, but even simpler is to change the wireless password (you do have a wireless password, don't you? If you don't, all your neighbors will be downloading things as well!).
In both cases, you will need the admin password of the router. You access it via a browser, put in the admin username and password, and then look for the wireless security setting (try WPA2 personal as the security method) and change the password. You will need to change the password on all machines accessing the wireless network. So maybe blocking his MAC address is easier.
Every router has slightly different admin screens. Look up the manual online for your model. If you don't know the password to your router, the manual will tell you how to reset the admin password, usually by pushing and holding a reset button. The router address (like 192.168.1.1) that you need to put into your browser's address bar can be located from your computer. On Windows, "start"/"run"/"cmd": "ipconfig /all". Look for the router number. On a MAC, click on the wireless icon, "open network preferences", "advanced", "TCP/IP", look for the "router" entry.
Good luck. He can undo all that you just did by doing the same thing, but only if he is somewhat savy and you leave him alone in the house.
Thank you for all the
Submitted by PoisonIvy on
Thank you for all the information! I really appreciate you taking the time to write this down.
Illegal Internet Material
Submitted by lynnie70 on
My relative is getting ready to go to court for allegedly illegally downloading material while caretaking for someone. An FBI sting operation out Virginia traced the IP address. This person has been held for more than 2 years waiting for trial. Faces up to 15 years in prison. And really, no one knows if this person really did it or if someone was able to hijack their IP address. The Feds are getting very strict about illegal stuff -- it's really easy to get caught (or even framed) if you are doing anything even remotely shady.
now I'm terrified!
Submitted by PoisonIvy on
now I'm terrified!
Talk to your ISP
Submitted by sunlight on
Rosered,
Consider this first letter as a warning, don't panic yet. If they're like most ISPs they will write again if he does it again.
If you have trouble setting up your router feel free to call up your ISP tech support line, tell them that you need to limit access for someone in your household and can they tell you what is available and walk through how to do it. They deal with these circumstances all the time so should be able to tell you what can be done for your particular hardware. If you know the specific sites he used you should be able to block all access to that site. As for your husband, insist he reads the letter and explain to him that this must never happen again. If he is tech savvy he may be able to undo whatever restrictions you set up so make sure you check regularly whenever he's around.