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Author Topic: can you turn off the internet connection remotely?  (Read 32341 times)

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a1148383

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    can you turn off the internet connection remotely?
    « on: May 22, 2014, 03:06:12 AM »
    I have cable internet and the main cable is attached to my desktop computer in the living room. Our family also has two laptop computers that are connected to the internet service by their internal wi-fi. Is there a way I can turn off or temporarily "pause" the internet connection via one of the laptop computers so that the connection is turned off for the second laptop computer? Would the computers need to be on a network for this? They are not currently network together as I do not know how to do that.

    I looked over the router and there are no external buttons to allow this like on my old router. There is only one button on top labelled "WPS" or something. The service person from my ISP set up the wireless network.

    one laptop computer has Windows 7 OS, the other has Linux Mint Cinnamon. the desktop computer is currently non-functional but had Windows XP (the router is still operational none-the-less)

    DaveLembke



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    Re: can you turn off the internet connection remotely?
    « Reply #1 on: May 22, 2014, 05:01:32 PM »
    My thoughts would be to enable/disable wireless access to systems via using a MAC Address Filter. This would be a process where you only approve devices with specific mac address to connect to your wifi. And when you no longer want one of them to have internet access you simply remote into the router and remove or disable the checkbox for the mac address that is in relation to the computer that you no longer want to be on the network. This would require you to probably follow up with this change with a manual reset option which most routers have in their web gui interface. Upon reset of the router that one laptop or desktop with wifi will no longer have an internet connection.

    I am trying to figure out why you want to do this? What is the real problem that is not described here?

    If this is a parent wanting to shut off internet access to a childs computer, some routers have where you can set them to only have connection between router and computer between specific hours of the day. * However the kid hack to this is a paperclip if the kids have access to the router and can perform a hard reset back to factory default of everyone having unlimited internet connections.

    In my home I installed 2 wireless routers. One of which is on a $6 wall timer and so this 2nd $20 wireless router is only functional for certain hours of the day. And this wireless router is the one that my daughters computer connects to, so that she cant wake up at 3am and decide to game on the internet while we are sleeping. The wall timer that she is unaware of makes this router live from 3pm to 9pm and then it shuts off. Meanwhile my wireless router is on 24/7 but she doesnt have the key to connect to it.

    To shut a router off to pause it for a while and then have it come back on or active again from pause, there are Web Power Controllers out there for around $90 -$130 that allow for this. I used some DLI Web Power Controllers to allow myself to remotely power cycle devices that were prone to be troublesome with lock ups etc, such as a private Copperlink DSL connection through a burglar alarm circuit ( leased copper pair ) point to point through telephone company that allowed us to have a private DSL 4mbps network bridge to other offices within 5 miles. The problems with these modems were that lightning storms would make them lock up even if you had UPS's at both ends powering the modems. The Electromagnetic radiation from lightning would cause them to lock up even when lightning never struck the line that they were connected to through a weak EMP.

    Here is the devices that I used to remote admin ( power reboot ) equipment from home or from other sites at my prior career where I was systems admin. They worked sweet!!! http://www.digital-loggers.com/lpc.html

    a1148383

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      Re: can you turn off the internet connection remotely?
      « Reply #2 on: May 23, 2014, 04:54:52 PM »
      It is a parental control issue. I do not have access to the router settings, as the computer on which the service person installed the internet software and settings is no longer operational and will not turn on. We haven't had funds to replace it yet. We would just like to disconnect the 2nd laptop during hours when child was told he is not allowed online. the child computer runs Linux software as the hard drive needed replaced and does not have the original Windows software now so I was unable to use some parental control software I found that works with Windows, as my laptop is the only one one of the two with Windows OS.

      Our internet service is from Comcast and the router is one from their company. I think it is Xfinity service. The main internet connection can not be installed to my laptop computer as the cable is installed in the living room behind the desk and the wire does not reach to the bedroom. I was actually surprised the Wi-Fi still works since the desktop computer is totally broken.

      DaveLembke



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      Re: can you turn off the internet connection remotely?
      « Reply #3 on: May 23, 2014, 05:46:59 PM »
      I'd buy a 2nd router such as this cheap one and plug it into the other routers available ethernet port. Then plug the power cord to this 2nd router into an electric timer. You then can do what I am doing to limit my daughter to wireless internet between the hours of 3pm and 9pm.

      Newegg has a cheap router $15.99 :

      http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156381

      Walmart has an outlet timer for like $6.84:

      http://www.walmart.com/ip/Woods-50000-Woods-2-Conductor-Indoor-Mechanical-24-Hour-Lamp-Timer-White-50000/21682990

      This is the easiest way to manage parental controls on when they have internet or not, and its less than $25 to implement. With my daughters computer only authenticating to this other router, when that router is powered off there is no internet connection for her. And she doesnt know the wireless password to connect to the other wireless that is live 24/7. The only way a child can get around this timer with router would be if they knew the wireless password for the primary router or they gain access to the timer that the 2nd router is plugged into. If they dont know the timer is there, they might not get an idea to remove the timer and plug direct or turn the dial until it turns back on.

      The only free way to achieve what you want to do is if you can get into the router they provided and set up mac filtering and enable/disable manually or if the router has parental controls which many dont have to make wireless only functional during specific times for specific computers.


      Geek-9pm


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      Re: can you turn off the internet connection remotely?
      « Reply #4 on: May 23, 2014, 05:49:31 PM »
      May I ask a question?
       You say one computer no longer has Windows because you had to replace a hard drive.  But you do not have the Windows install disc.  Right?
      Somebody here has said that all you need is the product key. If you have it, you just borrow the same version from a friend and install it.



      a1148383

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        Re: can you turn off the internet connection remotely?
        « Reply #5 on: May 25, 2014, 12:41:37 AM »
        The other computer had windows Vista and no one we know has any install disc for it. We didn't like it anyway. I would prefer a solution that allowed me to turn the connection on and off without having to go to the router or to child's computer at the time when the child has been on long enough and we would like them to go to bed or such.