Previously, I wrote about how to singularly block websites through your Xfinity service that may be a distraction during certain hours of the day.
Today I wanted to provide some information about a service that you can configure which will automatically block websites that fall under certain classifications such as porn, social media and other malicious websites 24x7, 365 days of the year.
Cisco Umbrella, formerly known as Open DNS, is a free service that you can use to accomplish this.
Which device should this be setup on? The service can be configured on a home router, any PC or cell phone device. Cisco recommends configuring on the home router. I do not recommend it because AT&T Uverse routers cannot be configured to directly work with it. Additionally, I want just one computer in my house to have the website block preferences.
Steps to Set Up
Register to login first.
Once logged into the site, click on Settings and click ADD THIS NETWORK.
Give your Network a friendly name and leave the check box on Yes, it is dynamic and download and install the Open DNS Updater for Windows (or MAC OS) software.
When installing the software, select all the defaults, and then sign in using your Open DNS credentials. The software will then report to Cisco any IP changes so your blocking choices will still work after more than a day or two. This software can be installed on any PC in the house and doesn't need to be the computer that the blocking will be done on.
Back on the console page your network will now be added.
Now that the address has been added, click the IP address link to set up your block choices.
I would recommend clicking Customize to review the different categories.
This will drop-down a list of pre-selected categories so you can see what types of websites will be auto-blocked. Select what you would find offensive or a time waster and click apply.
Configure the PC
Because this is different for every platform, I will provide the links you need to follow in order to get the specific PC to point to Cisco's servers for website traffic.
They should be quick and easy to set up.
In summary, you want to change just one computer setting which is the DNS setting on the network adapter to point to the Cisco servers using the numbers 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220.
A note on flushing the DNS cache in the instructions; if you are not feeling tech-savvy, you can just simply reboot the PC, no need to get fancy.
If at any point you do not want the computer to use Cisco's blocking service, set the adapter to 'Obtain DNS server address automatically' and it will reverse the changes with a reboot.
Testing Blocked Sites
Changes made to the block settings any of your preferences normally take around 3 minutes.
Visit a known blocked site to test and you should receive the following screen by default:
There are ways to customize the page to make it look nicer which involves installing a certificate on the computer. If there is enough interest, I can write up an easy step by step using pictures, but this an example of the one that I set up.
Common Setup Errors
Most home laptops and home computers run off wireless, so if you configured your Ethernet adapter by accident, go back and configure the Wi-Fi one instead.
Other Handy Features
Open DNS has botnet and phishing website protection which acts like a free antivirus!
You are also able to monitor all website activity by turning on the reporting features. Go to Stats and Logs and click Enable stats and logs and apply to all my networks and then hit apply.
It may take a day or two for it to begin giving you some meaningful data, but useful nevertheless!
Community Driven Safety
Maybe you feel like Open DNS needs to add a domain you know is bad into the filter under a specific category. Fill out the form here to get it submitted.
In the meantime, you can always add a block to it by manually adding it under your settings in the console.
Hit confirm on the prompt and the individual site should now be blocked.
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