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story category Parenting Via LineLok
Face-plate allows phone control
(old news - 04:15PM Thursday Sep 02 2004)
tags: dsl · hardware
Endgadget takes a look at the Linelock, a DSL and phone plate that will allow a parent to cut off broadband or phone service at their discretion. As Engadget notes, the only drawback is a parent would need to put one on every phone in the house; and at $50 a pop parents would find it more economical to explore other options (like yelling?). The unit includes a DSL filter, and allows users to program restrictions via a phone keypad.

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Forums » Parenting Via LineLok
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mishaq
Premium
join:2004-01-24
Richardson, TX
clubs:

Or if the kid were smart

he/she could just remove the faceplate?
--
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Rhobite
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Cambridge, MA
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1 edit

Re: Or if the kid were smart

Looks like there are "security" screws on the faceplate. So the kid would have to take a dremel to a flathead screwdriver, which isn't too hard.

Edit: looked at the bigger picture, actually it looks like they're allen screws which are even easier. Come on at least they could have used torx (aka compaq) screws.
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Mospaw
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said by mishaq See Profile:
he/she could just remove the faceplate?

First thing I thought.

Apparently they have never seen "child proof" medicine bottles. Either they have way under-described the physical security of this device, or any kid with an Allen wrench will be able to get into it and bypass it within about 3 minutes.

delt4
Anywhere but North
Premium
join:2000-07-13
Pittsburgh, PA
·Comcast

Re: Or if the kid were smart

said by Mospaw See Profile:
said by mishaq See Profile:
he/she could just remove the faceplate?

First thing I thought.

Apparently they have never seen "child proof" medicine bottles. Either they have way under-described the physical security of this device, or any kid with an Allen wrench will be able to get into it and bypass it within about 3 minutes.

And promptly get his ass beat for not listening. I agree with you Mospaw, it is easy to bypass it.

Nerdtalker
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Tucson, AZ
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said by Mospaw See Profile:
said by mishaq See Profile:
he/she could just remove the faceplate?

First thing I thought.

Same here, I didn't even read the article fully, I just thought, well, that's dumb, all the kid needs is an allen wrench and some wire clippers, and boom, the thing comes off, you splice the cables together, and you've got it.

They practically explain it on their website: »www.smarthome.com/9620.html

Kids are more resourceful than you think...
--
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BA
The Old Man's Gonna Roll the Hard Six
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join:2001-05-24
Vancouver, BC
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Those screws look flat - they don't look like allen screws. You're going need at least a drill and good bits to get through that.

Rhobite
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join:2002-02-24
Cambridge, MA
clubs:

Re: Or if the kid were smart

Look like allens to me: »www.smarthome.com/images/9620big.jpg

Techie2000
In Vertigo
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join:2001-12-05
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said by BA See Profile:
Those screws look flat - they don't look like allen screws. You're going need at least a drill and good bits to get through that.
Considering the product comes with an allen wrench, the allen screws part sounds logical to me.
--
"Compromise, not a dirty word." - Bono|Kerry/Edwards 2004
shit

join:2003-07-14
Skowhegan, ME

Who cares?

Who would want to take the time,effort and money to do this when you can simply go outside and disconnect the nid or take all the phone cords.

DaveNJ
No Fear

join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

arent accounts easier

Why waste so much time, just suspend the account, or even better disconnect the cord from the wall.
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11337845
Live free or die
Premium
join:2002-12-20
Seattle, WA

Interesting

They should consider making a version that incorporates one phone jack and one ethernet jack (or multiples of ethernet or both).

I know a decent amount of people who have their houses wired for ethernet, and that would be a great tool for those with broadband questions.

I wonder if those two phone jacks are any different with respects to the "Tel" jack having a built in DSL filter.

How is it controlled? How is there input? Do you take off the faceplate and enter your pin? I couldn't quite figure that out.

BA
The Old Man's Gonna Roll the Hard Six
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join:2001-05-24
Vancouver, BC
clubs:

Re: Interesting

said by 11337845 See Profile:
How is it controlled? How is there input? Do you take off the faceplate and enter your pin? I couldn't quite figure that out.

According to the description, you use the phone to control the unit.

antiphishing
Phishing Scam Terminator
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join:2004-06-09
Wilkes Barre, PA

Face-plate allows phone control

I can build something just like this for a lot less money. All you need is a clock unit with timer settings that control a outboard relay with more then one pole.



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EricJRW

join:2001-12-19
Fort Worth, TX

Re: Face-plate allows phone control

It would make more sense to put the thing in the wiring closet and run the house from the one panel.

As i recall most newer houses and apartments have one similar wallplate where the service comes into the house/apt.

This is where this gadget should go...
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antiphishing
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Wilkes Barre, PA

Re: Face-plate allows phone control

said by EricJRW See Profile:
It would make more sense to put the thing in the wiring closet and run the house from the one panel.

This is a good point.

You could have a centralised box with multiple timers which can feed more then one phone jack. Each phone jack could have it's own zone in which you could set a timer or no timer at all.
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JakCrow

join:2001-12-06
Palo Alto, CA
Gosh. That LCD display looks suspiciously like the one on the timer I use for my fish tank lights. How could this beeeee?!

paulhaskew
Unoffical Dominos Spokesman

join:2002-01-10
Vancouver, WA
clubs:

1 edit

um

give me my small toolkit and I can bypass it easily..

UnaFragger
Hi There
Premium
join:2002-03-05
Richmond, VA
clubs:

Re: um

give me a hammer, and I can keep kids offline.

CPM

join:2001-08-24
Miami, FL

LOCK IT UP

Just take the Kids computer away. And lock it in a safe. end of that BS
cbs228
Geeks Of The World, Unite

join:2000-09-04
Saint Louis, MO

Re: LOCK IT UP

<sarcasm> or better yet, just lock the kid in the safe so they can't go anywhere and hurt themselves </sarcasm>

Seriously, what's the point?

digiblur
Got Sipura?
Premium
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

911

"It's after 9:30pm, the phone is dead! I can't call 911!!!"

CPM

join:2001-08-24
Miami, FL

Re: 911

Why only after 9 30 pm do you need to call 9 11? are you watching Everyone love raymond again lol

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge

join:2003-09-16
Warren, OH
from what it says on the site, 911 and 3 other programmable numbers can always be called reguardless of the lock state.

digiblur
Got Sipura?
Premium
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

Re: 911

said by Vchat20 See Profile:
from what it says on the site, 911 and 3 other programmable numbers can always be called reguardless of the lock state.

I know... I was talking about the guys making homebrew ones.

Quentin
Xeno-Wolf
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AB, Canada
clubs:


1 edit

Hey, if you have the money.

lol, thats a little crazy, but I guess if you had the money, go for it.

Wouldn't do very good in my house lol, I have both main phone boxes in the back corner of my room just unscrew that, and wire my dsl modem directly in there, and cut off all the other phones in the house (lol)

Then again, I was never in trouble for using the phone lol..

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icex _
Premium
join:2004-05-22
USA
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Worthless

This realy looks worthless. I mean come on, a factplate that will allow the parent to cut off broadband? A kid can take it apart with a allen wrench easly and destroy it.

"Why did my broadband go down?!"
"Because you've spent too much time looking up porn homework!"
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devrandom
I got a pot, full of random stuff here
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join:2003-06-28

Re: Worthless

Or they could just connect to the neighbor's unsecured wireless network..

koolman2
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Anchorage, AK
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·Clearwire Wireless

Screw that

Easy solutions:

You want the kid off the phone and they won't get off? Pick up the phone, choose a number/symbol on the keypad, and hold that key down until they hang up.

You want the kid off of the broadband? Go the the broadband device, disconnect it and take it away.

Want the kid off of the computer? Go to the circuit-breaker box and flip the switch where the computer is located. Do this one only if you don't care about the computer.

CPM

join:2001-08-24
Miami, FL


1 edit

Re: Screw that

Well, Kids really don't need a computer to learn. Here is low tech way for your kids to learn. It is called reading a book.
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krobar
Is this thing on?

join:2002-09-15
Columbus, OH

Re: Screw that

Physician heal thyself, might I recommend a dictionary?

j/k, I realize it's a typo
--
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kinda neat.

CPM

join:2001-08-24
Miami, FL

Re: Screw that

What typo

devrandom
I got a pot, full of random stuff here
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Another route is getting them interested in doing something else..or making them do something constructive..like programming.

ilikeme
I live in a van down by the river.
Premium
join:2002-08-27
Houston, TX
clubs:

what about people with cable internet?

That doesn't look like it will work with cable since there is no cable outlet. Either way I could bypass that in less than a minute.
bassnguitar

join:2003-09-11
Imperial, MO
clubs:

Easier and cheaper

just to configure the router with a firewall rule! I like the yelling one better.

delt4
Anywhere but North
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Pittsburgh, PA
·Comcast

Kids that won't listen

Basically, this whole issue is about trust. Do you, ( if you have or will have a kid ) trust in him or her to listen to you. It should not have to come down to this, but if it does, that piece of tool is very expensive if you add up all the outlets in the house.

gwion
wild colonial boy
Premium,ExMod 2001-08
join:2000-12-28
Pittsburgh, PA

A squirrel hunt with a 10 gauge shotgun?

A firewalled network access point (read: a high-end router with a built-in packet filter, or roll your own with BSD or Linux and an old machine) would not only be cheaper, it would probably be simpler and far, far more elegant... and PC firewalls like the old 2.x versions of Kerio can forward logs to another computer (lots like most SOHO routers do), be remotely accessed and have fairly sound password protection.

There are a lot of ways to skin a cat; this one looks to me a little like a cat-skinning machine designed by a committee of professional elephant skinners.
--
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IAmTheEvilest
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join:2001-01-03
Santa Barbara, CA
clubs:

Re: A squirrel hunt with a 10 gauge shotgun?

You can bypass the firewall by disconnecting it from the modem and directly attaching the computer.

You would be amazed what children can do when they really want something.
--
The two biggest things: the universe & human stupidity --Albert Einstein
HalM

join:2001-08-24
San Jose, CA

You Guys Should Read The FINE Print!!!

This thing apparently DOES NOT control the DSL side ...it's ONLY a filtered jack...not a contolled one. This fron the ad for this piece of crap...

____________
The LineLok allows you to set up when the phone and dial-up Internet can be used.
_________________

dslwanter
Why would I want DSL? I have FTTH
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Re: You Guys Should Read The FINE Print!!!

said by HalM See Profile:
This thing apparently DOES NOT control the DSL side ...it's ONLY a filtered jack...not a contolled one. This fron the ad for this piece of crap...

____________
The LineLok allows you to set up when the phone and dial-up Internet can be used.
_________________

If the line locks up than nothing can be used, it kills it genius.
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apsinkus

join:2002-06-25
Chicago, IL

Whatever happened to parenting?

Whatever happened to parents doing their job?
When I was a child, I never said "no" to my father! He was a cool dad, but if I crossed that line, well... I once did... You can bet I never did it again!
If your kid is a royal pain, ask him if he has ever heard of a catholic boarding school or a military school and if he wants to find out how the life is there. Heck, he/she might even get a good education with some discipline without you risking them calling DCFS (in my neighborhood you have to get to the phone first ).

Peace!

richk_1957
If ..Then..Else
Premium
join:2001-04-11
Minas Tirith

Re: Whatever happened to parenting?

Same here.
When I was a kid, when I blatently went against my parents wishes, I paid for it [ouch]. Thgese days, you send your kid to bed without supper, the kid next day calls the police 'my parents aren't feeding me' and the next day the police & child support get sent to the house [I've seen it happen]

And a lot of parents don't want to be bothered sending their kids to a private school, or say 'I can't afford it' [it is expensive], or say they don't have time to discipline their kids.
Lepriapus

join:2002-02-01
Atlanta, GA
LMAO!! If you love your child, then the fear of God, AKA Daddy, has been instilled.

Frank
is chilling
Premium
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somewhere

dammit

this is one of those inventions that leaves me thinking..... 'why didnt I think of coming up with something like this?'

cyrus369

join:2002-09-16
usa
clubs:

Re: dammit

said by Frank See Profile:
this is one of those inventions that leaves me thinking..... 'why didnt I think of coming up with something like this?'

it would be cheaper to just take the phone and or modem, problem solved. or if your not going to be home just go out to the demarc and unplug the phone.
--
Don't argue with an idiot, he will bring you down to his level, and win because of experience.

bigdaddy17

join:2003-05-08
Miami, FL

Re: dammit

exactly.. take the modem away. Problem solved.

cyrus369

join:2002-09-16
usa
clubs:

Re: dammit

said by bigdaddy17 See Profile:
exactly.. take the modem away. Problem solved.

lol yea, whats next linelok power adapters? i mean when i got in trouble my parents would waste money on this, they would just take the whole dam computer, and if i had a report to type, bust out the typewriter. phone punishment never really worked for me, so what i cant talk on the phone? dam i used the phone maybe 30 sec a day, more of a girls punishment.
--
Don't argue with an idiot, he will bring you down to his level, and win because of experience.

Ben67

join:2000-07-08
Monroe, GA

More junk

As a parent(who happens to be single)I see no need for junky half-ass filters that most kids could easily bypass and start a "pissing contest" between kids and parents.

I try to teach my kids what's right what's wrong, they're 9and1/2 and 11 and they have a pretty good grasp of it.

Of course we don't have a land line phone and the cable modem and router sit next to me so no messing with that either.

On a side note, whoever these 10 or thereabouts kids are that know more about computers than their parents do certainly don't live in my house. I mean my kids couldn't tell the difference between a router and a modem or a host file from an ip addy. They have no interest in how it works, it breaks they get Dad(me)to fix it and go on.

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nerdling301

join:2004-01-12
Brookline, MA

you're forgetting something...

Those of you who are complaining about how easy it would be for a kid to take a DREMEL saw and a torx bit to this thing are forgetting something. Most kids don't know how to use a dremel saw, and this product isn't marketed towards 16 and 17 year olds i think. I highly doubt that younger kids don't have your level of technical prowess when it comes to disassembling dsl plates.
--
- Bill
karlj1

join:2004-01-25
Ottawa, ON

Re: you're forgetting something...

Nice idea but no. I'd take away my daughter's PC first. Considering the fact that if she has done something bad, playing on the computer - net or no net - is a *privilege*.

Why would I say no net access, then turn around and still say she can still play on her computer? That would be like saying no cable or satellite TV, but she can still go watch a DVD. Sure that would be punishment.

K.
skiguy219

join:2001-02-01
Beaverton, OR
clubs:

Re: you're forgetting something...

I normaly dont comment and just read...But i was on there website and something tells me its a allen wrence because on the list of things you it, Allen wrench is one of them...pointless invention
russotto

join:2000-10-05
Collegeville, PA
I'm guessing a lot of younger kids DO have the level of technical prowess it takes to bypass the plates. What they may or may not have is the ability to hide their handiwork.

Neil
Stop All The Downloadin

join:2003-08-20
New York, NY

Re: you're forgetting something...

Amateurs
zipjay

join:2003-03-11
Louisville, KY
ive seen a 16yo on tv whos dad put filtering software on his computer... thats so wrong....

schnuggles
Stays Crunchy In Milk

join:2003-06-07
Deming, NM

Why not just disable login?

When my kid misbehaves I simply disable her account. Works in WinXP, 2000, OS X, and *nix...also costs nothing. Even if you don't have a secure OS, many BIOS's can require a password to boot the machine - that method even works for DOS, and requires more knowledge to bypass than this setup...and again it's free.
--
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