Free web filtering with OpenDNS FamilyShield

Block inappropriate websites with one simple change to your router

The prevalence of adult material on the web will be of concern to many people with young families. Here we'll explain how to use the free FamilyShield service from OpenDNS.

OpenDNS FamilyShield is free to use and easy to set up

There are several ways of ensuring that inappropriate content can’t be accessed and you may have tried some already. For example, plug-ins are available for most browsers but that’s a hassle if you have to configure the filters for every possible browser on every PC or laptop. Stand-alone software is slightly simpler but still has to be set up separately on all PCs, and there's still the issue of smartphones and tablets in your household.

Alternatively your ISP (internet service provider) might offer a filtering service but details will differ from one ISP to another. By way of contrast, the solution we’re recommending here – Family Shield from OpenDNS – will work irrespective of the browser, the PC, smartphone or tablet and the ISP. You can also use it under Mac OS or Linux, in addition to Windows.

The only criteria is that the devices being protected must gain access to the Internet via a particular wireless router that you have access to and are, therefore, able to configure. If a smartphone connects via a different wireless router – for example, a neighbour's unsecured router – the same protection will not be enabled. Similarly, connections to the Internet from a smartphone or tablet via the mobile phone network won’t be protected.

The solution involves using a different DNS (domain name system) server from the default one which you normally use. Since DNS isn't exactly an everyday term, a word of explanation is in order. When you type a URL into a Web browser, that address is sent to your ISP’s default DNS server on the Internet which looks up its IP address, that is the actual address that computers understand. So, for example, if you entered www.microsoft.com into your browser’s address bar, the IP address 64.4.11.42 would be retrieved from the DNS server and used to access the Microsoft Website (try typing http://64.4.11.42). A good analogy for the DNS server, therefore, is a telephone directory.

Although you normally use your ISP’s default DNS server you can use different ones by entering the IP address of your preferred DNS server in your wireless router’s configuration menu. FamilyShield is a content filtering option for the OpenDNS server. It’s totally free, you don’t have to install any software on your PCs, and you don’t even have to register.

How to configure Family Shield

1. Go to the OpenDNS website select ‘Home DNS’ from the grey bar at the top and then, under ‘Parental Controls’, select ‘Get Started’. Next, on the ‘OpenDNS Parental Control Solutions’ page, click on ‘OpenDNS FamilyShield’ and then the orange ‘Sign up now’ button. You could sign up by providing your email address but if you’d prefer not just click on the ‘continue’ link at the bottom.

2. On the next page you’ll then be asked whether you want to setup FamilyShield on your router or on your PC. OpenDNS recommends the former, as do we, because this is the solution that will cause any computer or other device connected to your Wi-Fi network to be protected. So, click on the picture of the router to continue.

3. The next page lists all the major manufacturers of wireless routers and you should click on the name of your to see detailed instructions as to how to configure your router to use OpenDNS FamilyShield in place of your IPS’s default DNS server. In the next step we’ll see how that’s done with a Netgear router but the principles are similar with other routers.

4. Enter the router’s IP address (the default for Netgear is http://192.168.0.1) into the address bar of a new browser tab and log in using username ‘admin’ and password ‘password’ (unless you’ve changed it). Select ‘Basic Settings’ from the menu and against ‘Domain Name Server (DNS) Address’, check ‘Use These DNS Servers’ and enter 208.67.222.123 and 208.67.220.123 as the Primary and Secondary DNS addresses (but make a note of any original addresses). Click on Apply at the bottom of the page and log out.

5. Although DNS requests will now go to FamilyShield, for a while cached pages will be used so you need clear these. First clear your browser history (details differ depending on the browser) and then the Windows DNS cache. To do this, run Cmd from the Start menu to bring up the command prompt window. At the prompt type ‘ipconfig /flushdns’ and press Enter.

6. Back in the browser tab you were using in Step 3, click on the ‘NEXT: Test your new settings’ link at the bottom of the page of instructions. All being well you’ll see a page displaying the message ‘Your family is now protected!’. If you don’t see this message, you’ll have to retrace your steps and correct any mistakes.

 

Windows 8 boot into Safe Mode

Windows 8 PC or laptop in Safe Mode. Booting into Safe Mode in Windows 8 isn't as easy as with previous versions of Windows, but it is possible. Here's how to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8.

Why should you start Windows 8 in Start Mode?

When your PC has shut down incorrectly or refuses to boot up properly, Safe Mode is your friend. Safe mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers - no programs start automatically with Safe Mode, and your PC or laptop won't connect to the network so an infection is unlikely to get worse. This means you can find and solve problems with your PC, without endangering your hardware or data.
In previous versions of Windows Safe Mode was easy to find. Not now. Instead Windows 8 monitors the startup procedure and when problems are detected it automatically takes you to the new Recovery Mode. At this point you will be presented with the message: ‘Recovery. It looks like Windows didn't load correctly'.
Select the advanced repair options and choose Troubleshoot, Advanced options, ‘Windows Startup Settings', Restart. Your computer will boot into an ‘Advanced Boot Options' screen in which Safe mode can be selected.

How to start Windows 8 in Start Mode

If you're able to boot Windows normally, but still need to enter Safe mode, you can skip this rather convoluted process by going to the Start screen and typing msconfig. Launch System Configuration from the list of search results, then select its Boot tab. On this screen (pictured above), you can check a box to enable Safe boot, with various different types of Safe mode available below. Click Ok, then click Restart to boot your computer into Safe mode.
There is a much easier way, however. If you are at the Windows 8 login screen, simply choose restart and hold down the Shift key. You will arrive at the windows with options to troubleshoot your system from which you can select to boot in Safe Mode.
Of course most people who need Safe Mode will already have a problem with their PC. If you are already logged in and can see only a black screen, hit CTRL, ALT, DEL to bring up the selection screen, and choose logout, restart. Then hold down the Shift key and you will be taken to the window via which you can choose Safe Mode.

Format a USB drive that is write-protected

Some memory cards and USB pen drives have write protection switches, which allows you to prevent files from being deleted, or any new files being written to the device. It also prevents the drive or card from being formatted.

Occasionally, you’ll find that a USB flash drive will refuse to format and Windows will tell you that it is write protected, even though there is no switch.
Here are a couple of methods you can try to format the drive and remove the write protection. Bear in mind that there is no guarantee that they will work for you: your drive or memory card may be corrupt or broken and no utility or low-level formatting tool will make it work again. The only solution in this case is to buy a new drive.

Removing write-protection in the Registry using Regedit.exe

In any version of Windows from XP onwards, run Regedit.exe (searching regedit will usually show the program at the top of the list).
Navigate to the following key:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\
CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

Double-click on the WriteProtect value in the right-hand pane of Regedit.exe. Change the Value data from 1 to 0 and click OK to save the change. Close Regedit and restart your computer. Connect your USB drive again, and you should find it is no longer write protected. You can now format the drive as normal by right-clicking on it in My Computer and choosing Format.
If you can’t find StorageDevicePolicies, you can try creating a key by right-clicking in the white space in the Control folder and choosing New -> Key and carefully entering the name.

Now double-click on the new key (folder) and right-click once again and choose New -> DWORD. Name it WriteProtect and set its value to 0. Click OK, exit Regedit and reboot your computer.
If this method doesn’t work, try the following:

Removing write-protection using Diskpart

With your USB drive plugged in, launch a command prompt. Do this by searching for cmd.exe in the Start menu (or Start screen in Windows 8). In Windows XP, click Start then Run, and type cmd.exe in the box.
NOTE: you may need to run Cmd.exe with administrator privileges if you see an “access is denied” message.
To do that, right-click on the shortcut and choose Run as administrator. In Windows 8, simply choose Command prompt (admin).
Now, type the following, pressing Enter after each command:
diskpart
list disk
select disk x (where x is the number of your USB flash drive – use the capacity to work out which one it is)
attributes disk clear readonly
clean
create partition primary
format fs=fat32  (you can swap fat32 for ntfs if you only need to use the drive with Windows computers)
exit
 

Make a song on your iPhone into a ringtone

There are many apps which allow you to create or 'design' ringtones (plus other alerts: text message and email tones for example) on your iPhone. However, none have access to the necessary folders on the iPhone so can't save those tones directly and have them appear in the tones list.

Instead, you have to save those .m4r files to your computer and sync with iTunes to get those tones working on your iPhone.

It's easy enough, however, to use iTunes to make your ringtone, then sync your iPhone to import the tones.

Here's how to do it. (We're using iTunes 11.0 here, but it's a very similar process in older versions.)

1: On your PC, load iTunes by opening the Start menu and selecting the program from the list.

2: From your library, right-click on the song you want to use as a ringtone and then select Get info.

3: Select the Options tab and then tick the Start Time and Stop Time boxes. Enter times at which you want the ringtone to start and stop. You will have to listen to the track first and note down the time you want it to start. The stop time must be within 30 seconds, as this is the maximum length for a ringtone.

4: Click OK. Right-click on the track again, and then select Create AAC version. iTunes will convert the song. It will appear as a duplicate track - you can identify it by the track length in seconds.

5: Right-click on the original track, and then using the Options tab from the Get info menu, return the start and stop times to their original times. Otherwise, when you play that track, it will only play the section between your start and stop times!

6: Right-click on the short ringtone track and click Show in Windows Explorer.

The file will be highlighted. Right-click on it and choose Rename. Now change the extension from .m4a to .m4r. Click Yes when asked if you want to change the extension. If you can't see the extension, it's because Windows is set to hide the extensions. To show the extension for editing, follow the instructions here

7: Double-click the file to add it to your iTunes library (or add it using the 'Add file to library' menu option in iTunes). Then, in iTunes, click the drop-down arrow to select the Tones section of your library. You'll see your ringtone there.

8: Connect your smartphone to your PC and click on iPhone when it appears on the right-hand side of iTunes.Make sure Tones is set to sync with your phone. If you choose 'selected tones' rather than 'All tones' make sure you tick the tones you want to appear on your iPhone.

9: When the sync is finished, tap Settings on your iPhone, then Sounds, then Ringtone and select the new tone. It should appear at the top of the list, above the default Ringtones.