I’m currently stuck in a used bedroom infested with flies at the time of writing this.

My parents have decided to block internet whenever I try to move my PC back upstairs. Asking them wouldn’t work out because it usually falls on deaf ears.

A few days ago, they moved it without my knowledge, and I noticed that my folding table was gone from my bedroom.

I’m planning to set it back up again, but they might turn my internet off when they catch me. I’m trying to get a few ideas and create a plan to move my PC back upstairs.

I found a few tutorials on getting through parental controls, but the tutorials are done on Windows and parental controls are set up using TP-Link.

  • So, you can work around these things but you’re going to run into problems if you do:

    -If you reset the router, you need to restore the original password else they’ll know

    -if they notice you using these devices when you wouldn’t have access, they’ll remove them further from your reach. Possibly permanently.

    -If detected, a larger conflict is likely to be escalated. This includes a loss of the benefit of the doubt in the future.

    I’d suggest that this is not the battle to fight. They’re likely fighting your apparent obsession with tech. Let them have this battle and continue your fun later.

    Try the Stormlight Archive, wheel of time, or mistborn books. Maybe the redwall books if you’re younger. Fun and focus can still be had without a computer!

  • Depending on the type of flies, an open container with apple cider vinegar (not white vinegar) and a drop or so of dish soap will lure flies in and they will drown. It helps with smaller flies.

    As for the Internet, that’s tough, no idea.

  • there’s two possibilities for this wifi blocking:

    1. it’s setup to only allow whitelisted devices, in this case you’re fucked, only option is to pretend to be some whitelisted device
    2. it’s a blacklist, in this case changing your mac address will make you appear to be a new device, anyone monitoring the device list could see the unknown device appear
    • I know nobody likes a know-it-all. But FYI: The current suggestion is to call these allowlist and blocklist. I’m not sure how they’re called on the router. The terms have been out there for a few years already.

      • Are people really trying to make blacklist and whitelist a race thing? Good Lord.

        Are we going to start referring to cables as having female-identifying ends and male-identifying ends? Are USB-C cables non-binary?

        • That discussion happened a few years ago and most actively-developed projects using those terms have stopped or are stopping.

          Also, btw, while hermaphroditic connectors have always been a thing, in the USB world cables tend to have male connectors on both ends regardless of if they’re A-to-B, A-to-C, C-to-C, or have one of the many B variants.

        • Are we going to start referring to cables as having female-identifying ends and male-identifying ends? Are USB-C cables non-binary?

          hi, nonbinary person here

          no, you fucking doughnut! just say plug/socket or port/plug or keep calling it M/F, there are thousands of better fights to fight than this, and if anyone says otherwise, let them yell at the clouds alone.

      • Wow. Just wow. I’m deliberately not replying to any single comment. I didn’t know this is such an emotionally charged topic. And I don’t like it.

        I know the relation to ‘race’ and that being the cause for people arguing about it a few years ago. But isn’t it a better term? If I want to block something with my firewall… I’m putting it on the blocklist (or deny-list). If I want to allow something… It’s on the allowlist. Forgive me, maybe I’m a nerd and I don’t care so much about the etymology. Why bring in (random) colors? Can I please use the term because I think it fits better?

        And the discussion immediately shifting to connector genders… Well. Yeah I get it, it’s a funny subject. And comparing something with protruding parts to a penis is funny. Also for me… But you people immediately having trouble with the terms, (rightfully) bringing in hermaphroditic connectors. And there being several disctinct/binary ones but with ambiguities so that it’s more convention than protruding bits in case of electronics… It just shows naming connector sides that way is a stupid idea. It get’s you most of the way but after that, it just confuses people and stops describing anything useful. I’m a bit unsure about this. Because it’s one of the few accepted penis jokes you can make at work or a conference (at least innuendo). And I don’t want to lose all of them. But it has never been a good ‘analogy’ in the sense that it is a good descriptive way to name connectors.

  • What is a “used” bedroom? As for flies, buy a pack of fly strips for a couple bucks. That should handle your introductory list of “oppression”.

    All you are going to do is prove that your parents are right to not trust you. Consider why they don’t want you to have it in your room? What happened that they won’t allow it? Or maybe you need to prove you can be trusted with it first?

    If this was one of my children acting in open defiance like this, the next step would be locking the PC in a closet for a month, and then trying again with it downstairs. To allow them to earn trust back.

    This is not the way.

  • That is a weird whinge. Good on your parents for putting their foot down. If you show them some responsibility they will show you some trust.

    What on earth is a used bedroom? Do you not know how to clean your room?

    • I had strict parents growing up, they probably want the computer in a visible location so they can make sure OP isn’t watching porn or something

    • As a parent myself I often have to pause my kids internet because modern games and social media are addictive. I tell my kids it’s time to get off (because bed time, family activity, meals, etc etc) and they’re stuck in that “just one more” mind set. They can’t see that they’re addicted and we need some way to break the connection. We give them 30 minute warnings and remind them all the way down to zero and they still won’t shut down. If the parents are enforcing public usage it’s likely because the kid has been caught behaving inappropriately in private.

      To the OP, maybe instead of trying to get around your parents rules, listen to them and understand why. Show some responsibility and they might start to trust you.

  • It sorta depends on exactly how the blocking works but it’s most likely by MAC address. You can spoof this address through windows I believe, which will make the network view you as a different system.

    This article provided a few ways to do this: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/change-mac-address-windows/

    That would be your path of least resistance to dodge network blocking, assuming it’s being filtered via MAC address

      • My interpretation is that the parents are manually putting blocks in place after the device is moved. Of course if that’s the case and they’re actively managing this, you can get around it but they’ll notice eventually either way.

        Without knowing more specifics it’s hard to say. If it’s over a wireless network, using consumer grade equipment, Mac filtering is the option most people have out of the box. They can enable/disable it from a phone if they’re using TP-Links app.

        Anything else involves VLANs and firewall rules, and if that’s the case OP is out of their depth

  • What I would personally do is buy a device that can connected to wifi and hotspot at the same time. This can be a raspberry pi or a wifi router range extender.

    I would set the name and MAC address to match a device that is constantly connected, a smart TV or Alexa maybe.

    Then I would use this device connect to the internet.

    Everything works as usual and for those who monitor the network via Router settings, nothing looks different.

    Have fun pulling risky moves and maybe also learn something out of it.

    • One of these is $40 USD, and can be configured to provide a VPN for all through-traffic. They’re small, portable, discrete, and cheap. I love these devices. The slightly more expensive model gives you WiFi 6. They were designed as portable bridges for insecure locations, creating a private LAN; they are powered by USB-C, so could be run off a laptop.

      This would be the first thing I’d try.

    • Deliberately duplicate a mac address, and worse, deliberately pick a device that’s definitely going to be online in the same network segment?

      At first I thought you were either trolling or profoundly ignorant.

      Then I remembered that wifi is CSMA, and thought, hang on… is this actually a genius idea? Has this user come up with a hack that no-one else knows about? So I tried it.

      It doesn’t work. I couldn’t even join.

      So no, you are either trolling or ignorant.

      Hers some discussion and links, for anyone interested: https://superuser.com/questions/1132935/duplicate-mac-on-a-wifi-network-problems

      • I think you are missing my point. The “pretending” device connects to router, while the “original” device connects to the pretending device. The 2 interfaces that share the same MAC don’t connect to the same network.

        The user also conncets to the pretending device. to hide their access to the router.

  • I don’t know how old you are or how much money you have to spend on this.

    I don’t know shit about tech. If I had to find a workaround, I’d buy my own portable modem and keep it secret.

    Caveats of this method: you may need to be of a certain age to purchase one. (Perhaps second hand…? You will still need a card for it though). Second issue with this is, how much data are you going to use? This may not work if you are planning on gaming. But if you just need to browse the web discreetly, it will be good enough.