Google stops working when Parental Controls are enabled

[stringer]

OK. Checked Safe search ON. Re-ran nslookup and ping:

ScottsLaptop:~ Scott$ nslookup www.google.com
Server:		192.168.10.1
Address:	192.168.10.1#53

Non-authoritative answer:
www.google.com	canonical name = forcesafesearch.google.com.
Name:	forcesafesearch.google.com
Address: 216.239.32.20

ScottsLaptop:~ Scott$ ping www.google.com
PING www.google.com (216.239.32.20): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=0 ttl=53 time=25.206 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=504.421 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=529.527 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=143.068 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=4 ttl=53 time=473.354 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=5 ttl=53 time=38.070 ms
^C
--- www.google.com ping statistics ---
6 packets transmitted, 6 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 25.206/285.608/529.527/220.615 ms

There was a brief delay between executing the nslookup and getting a response (maybe 3-4 sec). Google still wasn’t working. With Parental Controls still on, re-ran:

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Google then worked, with Parental Controls still enabled.

Re-ran nslookup and ping, for comparison:

ScottsLaptop:~ Scott$ nslookup www.google.com
Server:		192.168.10.1
Address:	192.168.10.1#53

Non-authoritative answer:
www.google.com	canonical name = forcesafesearch.google.com.
Name:	forcesafesearch.google.com
Address: 216.239.32.20

ScottsLaptop:~ Scott$ ping www.google.com
PING www.google.com (216.239.32.20): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=0 ttl=53 time=49.380 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=48.388 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=2 ttl=53 time=35.262 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=3 ttl=53 time=46.949 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=4 ttl=53 time=35.086 ms
64 bytes from 216.239.32.20: icmp_seq=5 ttl=53 time=36.487 ms
^C
--- www.google.com ping statistics ---
6 packets transmitted, 6 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 35.086/41.925/49.380/6.368 ms

Then I cycled Parental Controls (OFF then ON). Google stopped working. Re-ran
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
but Google still isn’t working. Re-started the browser as well, but no luck.

I don’t think I’ll need to re-cycle Parental Controls often, so perhaps resetting the DNS cache once in a while isn’t an unacceptable workaround. Mobile devices seem to still be working.

[stringer]

Even flushing DNS now isn’t working. I’ve re-started the browser, rebooted the laptop, flushed DNS, and google still won’t work while Parental Controls are ON (I haven’t cycled it during this phase of troubleshooting).

[support]

Thank you for your patience! I think we are closer to getting this thing resolved. The problems you are having stem from the coexistence of CovEyes and pcWRT parental control on the same device. As such, other devices are not affected.

Because CovEyes pinned Google to one IP address (in order to force SafeSearch), pcWRT has to follow suit. If a device has CovEyes parental control on, then on pcWRT, if you enable parental control for that device, Safe Search also must be turned on.

For the current problem, I think adding one more line to the Hosts file will fix it:
216.239.32.20 www.google.com

After you add this entry, wait for a couple of minutes for it to take effect. Then, restart your browser. No need to clear the DNS cache, reboot etc… Please let us know how that works.

Another question, are you sharing this device with a child? If so, is CovEyes turned off for your account?

[stringer]

OK! Looks like that did it. After adding that line to the host list, I’ve cycled Parental Controls, waited several seconds, restarted the browser, and google continues to work. I’ve also checked another computer that has CovEyes installed, and it’s working there as well (we have three Macs with C/E installed on our network). Should I leave the 216.239.32.20 forcesafesearch.google.com line in the host list? Thanks so much for the help! I really wanted to make this work.

[support]

Great! Yes, it’s better to keep that line also.

[Author]

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