How to block Discord on Asus router

If you want to curb your kid’s instant messaging habit, this is a quick and easy way to do it without taking away their phone.

When enforcing the rules of the house, it helps to have a little technological help. If you have an ASUS router, the built-in parental controls can ensure that your “no texting” rule is followed. With just a few clicks on your router setup page, you can block popular instant messaging and chat apps and websites on your kid’s phone, tablet, or laptop. This includes WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Snapchat, Twitter, Skype, Kik, Line, Google Hangouts and others. Here’s how to do it:

AiProtection – Web & App Filters for Instant Message and Communication

Before you begin, make sure you have an ASUS router. If you have another brand of a router with AiProtection or Trend Micro security, there may be a similar feature, but these steps were written using an ASUS RT-AC3200.

1. Log in to your router by visiting http://router.asus.com.
2. Under the General section, click AiProtection.
3. Click the Web & App Filters tab.

4. Toggle Web & App Filters to ON.

   
   

5. In the client list, click the drop-down menu and look for the device you want to block. If the device is connected to the network, it’ll show up here automatically.
6. Put a checkmark by Instant Message and Communication. (Try to ignore the horribly broken English on this page.)

7. Click the plus sign.

   
   

8. Click apply.

   
   

Your router will take a few minutes to apply the settings. Now, if your child tries to use an instant messaging app, it simply won’t work. Here’s a screenshot of the Facebook Messenger app with it blocked—it just spins and spins and never loads.

Conclusion

This, of course, is just one piece of the puzzle. It won’t work if they are using mobile data. They can also use normal SMS and text messages if you haven’t blocked or disabled these features on their phone. If you want to do that, you can usually block these services for a single line via your mobile carrier.

Also, while we are here, this is the same page where you can block Adult, P2P and file transfer, and Streaming and Entertainment content. Just check the appropriate box and hit the plus sign. If you’re interested in blocking all internet access at a certain time, check out our article on time scheduling with an ASUS router.

Do you allow your kids to send text and use instant messages? Why or why not? Tell me about it in the comments.

1 Comment

1 Comment

1. Birk

   I was able to block Snapchat on my Asus Router by accessing the Firewall … URL Filter AND Keyword Filter. I originally added Snapchat.com, snapchat.appspot.com, sc-analytics.appspot.com, feelinsonice-htr.appspot.com, http://www.fellinsonice.com, fellinsonice.1.google.com appspot.`.google.com app.snapchat.com, data.flurry.com. After doing so, I was not able to access snapchat from my iPhone on wifi, but my child’s device was able to access.

   I then added. snapchat, sc-analytics. feelinsonice, data.flurry into BOTH URL Filter and Keyword filter. I applied the settinga and knew I had immediate success when my child EXPLODED from her room!

   My 2 sons are home all day in virtual schooling. I'm also home all day working virtually from my home office.

   My high-school aged son is failing classes because he refuses to pay attention in class and do his homework. He is spending the time he should be in class by chatting with 'friends' on Discord and Twitter. I know this because I installed VNC Viewer on his laptop (he knows that it's installed and that I can monitor him at will).

   Telling him over and over and over again to stay off these sites during class is not working. As soon as I get in a Zoom call for work (which happens 3-4 hours per day) he knows that I am preoccupied and starts chatting.

   I want to block his access to these websites during the school day. Unfortunately, my router and internet provider seems to have other plans. I use Spectrum (cable) for internet and they provide a modem/router as part of the service. The router has Parental Controls which allow you to block websites, but these controls do not work for secure sites (https). Discord and Twitter both use https.

   So, I decided to try OpenDNS so that I can filter my internet traffic through their servers to block Discord and Twitter. Guess what? Spectrum has removed the ability for a user to change the DNS Server values through the router's setup menu. I guess Spectrum feels the need for all internet traffic to flow through their hands.

   I attempted to telnet into the router, but this resulted in an error.

   I know that I can chuck the Spectrum provided modem/router and buy my own, but I was hoping that there is some other method of handling this without me spending a couple hundred dollars.

   I should say that he is a pretty sharp guy, and is usually able to Google for help in defeating other countermeasures that I have installed on the laptop itself.

   
   02-09-2021, 05:57 AM

   446 posts, read 207,303 times

   The ISP supplied modem-router is often very restrictive. I would try setting up an actual router behind it to mediate connections to the rest of your household's devices. The ISP modem can typically be setup in a bridge mode or otherwise that just defers DHCP to your own router. The steps for this can vary greatly depending on the models in question so I am not going to get into specifics, only that this is possible to do.

   Discord operates over ports 50000-65535, block these on the router for your son's device. Some consumer model routers will have options to block items only during a specified window of time.

   He may likely try to workaround this by going instead through the web client, be prepared to play a bit of cat and mouse.

   
   02-09-2021, 06:48 AM

   5,608 posts, read 16,750,250 times

   Originally Posted by Yelling_at_Birds

   

   I would try setting up an actual router behind it to mediate connections to the rest of your household's devices. The ISP modem can typically be setup in a bridge mode or otherwise that just defers DHCP to your own router. The steps for this can vary greatly depending on the models in question so I am not going to get into specifics, only that this is possible to do.

   He may likely try to workaround this by going instead through the web client, be prepared to play a bit of cat and mouse.

   Thank you for the advice

   Although this may work, it is beyond my abilities, unless I find some kind of online DIY that gives step by step instructions. What would be a good description to type into Google search?

   He uses the web client normally, but he also has the desktop app available.

   
   02-09-2021, 07:16 AM

   5,941 posts, read 9,988,893 times

   Originally Posted by NewUser

   

   Not sure if this type of post is appropriate for "Internet" forum. Possibly "Computers" or even "Parenting".

   

   My 2 sons are home all day in virtual schooling. I'm also home all day working virtually from my home office.

   My high-school aged son is failing classes because he refuses to pay attention in class and do his homework. He is spending the time he should be in class by chatting with 'friends' on Discord and Twitter. I know this because I installed VNC Viewer on his laptop (he knows that it's installed and that I can monitor him at will).

   Telling him over and over and over again to stay off these sites during class is not working. As soon as I get in a Zoom call for work (which happens 3-4 hours per day) he knows that I am preoccupied and starts chatting.

   I want to block his access to these websites during the school day. Unfortunately, my router and internet provider seems to have other plans. I use Spectrum (cable) for internet and they provide a modem/router as part of the service. The router has Parental Controls which allow you to block websites, but these controls do not work for secure sites (https). Discord and Twitter both use https.

   So, I decided to try OpenDNS so that I can filter my internet traffic through their servers to block Discord and Twitter. Guess what? Spectrum has removed the ability for a user to change the DNS Server values through the router's setup menu. I guess Spectrum feels the need for all internet traffic to flow through their hands.

   I attempted to telnet into the router, but this resulted in an error.

   I know that I can chuck the Spectrum provided modem/router and buy my own, but I was hoping that there is some other method of handling this without me spending a couple hundred dollars.

   I should say that he is a pretty sharp guy, and is usually able to Google for help in defeating other countermeasures that I have installed on the laptop itself.

   You can just point your son's workstation to use OpenDNS by forcing a static DNS entry.
   Of course, if he knows what he's doing, he can just change it back to the ISP provided DNS (or one not being managed by you).

   You could then take his admin privileges away too....

   
   02-09-2021, 08:21 AM

   Location: Cleveland, Ohio

   15,156 posts, read 17,159,965 times

   Originally Posted by macroy

   

   
   You could then take his admin privileges away too....

   I would certainly start here. This would allow yo to prevent him from installing the clients, although the web pages would still work. So then you could use WIndows Firewall to block those:

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv0siV11ogU
   and since he will not be an admin he cannot change the firewall settings.

   Create a new ADMIN account. Make him a Standard user.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kj_8JrzNK4

   He will then need a password to install software or change the firewall.

   
   02-09-2021, 08:44 AM

   5,608 posts, read 16,750,250 times

   OK. Now we're getting somewhere. . . .

   He is already only set up to be a user on the laptop. He does not have admin access. I did that when I first bought the laptop for him to use. In fact, I did not even give him the password for the user account. He needs to come to me each morning in order to log into the laptop and start his school day.

   Regarding forcing a static DNS entry. . . . Thank you.. I'll Google on how to do that. it may be that the router also prevents doing that, but I have no idea.

   Regarding Windows firewall, this seems like it may be the easiset option, especially since a video was provided. Thank you for that. Then I also need to make sure the Discord desktop app is not installed. Perhaps I'm thinking of his separate gaming laptop that has it installed.

   Keep the ideas coming please. I really appreciate the advice.

   
   02-09-2021, 02:09 PM

   4,789 posts, read 5,062,986 times

   Since he doesn't have admin access there is the sledgehammer approach. Set up one account that has access to the desired apps and one that has access to the school needed apps. Force him to log onto the school account in the morning and only after the schoolwork is completed log him into the 'fun' account. As grades improve you can give him more access to the play account. Or install the 'fun' apps on a removable drive and keep that drive until school is done.

   By the way what is discord? ( My kids are grown and moved out)

   
   02-09-2021, 02:49 PM

   Location: Cleveland, Ohio

   15,156 posts, read 17,159,965 times

   Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

   

   By the way what is discord? ( My kids are grown and moved out)

   Terms you may remember: the newest IRC.
   
   
   02-10-2021, 10:30 AM

   5,608 posts, read 16,750,250 times

   Originally Posted by MidValleyDad

   

   Since he doesn't have admin access there is the sledgehammer approach. Set up one account that has access to the desired apps and one that has access to the school needed apps. Force him to log onto the school account in the morning and only after the schoolwork is completed log him into the 'fun' account. As grades improve you can give him more access to the play account. Or install the 'fun' apps on a removable drive and keep that drive until school is done.

   By the way what is discord? ( My kids are grown and moved out)

   We actually already have that, in a way

   We have separate laptops for school and play. The school laptop is an el cheapo HP that only needs to get him into his school accounts and Zoom classrooms. We have a second laptop that is a Dell Gaming Laptop with lots of RAM and a nice graphics card. We have the gaming laptop configured so that he can only use it after school hours, and even then for only 2 hours a day. Actually, he is banned from the gaming laptop at the moment, until his grades improve.

   The problem is the internet access to non-school sites while on the laptop to be used for school

   I did not have the opportunity to try the Windows firewall approach yesterday. I hope to configure that tonight.

   Discord is basically a big chat room. You can join different subgroups to discuss different topics. I think that it may have started out as a way for gamers to talk to each other while playing, but has grown.

   Can I block Discord from my router?

   Method 7: How to Block Discord on Router It has the feature of web filtering. Not only can monitor network traffic, but also block unauthorized network traffic. You can log in your router and add the URL of Discord to blacklist. Then the Discord will not accessible.

   Can you put parental controls on Discord?

   Are there parental controls for Discord? At this time, Discord doesn't offer parental controls, so there's no way for parents and caregivers to restrict content or password-protect the privacy settings within the app.

   How do I block Discord on all my devices?

   If you are signed into any Discord account, you have the option to click Sign Out of All Devices button. You will get a notification/email stating that this device triggered a Sign Out of All Devices. If it was done by you, they can ignore it.

   Can you block Discord servers?

   Discord does let the user block direct messages from other users that are not on the user's friends list. Users can also block individuals on specific servers by pulling up their profile, clicking on the three dots next to their username, and choosing the block option.