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I’m the tech-savvy owner of a MacBook for which I have admin privileges. I have tried blocking Internet access for myself in the past but I always find ways to circumvent the block. So instead of that, I would like to find a way to make it as inconvenient as possible for me to re-enable.

Is there any possible way in which I can make it absolutely and positively so that that Internet access is delayed for myself for a certain period of time?

edoreld
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  • I'm a little bit confused by the question: is this something you are trying to do for a managed user (either a standard user or one controlled by parental controls) or something you are trying to do for YOURSELF (the admin user)? – NoahL May 23 '18 at 17:16
  • Sort of sounds like you want "parental controls". – Chris Paveglio May 23 '18 at 19:07
  • Thank you for your comment. I have updated the question to make clear the target of the delaying. – edoreld May 23 '18 at 20:00

1 Answers1

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The most effective way to prevent a node (a workstation) from having Internet access is to stop it at the gateway.

Why?

Anything that you can do as an admin can be undone by another admin. However, if you block Internet access at the network level, an admin of a single node (your MacBook for example) cannot bypass that restriction (unless of course you give them admin access to the gateway).

That said, a very effective way to block Internet access is to route Internet (default) traffic back to the localhost (127.0.0.1). 

$ sudo route delete default
$ sudo route add default 127.0.0.1

While not foolproof, it can deter a determined admin from figuring it out what's causing the block because the network appears to be operational as the internal network is still functional. In other words, the user cannot browse the Internet, but still connect to local shares or use a network printer.

The caveat here is that to circumvent the block, you either reboot or just restart the network service. However, you can have a LaunchDaemon that runs every minute ensuring this setting is persistent.

With this setup, the user is tricked into believing there's a problem with the network and not their machine. Because even if they restart the network service, at most it will run for a minute, then stop. If they were the present these symptoms to even the folks here on AD, the initial responses will be to look at the gatway.

It's not that you lock your door, it's the perception that your door is locked.

Allan
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