isolate Steam Discussions on firewall

[red_dwarf]

hello. I need to disable just Steam Discussions (not all Steam community services) on firewall. I know how to configure firewall, but I need to know which exact ports to block. I asked Steam Support and they sent me here for help.
Thanks in advance.

[Spawn of Totoro]

You can set up Family View and prevent the use of the Steam Community in it's settings.

[Wolfpig]

If you want to Block the URL that probably would be https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/

And i doubt that there are specific ports you can Block without blocking out sites in General.

[cinedine]

You cannot block a part of a website via port blocking.

Your machine will use a whole list of outgoing ports to establish http/s connections. None of them will be specific to any one website and they will be shared by different requests over time.
On the other side any response from the website will be likely from the same port. Either 443 or (80)80.

Whatever you are trying to do, the firewall is the wrong way to do it.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Family View has this setting as Spawn pointed out.

[red_dwarf]

ok. So how to block just Discussions? Not guides, videos etc. Just Discussions.

[Azza ☠]

Is this for your children?

You can use security software, such as Kaspersky Internet Security and setup URL blocks upon:
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/*

Or use a third party child online safety application.

Software or Router firewall is also possible, the same way with a URL block. No port blocking needed. The way you do it depends on what you have got.

(or)

Under Windows, you can setup a child account.

Windows > Settings.
Click on Accounts.
Click on Family & other users.
Under the "Your family" section, click the Add a family member button.

Add a child.

Then back under the "Your family" section, click the" Manage family settings online" option.

Under the child account section, click the More options menu.
Select the Content restrictions option.

Turn on the Block inappropriate websites toggle switch.

Under the "Always blocked" section, add the links you don't wish to allow them access.

You should be able to do just the sub-domain:
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/

[Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at 🃏]

Originally posted by red_dwarf:

isolate Steam Discussions ...

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Family View has this setting as Spawn pointed out.

:qr:

Family View is limited to a 4-digit pin that a kid could unlock by guessing every combination. If they go sequentially, in-order, & the pin is 9999, then it should only take them 10 hours of guessing, at most.

It's a good(ish) start but it's not really a complete solution. ...wish they'd given us just ONE more digit... that would take about 100 hours for a human to brute-force (but only if you choose 99999 & that's the last number they guess instead of the first one).

EDIT: & Having been a kid, I can guarantee you, they will try. Not even necessarily because they want to use the feature you've locked away but because, from their perspective... it's a puzzle to figure out!

EDIT 2: Perhaps it would be useful to know why you want to do this, "red_dwarf".
If you're concerned about them posting something that will affect you, my solution would be to Family Share your own game library to another account that you create & then use Family View on that other account. They'll have access to your whole library but they won't be able to post things under your username / account.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at:

Family View is limited to a 4-digit pin that a kid could unlock by guessing every combination. If they go sequentially, in-order, & the pin is 9999, then it should only take them 10 hours of guessing, at most.

It's a good(ish) start but it's not really a complete solution. ...wish they'd given us just ONE more digit... that would take about 100 hours for a human to brute-force (but only if you choose 99999 & that's the last number they guess instead of the first one).

EDIT: & Having been a kid, I can guarantee you, they will try. Not even necessarily because they want to use the feature you've locked away but because, from their perspective... it's a puzzle to figure out! :D:

EDIT 2: Perhaps it would be useful to know why you want to do this, "red_dwarf".
If you're concerned about them posting something that will affect you, my solution would be to Family Share your own game library to another account that you create & then use Family View on that other account. They'll have access to your whole library but they won't be able to post things under your username / account.


:seewhatyoudid:

There are 10,000 possible combinations that the digits 0-9 can be arranged to form a 4-digit pin code.

If each PIN entry takes approximately 40 seconds, it would take up to ~111 hours to bruteforce a 4 digit PIN.

Then there are the number of attempts the system allows before locking it out.

I use Family View with my 11/yo son. He doesn't even try to get past it as he only wants access to his games.

[Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at 🃏]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

...
There are 10,000 possible combinations that the digits 0-9 can be arranged to form a 4-digit pin code.

If each PIN entry takes approximately 40 seconds, it would take up to ~111 hours to bruteforce a 4 digit PIN.

...

Unless they gave it a cool-down, it doesn't take 40 seconds.

Having done this to gain access to the secret base of the Bomber's Gang in Majora's Mask (without playing their little hide and seek game), I know that a code that is less than 6 numbers only takes a few seconds to enter / try a permutation of. (I hope to do a video of that one day, with commentary ("Is it 12345? How about 12354? 12435? ..." {finally gets it right} "Kid: ummmm yeah... that's right, I guess if you know the code I have to let you in...", but I don't actually have the proper equipment to record it.)

Just to see how long the extra digits of 6, 7, 8, & 9 would take to try, though, I tried it on a customer locker (with my own stuff in it) at Wal-Mart that used a 4 digit pin. After doing it for a bit realized it would take 10 hours of me (or someone) doing that, which might look a little suspicious to security but if the code is in the 4000 range, it would only take about 5 hours, etc.

Security never came & talked to me & I think I tried digits for half an hour.
(On my own stuff but lockers at Wal-Mart are self-assigned so they don't necessarily know that it was my own, given that they are told to check people's bags too.)
(The lockers were also made of crappy plastic... tbh, if someone wanted to steal from someone, they could have probably just ripped the door open with a hard-yank but that's destructive & destructive testing usually isn't permitted.)

Also, honestly, the 4-digit number that most people are going to use is 4 digits from a birthday MM/DD/YY combination.

It might have some more security measures than that which I know (such as the below mentioned max attempts) but the pin security still leaves something ...a lot actually... to be desired, imo.

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

...
Then there are the number of attempts the system allows before locking it out.
...

That's good to know ...& you're sure about that?

I wasn't sure where to read up on it (probably something simple I overlooked) & didn't feel like testing it and possibly having to contact support (iirc, I did test it but not to the point that it ever locked my account).

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

...
I use Family View with my 11/yo son. He doesn't even try to get past it as he only wants access to his games.

Then you have a very respectful son that you've done a good job teaching boundaries, if that is the case.

[Azza ☠]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

Originally posted by Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at:

Family View is limited to a 4-digit pin that a kid could unlock by guessing every combination. If they go sequentially, in-order, & the pin is 9999, then it should only take them 10 hours of guessing, at most.

It's a good(ish) start but it's not really a complete solution. ...wish they'd given us just ONE more digit... that would take about 100 hours for a human to brute-force (but only if you choose 99999 & that's the last number they guess instead of the first one).

EDIT: & Having been a kid, I can guarantee you, they will try. Not even necessarily because they want to use the feature you've locked away but because, from their perspective... it's a puzzle to figure out! :D:

EDIT 2: Perhaps it would be useful to know why you want to do this, "red_dwarf".
If you're concerned about them posting something that will affect you, my solution would be to Family Share your own game library to another account that you create & then use Family View on that other account. They'll have access to your whole library but they won't be able to post things under your username / account.


:seewhatyoudid:

There are 10,000 possible combinations that the digits 0-9 can be arranged to form a 4-digit pin code.

If each PIN entry takes approximately 40 seconds, it would take up to ~111 hours to bruteforce a 4 digit PIN.

Then there are the number of attempts the system allows before locking it out.

I use Family View with my 11/yo son. He doesn't even try to get past it as he only wants access to his games.

It would be possible to brute force the 4-digit pin code, even via a small kiddie script. However, I don't think many children will do that. A cool down on too many failed attempts (such as 6), try again in a certain amount of time (10 minutes later) will increase the time taken greatly and break any brute forcing script loop, if it is of any concern.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at:

If each PIN entry takes approximately 40 seconds, it would take up to ~111 hours to bruteforce a 4 digit PIN.

It was an example.

And if you assume a child is doing it, 40 seconds is reasonable as they are not likely to be able to type that quickly.

Originally posted by Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at:

Also, honestly, the 4-digit number that most people are going to use is 4 digits from a birthday MM/DD/YY combination.

Unless they have intimate knowledge of every one you know, that is unlikely to be an issue.

Plus I thought we were talking about children here. They are not likely to think like that. They will just hit random number and hope to get lucky. They will also give up rather quickly.

Originally posted by Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at:

That's good to know ...& you're sure about that?

I wasn't sure where to read up on it (probably something simple I overlooked) & didn't feel like testing it and possibly having to contact support (iirc, I did test it but not to the point that it ever locked my account).

At worst, you would need to reset it though the e-mail you provided when setting it up.

[Kiddiec͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at 🃏]

Originally posted by Spawn of Totoro:

...
Plus I thought we were talking about children here. They are not likely to think like that. They will just hit random number and hope to get lucky. They will also give up rather quickly.
...

I try not to underestimate mischievous children, especially since I know that video-game mechanics are actually what taught me this when I was a child.

& I also know that bored & curious people of any age will spend a lot of time on stuff that would otherwise be considered unthinkable.

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

...
It would be possible to brute force the 4-digit pin code, even via a small kiddie script. However, I don't think many children will do that. A cool down on too many failed attempts (such as 6), try again in a certain amount of time (10 minutes later) will increase the time taken greatly and break any brute forcing script loop, if it is of any concern.

Another good point. Though, I never used a script as a kid.

Majora's Mask is not the only video game that had combinatorics mechanics in it & consequently not the only game that I've done this with.

I didn't even think about this until video games showed me that, "Wait... instead of going back through the entire game, looking for an obscure clue (Scooby Doo) , I could just... guess every possible combination."

[red_dwarf]

Thanks for ideas. I want to block it also for other devices, not just PC so I need to do it on router. But it looks that parental control on router can't see urls and keywords. It goes right through. Do I have some paranoid DNS on providers side or something like that? It feels like mission impossible.

[Azza ☠]

Originally posted by red_dwarf:

Thanks for ideas. I want to block it also for other devices, not just PC so I need to do it on router. But it looks that parental control on router can't see urls and keywords. It goes right through. Do I have some paranoid DNS on providers side or something like that? It feels like mission impossible.

It depends on what router you have. You know the model / brand?

You already know how to login via the router IP Address?

Linksys - //192.168.1.1
D-Link/Netgear - //192.168.0.1
Belkin - //192.168.2.1
ASUS - //192.168.50.1
AT&T U-verse - //192.168.1.254
Comcast - //10.0.0.1

Does it have under the router settings?

Security > Block Sites
(or)
Firewall > IPv6 Rules and IPv4 Rules
(or)
Basic Rules > URL Filtering
(or)
Blocked Domain List

Some basic routers which come with your ISP (not third party) could be limited in options. More advanced gaming routers will have a ton of options. However, they are all quite different so depends.

[red_dwarf]

Originally posted by Azza ☠:

Originally posted by red_dwarf:

Thanks for ideas. I want to block it also for other devices, not just PC so I need to do it on router. But it looks that parental control on router can't see urls and keywords. It goes right through. Do I have some paranoid DNS on providers side or something like that? It feels like mission impossible.

It depends on what router you have. You know the model / brand?

You already know how to login via the router IP Address?

Linksys - //192.168.1.1
D-Link/Netgear - //192.168.0.1
Belkin - //192.168.2.1
ASUS - //192.168.50.1
AT&T U-verse - //192.168.1.254
Comcast - //10.0.0.1

Does it have under the router settings?

Security > Block Sites
(or)
Firewall > IPv6 Rules and IPv4 Rules
(or)
Basic Rules > URL Filtering
(or)
Blocked Domain List

Some basic routers which come with your ISP (not third party) could be limited in options. More advanced gaming routers will have a ton of options. However, they are all quite different so depends.

yes, it is in PARENTAL CONTROL and there is thing Website Filters. I enabled parental control and added policies.

In routers firewall settings I can block IPs, ports, forward ports, filter MAC. So parental control is only valid place to handle addresses. But it does not work.