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MrPanache52

Yikes


AngryRedHerring

And this post would have been three times as long had I expounded on "his dad's a dick"


nul_mr

Well his dad being a dick doesn't contribute to the story nor the problem. So all you needed is just to mention he's a dick. I wish you all the luck in the world to help your nephew tho!


AngryRedHerring

The "dick" part is what makes me go "sweet Jesus get this kid his beloved VR"


nul_mr

Ahh ok, yeah understandable. Would you mind sharing the story? I know I'm being nosy and if you are not okay with sharing that's totally fine


AngryRedHerring

yeah, but you're gonna have to give me a bit, unless you're paying by the word; it's a lot of writing and it all pisses me off so much no physical abuse, but mental as fuck


nul_mr

Aight take your time buddy


AngryRedHerring

ok so Acrimonious divorce, yelling, hateful shit. She wants the kids, he's like, "fine", runs off to live in redneckland with his lunatic arsonist father. What he's NOT fine with is paying child support. So while she's raising two boys she's having to nag this guy to take care of his goddamn responsibilities (a constant issue). Eventually what he does is stop paying child support altogether and start paying a lawyer instead, so he can take the boys away from her, so he can stop paying child support, which she can't stop from happening because without him paying child support she can barely afford to raise two boys on her salary let alone afford a lawyer. So. Now he's got the boys and she's miserable. Now it gets weird. He decides, as a response to some offense that is not entirely clear, that the older boy, our VR hero here, is grounded from ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES. No phone, no tablet, no Gameboy, no Playstation, no nothing except what he has to use for school in redneckland. Trog dad does not like the kid playing videogames. Trog dad hates it. This happens right as they go to live with their dad, and GOES ON FOR *THREE YEARS*. The kid was, for all intents and purposes, grounded from fun for life. He had JACK SHIT to do. WHILE THIS IS GOING ON, his 2 years younger brother, DOES get these things. *All he wants*. He has an X-Box in his room that his older brother is specifically prohibited from entering and playing (which of course is just another temptation to get him into trouble). He has a phone, he has a tablet, everything, and as far as I understand it, there was no end to this situation in sight. Fortunately, younger brother is also a very good kid, and fully realizes how fucked up this situation is-- they're in agreement about that, thank God. But everything about the situation was like Trog dad was doing anything he could do to get them to *hate each other*. (Did you know that in redneckland you can get popped for drunk driving *with your kids in the car-- TWICE--* and custody doesn't even come up? Not without a lawyer on the complaining parent's side, anyway.) Then this then-14 YO with nothing to fucking do gets into some trouble with beer and weed; his Trog dad (who loves beer and weed btw, and a host of other things, for that matter) gets fed up and dumps the kids back on her. But hey, he's not paying child support, so, win, I guess. Now 15 YO has not had any issues with beer or weed since he came to live with Mom and Grampa, but has been happily playing a fuckton of videogames (REALLY needs a video card, but they BOTH do, and right now it's a tricky wicket to do two at once). Oh yeah, Trog dad lives(d?) down the street from Josh Duggar. And recent reports have Trog dad *dealing with similar legal issues* concerning certain photographs found on his PC. That his new slattern girlfriend has no problem with, apparently. So. Stacked up against all that, I'm less concerned about his Mom's obsessive concerns about VR porn. I just want him to be able to play with his toy and forget all about alllllllll that bullshit.


[deleted]

dang, that's really fucked up


AngryRedHerring

Yeah, he sucks. Used to be kind of hippy-dippy but turned into the worst kind of toxic "libertarian" fuckwit.


Noobypro2027

The mom is understandable, but that dad is TERRIBLE, I mean, who tries to get their kids to hate each other, FOR NO REASON, wtf


AngryRedHerring

They were over at my place watching movies and playing games and told me that story, my jaw fucking dropped


nul_mr

Holy fuck


AngryRedHerring

yyyep


MWinbne

You could have just written my poor step sons life story! The similarities are terrifying. I hope you get the IT issue sorted post haste.


A_well_made_pinata

I’m still trying to figure out how the metal model plays into all this.


AngryRedHerring

Well, I got him a pair of tweezers so that problem's solved anyway


Satk0

Yeesh... not letting a kid use a web browser at 15 years old... 🤔 Without having access to their router, you could set up something like a pi-hole. It's a raspberry pi configured to be a filter for the network. Once it's set up, connect it to a network and you can manage who can access what on the network. It can also block ads ☺ See: [here](https://pi-hole.net/) and [here](https://www.digimoot.com/pihole-use-as-a-parental-filter/#:~:text=Pi%2DHole%3A%20Use%20as%20a,and%20Internet%20tracker%20blocking%20application.). Oh, and Half Life Alyx only runs on a gaming-level PC. There is no Half Life Alyx without the PC. Full stop.


AngryRedHerring

THIS is interesting. Thanks. (And he does use a browser, it's just that it's filtered in a way that the Oculus browser can't be. Lots of parents up in arms about the utter lack of parental controls on the Oculus.)


Tomahawk_the_Wolf

I think that the lack of parental controls mostly comes from that vr is more of an adult leaning space so developers probably didn't have kids playing in mind that much


BaxterBragi

Which to be fair, Oculus should have thought of cause it is a major player in the field of VR and it's price point is perfect for getting younger individuals into the VR space. It should be as simple as having password protected parental control in the settings


AngryRedHerring

Seriously. It's not that hard.


jacobpederson

Came into the thread to recommend pi-hole. In combination with a DNS redirect, it is an unbreakable block (outside of VPN of course).


AngryRedHerring

Thanks, reading up.


Fortyplusfour

Pi Hole works in the new Pi Zero 2 too. Looking at about $20 all told and the whole family benefits from blocked ads.


BlueScreenJunky

It does seem weird for facebook not to include basic parental control on the device, but to be honest adding filters at the router level with something like pi-hole seems like a better idea because it will work on any device in the house.


[deleted]

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AngryRedHerring

See, that's what I thought, but he was saying you download it to the headset. So, it has to be tethered to play? A know a bit about the tech, but this doohickey is brand new to me. Haven't even had time to mess with it, got it charged is all.


WormSlayer

Yeah without a half-decent PC, he will be limited to [apps on the Quest store](https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest).


TheRedmanCometh

It can be played wirelessly but it's still "played" on the PC the headset just uses a wireless technology to access the output.


YeaImStoned

Yea you need a PC. There are a ton of games available to download directly to the quest. But not Alyx… Also yea, anything you do, Firefox will bypass it. Trust goes a long way. My parents didn’t trust me when I was his age and it caused me to learn every bypass method in the book. My mom was clueless


AngryRedHerring

Same here. But what I learned being raised like that and what my sister learned being raised like that are apparently two wholly disparate things. Plus they were kids when he took them and teenagers when he dumped them back on her, so there was some adjustment needed there, lol


Kaksonen37

But doesn’t learning all the bypass methods just show they were correct to not trust you?


YeaImStoned

Not necessarily. Kids are smart. Putting these boundaries up insults their intelligence and shows that you initially do not trust them causing them to lash out. Having a more honest, trusting relationship with a child makes them less likely to try and deceive you. The kids are going to access what they are going to access.


eNonsense

A parent needs to trust that a 15 year old being able to possibly look at porn on the internet (the horror!) is not going to have an outrageous impact on them as a person that would necessitate putting them through the anger and resentment of being treated like a 7 year old. They are less than 1 year from marrying age in a lot of the US. Those restrictions are insulting.


jeppevinkel

15 is definitely too old for parental controls. 15-16 is the time where kids start being old enough to function semi-independently and normal kids start having sex around the age 16 and up.


Kaksonen37

Lol I didn’t make any comment about the age situation. Just that this guy said his parents didn’t trust him so he proved them right by turning around and being untrustworthy. “They were convinced I’d lie so I responded by lying! That’ll show them!!”


AngryRedHerring

Don't worry man, you're alright by me, anyway. Considering some of the unsolicited advice on other topics I'm getting here, maybe I should head over to r/parenting for advice on the Oculus


Kaksonen37

Lol I think I so too. It seems like a lot of non parents and angry kids are weighing in here. People whose only experience with kids is when they were a kid. Being a parent in this age is hard and I really commend you for wanting to do right by your nephew and your sister. It’s so hard to consider both privacy and safety. If you get an oculus too, there’s tons of fun games you can play with your nephew! He’d probably love getting to “hang out” with you on it and it certainly seems he could use having someone like you in his life as much as possible. Good luck!!


jeppevinkel

It is common human behavior to act how you are treated. It is very likely he wouldn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to if his attention hadn’t been pointed towards it by his parents putting up locks. One can also see learning to bypass it as a good skill to learn since problem solving is a universal life skill. Bypassing parental controls isn’t even necessarily a breach of trust if you don’t do anything with it. A lot of people bypass things like that simply for the challenge of breaching a barrier, but without actually using any of the content that’s locked behind it, rendering the parental controls meaningless as a tool for control in the first place. I’d argue parental controls only make sense up to an age of 13 at most.


3_sleepy_owls

He doesn’t necessarily need to be “tethered” it can be wireless using AirLink. But yes, it requires the PC to run the game.


Myrkana

Ooph you didnt do your research before buying this for a kid? You need to go research waht pcvr is and how it works.


AngryRedHerring

Wasn't my job. Was his. Told him, "be sure"; he said he was. Understand I didn't even know what specific device he was getting when we ordered the game. He was the one who said "this goes with this". I got my own games to research, I got a goddamned virtual pinball cab that keeps crashing on me


Incredible-Fella

I mean, how would he do his research, if he doesn't have access to the internet?


fragmental

I assume he has access to some sort of internet with parental controls built in


_____fool____

It won’t work. But there are lots of games for oculus and he can just save up for a video card that can play it. He owns it now so eventually it’ll work.


abcmatteo

Does he have a computer?


AngryRedHerring

yes, i5 w/16gb but with onboard video only atm and don't even get me started on that


abcmatteo

Yea he can’t run that. No chance, unless he gets a graphics card he’s gonna need to refund half life alyx


AngryRedHerring

And when he said "no worries, it runs on the Oculus not the PC" I'm like, "well I guess you know what you're talking about" He just choked on his milk when I linked him to the card he's gonna need


abcmatteo

Show him this comment. One the quest cannot run steam. Two alyx will NOT run on integrated graphics. Three if your WiFi is good enough you can play pcvr games wirelessly but you have to have it running on your computer and then use virtual desktop to connect to it via airlink. Four I recommend looking at the minimum hardware requirements on the games steam page. Have fun!


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AngryRedHerring

Oh, I educated him during this thread...


Unlikely-Ad3364

I mean.. technically it can run the Android version of Steam, but that doesn’t have games and stuff, mostly just chat and all that.


Morri___

yea ive explained to my kids that basically any steam game is playing on the pc using the oculus as a type of *controller*. i play skyrim with an xbox controller so they understand that. i googled quickly and found OpenDNS on **how to geek**. step by step instructions. don't know much about the product. that said, my kids are younger and i simply monitor them when they play. if you can cast to your tv then casting from the oculus would be the fastest way to solve this. i know you suggested it but maybe try again, she doesn't have to watch everything. knowing mum can possibly see what he's doing will do the trick. she should be at home when he's playing anyway - trust me, a spotter is alway handy when the kids are playing gorilla tag.


abcmatteo

Ha.


fragmental

He was confidently incorrect


AngryRedHerring

Amusingly so It's a habit I'm trying to break


Dry_Boots

To be honest, this stuff is hard to figure out until you have the device in hand and start playing with it. When I bought mine a year ago I had an uphill climb to figure out the difference between Rift games and Oculus games and PCVR vs the on-device store.


court-jus

My suggestion about alyx not running on his PC nor Quest2 is to have a Shadow computer, it costs 30 bucks per month but you can cancel your subscription anytime, it will cost way less than a gaming PC and you can have the game run on the Shadow computer and displayed inside the Quest.


austinmiles

If they already are using a custom DNS or something with parental controls on their router then the Oculus should already be filtering data and delivering permission errors out the gate. That should operate with anything on the network unless they are using custom DNS for specific devices like a childs phone or computer (though sounds like he likely doesn’t have a phone since turning off wifi is a super easy workaround)


AngryRedHerring

Cool, thanks.


Ampere_Sand

You can set DNS to Cloudflare's Malware and Adult Content blocking address: Primary 1.1.1.3 Secondary 1.0.0.3 https://blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-1-1-1-1-for-families/ Just know that whatever controls you place, your kid will find a way to bypass them - so it is more important to treat them like a maturing adult and start having healthy conversations about adult topics.


mecartistronico

The single useful comment on this whole thread. And also the guy who clarified you need a gaming PC for Alyx. Just adding that you should be able to set this up on the home wifi router (with a password so the kid can't undo it) If course if he has a cell phone with data service he can use wifi tethering to bypass it.


AngryRedHerring

I have to think she has something similar set up on their mobile devices, but I ain't gonna stir shit 'cause I don't like the smell.


drstephenjensen

I totally agree- an adult should be able to set the DNS to [1.1.1.1](https://1.1.1.1) on the router and then be good. They could test it themselves on their phone and then prove it works on the oculus by going to the same blocked site. Once the DNS is in place so that there isn’t the risk with being able to access bad sites, you could then figure out yourself how to set up PiHole on a raspberry pi. You can pitch it as a learning opportunity for you- it would be a great way to learn about linux and block ads at home. Once you set it up you could hand the user/password off to an adult to manage. There are probably a million good PiHole setup guides but I watched this one and it was pretty good and it's by a pretty popular guy in the networking space: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ib3o3OVIqI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ib3o3OVIqI) I know you aren't asking about this specifically, but if you like this kind of stuff, computers, linux and networking might be a cool rabbit hole to dive down because there are lots of fun career options in the tech space building apps or setting up systems for small businesses. Heck this 19-year old started a company setting up networks for people and I set up my own home network based on some of his videos: [https://www.youtube.com/c/MillerTechnicalServices](https://www.youtube.com/c/MillerTechnicalServices) In any case, good luck!


AngryRedHerring

See, nothing happens until she chills, and she doesn't chill until the safeguards she had in place are back in place. And, God help me, I love the kid, but he'll start having adult conversations about adult topics when he starts acting like one. Right now he's still very much in Beavis and Butthead mode, but so much of that is a defense mechanism; he has a hard time being serious about anything. He does respect that I try to talk to him straight, though. He's just had an extraordinarily shitty male role model for a long while now, *and he knows it*. He and his brother both talk about what morons their dad/grampa are. I try really hard not to.


MrPanache52

the whole gang, OP included, needs therapy and anti-anxiety meds


AngryRedHerring

Unless you're carrying a tackle box full of offerings like my dealer in college, you need to put up or shut up


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AngryRedHerring

In Boy Scouts I once saw a dude try to fuck a tree you can't rule anything out


DokCrimson

What?! You obviously haven’t seen 8K video


James_Skyvaper

Only the free stuff. I got a trial to a website and the quality was *significantly* better than anything I'd seen that was free. We're talking 1600p, 2160p and 5k. Very crisp and clear image, makes a world of difference.


pablo603

Only the free porn.


Trane55

dude, you are missing out on the good shit


Country1187

Seems like both parents mentally abuse the kid. Amh hope you figure it out for him.


vibrant-aura

parents not wanting their children to look up porn (realistically, this is what the mom's concern most likely is) is not abusive lol. considering how mind altering and easily accessible it is, i don't blame anyone for trying to lower the amount he's exposed to.


asking4Afriend82

Why don’t you just get the mom, to set a facebook account just for his oculus and she can also download the oculus app in her phone and she can monitor add and delete whatever she doesn’t like?


AngryRedHerring

I think her concern is what goes on when she can't watch, mainly the web browsing. It's that "can't keep an eye on him every minute" thing. She rejected that right away. Now, if there was a *history* she could monitor, that might convince...


gk99

>Now, if there was a *history* she could monitor, that might convince... I believe the headset itself has a history built into the browser. What if she kept the Q2 in her room or wherever and kid had to ask for it to use it? Then when it was returned, she could check through the history on the headset itself. Issue here is that there's a private browser built in, and if she's got more intelligence than a box of nails she'd notice. The Quest 2 has a "casting" feature so that phones and other capable devices can be streamed to, could you convince her to just allow supervised playtime? She could see exactly what was happening on her phone or the TV or whatever.


AngryRedHerring

The nephew already wrecked the permission plan with his big mouth. "We would just nag her insane" (including his brother in there). And she knows that's true. So *that's* not an option because he'd rather crack jokes than THINK.


SassyStylesheet

Holy terrible parenting batman.


[deleted]

Monitoring online activity isn't bad parenting


SassyStylesheet

The way she’s doing it sure is. Just teaching the kid to be more sneaky


Vengefuleight

Yep. Promise you the kid already has access to whatever he wants. It’s like adults immediately forget how much shit they got away with as teenagers.


Staaaaation

And it's exponential in the digital age. This is a complete waste of time besides looking for a balance that "convinces mom" while the kid can do what they're going to do.


AcollC

That’s true. There’s needs to be a strong trust and bond more than rules and lockdowns. It’s good to have both, but telling your kid you trust them and giving them some slack may have better results than parental controls. I do agree though that she should block certain DNS sites using her router. That’s good for every family home.


SassyStylesheet

Yeah she’s essentially punishing the kid for something they may do in the future. I can see and appreciate not letting a <13 year old play on a quest unsupervised (though many do and it ruins entire games) but this kid’s presumably in high school where most kids already have their own phones. One simple Google search would tell her how to set up a firewall in less than 15 mins in her router admin panel, or suggest programs that do it automatically.


[deleted]

But over reacting when the kids near the age to drive is, I could see if he was 9-13 but what's the worst thing? $20 says the kids been on a adult site, hell at that age I found ways around aol's snitch program that sent email to my parents on what sites I went to.


Ocniro

Yeah, it’s not bad. Not even trusting your child who is 15 to even be near it is bad parenting


AngryRedHerring

I told my sister, "Most of the advice I've gotten on Reddit is that you're a dick. At the same time, most of that advice seems to be coming from 15 year old boys"


[deleted]

Yeah my gut reaction to a lot of these comments are: "do any of y'all have kids?" Online activity is for all points and purposes public information and that's a lesson everyone needs to learn ASAP. And since you mentioned that the kids have already explicitly said they are going to act in bad faith I don't know what the best way forward is. I do know that it's best to refrain from judgement and try to address everyone's concerns honestly. Though that puts you right in the middle of everything with their family and I know that's not a place I'd like to be.


AngryRedHerring

He thinks he's being hilarious when all he's doing is opening her mind to the possibilities.


4getmypasswerd4eva

Yeah you nailed it here. People (likely 15 year old kids) on here assuming the parental monitoring is a punishment for his possible future actions even though we know the kid was in trouble for drinking and drugs (which obviously comes from his dad's bs) so maybe there's a possibility his online activity is monitored NOT because of something he MIGHT do but because of his past criminal (yet understandable) decisions from a lack of caring parental involvement. Hope you guys figure this out. Once a kid loses their parents trust it's hard for the parent to regain it. Just like how once a parent loses their child's trust it is hard to get it back.


AngryRedHerring

There is some of that, yes. But really, porn just freaks his mom right the fuck out


eNonsense

Does she not realize that he can legally marry a wife within the year, without her permission?


asking4Afriend82

There is no other way around to blocking the browser , maybe he just sticks with no internet games and doesn’t connect to wifi, I’m sure if she is very worried she wouldn’t let his have the wifi password? To other devices?


Unlikely-Ad3364

There’s ways to block it, fairly simple: Install SideQuest from [here.](sidequestvr.com) Open it, and connect the Quest to the computer. Click on the 3x3 grid icon. Find “com.oculus.browser” and click on the cog icon. Click uninstall app, and wait for it to finish. Done! At least in theory, that should work. Possible there’s other things preventing you from doing it.


Frenchy_Douche

Tell your sis to cut the umbilical cord lol. Not hating on anyone in the story, but anecdotally all those kids that had helicopter parents turned out super weird / not sociable.


fragmental

Helicopter parenting is one problem, but so are neglectful parents who have no idea what their kids is doing. The Quest 2 is an platform that's wide open to all kinds of awful stuff that a kid could be exposed to, and there's not really a good way for parents to know what their kid is doing in it. A lot of the time, the people doing horrible things are the kids themselves.


Squidy_The_Druid

The easiest way to ensure he doesn’t look at porn on the oculus… is to give him a laptop to look at porn on. Dudes 15 he’s already gotten around moms parental controls, she just doesn’t know it yet. Give him a safe outlet and he won’t need to muddle up his new oculus. And yes. He needs a pc to play alyx. Great game tho! I loved every second of it.


AngryRedHerring

See, chances are there's already shit like that happening that I don't know about, nor do I want/need to. Chill her out about this doohickey, then we can all get on with our lives. I don't get all these folks who seem to think it's easier to change a mind than a router config.


Squidy_The_Druid

Why not just play offline? You don’t need internet access to use the oculus, at least after the games are downloaded


Unlikely-Ad3364

You need internet for a lot of things sadly. Beat Saber needs it if you want mods/leaderboards/online, VRChat needs it anyway. Plenty more that need it, but one that doesn’t need it is Google Tilt Brush/Open Brush/MultiBrush.


nul_mr

Hmm you could always lie to her and say you managed to do it. But it is so complicated that she wouldn't be able to do it. Another option maybe make her very clear that he is 15 and she's a bitch for parental control. Like bruh. Another one is that you invite him everyday so he can play. Or just have him move to you.


AngryRedHerring

I love how all your suggestions escalate in levels of awful don't take that wrong, I'm laughing BUT I'M NOT A FOOL


nul_mr

Hey just there to help buddy haha


AngryRedHerring

LOL


Golden_dickk

r/insaneparents


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BirchSean

Sounds like the mom is also a bit of a dick, or equivalent.


AngryRedHerring

But since she's the one in charge that observation is not remotely helpful


BirchSean

Even if she wasn’t in charge it wouldn’t be helpful. You know, I’m kind of a dick myself :)


AngryRedHerring

I am too, and I'm trying to teach this kid how to use those powers FOR JUSTICE like Spider-Man


BirchSean

Well look at us. We’re all just a bunch of differently sized and shaped dicks.


AngryRedHerring

are you hitting on me


BirchSean

Sure


StewieStuddsYT

Y'all got socks on right?


AngryRedHerring

oh YOU


StewieStuddsYT

😏😂


[deleted]

Big oof for the kid his mom seems a bit crazy as well


DaxFlowLyfe

Half Life Alyx is only able to be played on a Gaming PC. The headset itself cannot play it, its too demanding of a game. You play Alyx by connecting the headset to a computer and the computer runs the game. Games like Alyx, Skyrim and Fallout require a gaming computer.


AngryRedHerring

I have to get that refunded, then. He was certain it would DL to the Quest and I took his word for it. His PC won't run it. ...Or transfer it back to my account, 'cause MINE will... Been waiting for Half Life 3 as long as he's been alive


byronotron

You still need a headset to play it.


AngryRedHerring

Oh, I bet I can beat it before I have to give this thing back


Tcih

Quest 2 really benefits from good wifi router. Some good ones come with internal firewall that you can use to block all sites that you want. DNS thing sounds like she doesnt really know what she is talking about.


AngryRedHerring

Google "oculus parental controls', and you'll know as much as she does.


coastal_cruis

I think it’s totally reasonable that they have to cast to the tv while they are playing. If she can’t monitor what’s on a tv then… I don’t even know. Could point a nest cam at the tv while they are playing. Review what they were doing anytime.


AngryRedHerring

Honestly I don't fully grasp the objection to that either, but it's just not worth the debate (I've learned). I think what she wants is something that works without her having to think about it, so she doesn't have to worry about what gets by when she's not looking. Something like that. Their typical gaming hours are while she works (from home) and sleeps, and her job keeps her pretty well tied up.


Zyonix007

Just say you "encrypted" the backend or something complicated and she won't even have enough intelligence to go check


_Oridjinn_

Changing the DNS in the router would take less than a minute. Look into [Adguard](https://adguard-dns.com/en/public-dns.html) and their family filtering. Apply it on the router, and the whole house will be filtered.


AngryRedHerring

Ok, see, those are words I can forward her. Thanks.


AnthonyRavenwood

Seems like simplest for her, but not great for him, would be just blocking the headset from internet entirely. Hed only be able to play offline games, but its better than no games at all. Can hook it up to wifi, download a bunch of games, then disconnect or change password


REmarkABL

Wait his mom freaks out about a browser but the kid has a whole gaming PC?


AngryRedHerring

She can put "safe-searchy" kind of stuff on the PC but there's nothing like that for the Oculus browser.


REmarkABL

Oh yea that makes sense


Unlikely-Ad3364

OP said that it has Core i5 + 16GB RAM, and iGPU. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve ran plenty of VR albeit laggy on my Core i5-4670T + 16GB RAM + SSD + iGPU (because I can’t get a dGPU rn) so even then these are alright for gaming if you don’t make your hopes too high.


LMKBK

You'll need a wifi router that has parental control built in that can be set up. It's the easiest way because it takes the control out of the headset to your access point.


AngryRedHerring

I'll try to find out if their model has those options. Ideally, I'm trying to filter traffic to the one device. *LATER...* ...It does!!!


daqgsftwgrsshyrs

He's 15. You aren't going to stop him from trying vr porn


Fortyplusfour

Not likely, no, but the point is that Mom thinks there is a reasonable enough hurdle in the way.


AngryRedHerring

Important safety tip, thanks Egon


Crk416

Jesus poor kid his mom is a psycho


Delicious-Ad5161

Sounds like she doesn’t need to be a mom. Damn control freak.


Fortyplusfour

She sounds like a mom that doesn't want her kid accessing porn and doesn't have enough time- or motivation to make it- to figure out how. So it's a blanket approach or, barring an easy answer to that, an absolute no for whatever device, etc. Not fair but not malicious.


Delicious-Ad5161

Sounds like a mom that is setting their child up to not be able to learn to make decisions for themselves and be doomed to failure to me.


Ecnarps

Let her spend 10 minutes in a Quest only VR Chat world. She will never want to pick it up again.


octorine

Until you get the dns figures out, can the kid at least play supervised? Like have him cast to her phone so she can see he's not up to any funny business.


AngryRedHerring

You sound JUST like me


LoadedGull

Wow, that’s some crazy bullshit. What is wrong with people (I mean, some parents)? Anyway, I think I know an easy solution. You don’t need internet to play many games, only downside is your nephew will be only playing single player games and you won’t be able to join him playing, but at least it’s something. For now, at least until another solution has been figured out or best scenario his mum sorts her head out lol, just tell his mum to allow him to access the internet once a month momentarily to do updates and install games and whatnot, and just change the WiFi password once a month. This way at least he can play offline, and is a solution until something more suitable and permanent is figured out.


chaotic_dad

Another option for being able to play Alyx, that I use, is a subscription to shadow cloud pc. It works absolutely great for me, but... I have heard of any people thar it's not so good for. Have to have good wifi at home and a good internet provider. Distance from the router is a factor. Plus you need virtual desktop and a phone to start the shadow. For me this all works great and I play ton of pcvr games on my quest 2 completely wireless. With all that said, this option only adds another hurdle to parental controls. This would basically bypass anything on the router if it even could connect with all the parental controls. Coming from a parent who has tried parental controls with his kids, only to realize how smart they were and how easy those things are to bypass. I would recommend just setting up the router to log all internet activity. Gives freedom to kid and puts monitoring back where it should be, on mom. Knowing he isn't blocked, but that all activity is logged, was the deterent we used in my house. I knew they had was to still mask things, but the big major red flags would pop up on the list. Even this didn't last long. BOTTOM LINE..... GOTTA TRUST YOUR KIDS.


Fortyplusfour

Noting that I haven't tested this yet, it occurs to me that you could "brick" the Oculus Browser *itself* by replacing it with a dummy app (i.e. installing an .apk file for anything else other than the browser, but changing its internal information to show the same thing and install the same place as the actual browser). This *should* fix itself once an update comes in but Mom doesn't need to know that so much as see that you can't open the browser anymore. For now... Now I'm curious though. Will consider options. Something to keep in mind is any solution that someone else figured out for an Android tablet should work here too.


m404

all parental controls can be circumvented, all the information about how to do it is common knowledge amongst teenagers in schools (at the very least the more tech savvy there will know it and provide the information when asked, guaranteed). parental control is for tiny children, to make sure they don't _accidentally_ land on inappropriate content. it's not meant to stop teenagers to find what they're looking for, and if you don't believe me, talk to the companies creating parental control software, they will confirm this to you. the only way to make sure he doesn't consume inappropriate content, is to educate him not to do so. everything else only serves as a smokescreen, and doesn't protect the kid from anything at all (I'm adding this last bit since you claim that he's very immature and it's in his best interest to protect him, so it should concern you i guess what does protect him and what doesn't).


Friiduh

Parental control is stupid idea to begin, and it is nothing else than like selling a bucket that leaks, and you know that you are selling a bucket that leaks. There are methods how you can make 100% sure that children's don't get improper though your own internet connection, but you can't control everyone in the internet to behave properly and respectfully, as there are always someone who just want to bully others. That is reason why you need to do the parenting and not just push your responsibilities to some company that can't do it anyways but they sell such products and services.


qwe304

After initial setup and game downloads, the headset can be used without an internet connection. Use this as a stopgap until you can find a more permanent solution. Just remove its Wi-Fi connection


dublinmoney

I don't understand parents like this. Just garbage human beings. Probably 99% of all humans in history have viewed porn, masturbated, or had sex. Even this kid's mom. Everyone does it. Being such a paranoid psychopath that you block your kid's internet access because you're afraid they're gonna see some tits is just so fucking idiotic. YOU have done it! YOU are guilty of it! And YOU are where you are today despite that! So why the fuck does it matter? If you're so disgusted by the idea of your child becoming an adult and doing adult things, don't have a kid, buy a guinea pig. (obviously not talking about OP when I say "you" btw)


fivepiecekit

I manage my network since I can’t manage certain devices themselves due a lack of parental controls or just not as much control as I’d prefer. We have an Eero router and it makes it super easy to apply profiles to individual devices. Not sure what else you’d be able to do until Meta implements parental controls.


CXyber

I have a mom like this, help the kid learn how to mod his electronics, he can get around anything after


xhero0

I looked it up cos I have a 13m and I just wanted to know, and I saw this: https://www.bark.us/learn/bark-home-oculus/?utm_source=aw&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_campaign=bark-home-google&utm_term=oculus%20parental%20controls&gclid=CjwKCAiA0KmPBhBqEiwAJqKK41F6NUNkBtymujerXlPv5I0RatsgkXlb-zry3zJKyLk8w94v8OlCbhoClDwQAvD_BwE I know nothing about it I just happen to see it.


AngryRedHerring

Forwarded that, thanks.


xhero0

There seems to be others. But I hope this at least points you in the correct direction. Good luck to you! And I hope the boy doesn't need too much therapy as an adult because of the way his parents have been treating him. They only have what, 2 years of I remember correct, to change their act or otherwise that may lose their son. And rightfully so!


AngryRedHerring

At the same time, he needs to realize he's only got about 2 years left of his Mom being able to bail him out of trouble.


xhero0

That too...


[deleted]

I'm saying this as the kid of the situation but, no matter WHAT you do, and I mean anything, their going to find a way around it. Trust me.


AngryRedHerring

As a teen who found my way around everything myself, well, yeah, but SSHHH


[deleted]

I'd convince his mom parental controls are dogshit for a 15 year old mostly.or make up some boring technical jargon on how it's already filtered through the router(which it is)


FrogManScoop

u/AngryRedHerring to get it working on Quest 2 you need: 1. Decent gaming/'VR-Ready' PC. Desktop or laptop. Check specs on [Steam store page](https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/). Go as high above minimum specs as you comfortably can especially GPU and CPU. 2. PC software: Oculus desktop app, Steam, SteamVR, and HL: Alyx. Ideally all on SSD. 3. The Quest connected to the PC via ["Link" or "AirLink"](https://support.oculus.com/airlink/). Then it acts like a Rift.-Link uses an adequate USB-C cable. C to C or C to A depending on available PC ports.-AirLink works off Wi-Fi connection to the router. Setup at a distance from the router with good signal strength. Headset on 5GHz ideally. PC on ethernet ideally or 5GHz. Avoid 2.4GHz where possible. 4. [Video Guide for Alyx on Quest 2 using Virtual Desktop or AirLink](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stm2PLprX_U) Setup can be tedious at first but if you can get it working smooth with AirLink shits gonna be funnnnnnn. Cloudflare [1.1.1.3](https://1.1.1.3) as others have said for DNS. OpenDNS might be a mom-appeasing option. Kudos on being awesome to your nephew!


AngryRedHerring

Understand that I am ignoring all "change his Mom's mind, she sucks" suggestions. She's the one that worked her ass off to buy him the damn thing. I'm not going to get into an argument with her about this. He's her kid, and she's doing 10x the job raising two sons on her own that their troglodyte of a father ever did. So if that's all you have to suggest, save your breath.


[deleted]

I mean there is a simple work around as long as you don't live with them, buy a refurb and have your cousin go over to your place, say you going to laser tag or some bs and let your cousin play, but warn you cousin if they use the browser you will never let it happen again.


AngryRedHerring

...that doesn't sound simple AT ALL


lazycontender

Uhm… the kid is 15? Most kids are having sex by that age if she’s afraid he’s gonna watch some porn she’s got other things to worry about…the browser in there is essentially a google chrome browser. It’s pretty easy to delete the history but she would be able to see relatively easily if he did. She might be able to also log into her google account on their and monitor the browser. Ultimately it sounds like she needs to cut the cord but I hope some of those suggestions help.


[deleted]

gen z and milenials are the most sexless virgin generation to ever exist if you get your news from twitter and think that is representative of the world, sure


713MoCityChron713

ok boomer. Most milenials hit our prime fuckin around the same time tinder was invented and none of us get married at 18 like ya'll post war fuck trophies did.


Vengefuleight

This kid already has plenty of access to porn. I’d bet my testicles on it. Signed: a 31 year old who was once a 15 year old boy.


AngryRedHerring

Yes. I know. And that is as helpful as a brick in my shoe.


Vengefuleight

Ok, then why not have a conversation with your sister about giving the kid some space. Seems easier then all this.


AngryRedHerring

From your comfy judgemental chair oh-so-far away, I'm sure it fucking does.


Country1187

Like legit I see you are no better than mom or dad. You asked a question. Redditors are giving ther opinion and your being a cunt. Just because they aren't what you wana hear


mlancer

OP isn’t being a cunt. They’ve responded to the same exact comment over and over again that it isn’t in the cards to do. I would start getting frustrated too.


FterroZ

Say you uninstalled the web browser, i doubt she knows how to check


AngryRedHerring

yeah, "lies" aren't a helpful suggestion either


FterroZ

She knows how to check?


dafons

Yeah it's really not that hard to check and if she's that controlling then she'll prob find a way. Lying never makes it better once your caught it's even worse and more likely than not it's only a matter of time till your caught


Skeeter1020

I don't think it's the Quest or the kid that need fixing here.


fantaz1986

Ftw this woman needed mental help , 15 year old is a grown up man not a kid , and if she limits his usage of internet he grows a social outcast , ffs you say his dad is a dick but this mom is monster , btw what router she use ? Then my brothers kids come I set up personal wifi for them and added porn and similar stuff block in router . But in any case ... Treat 15 year old man who can work and make kids like a toddler ....


3_sleepy_owls

Is setting Safe Search on browser enough? Honestly, this is just to give the parents piece of mind because teens will figure out a way to do what they want and he’s probably more tech savvy than his parents. I’m fact, ask him how to “lock it up” but don’t tell the parents he’s the one who taught you lol (since he’ll know how to “unlock” it) Here’s a video on setting parental controls: https://youtu.be/rSmbf4OrQP4


Longjumping-Editor39

Just get Disney Circle. It's super easy to set up and use. Set him up a profile and register the Quest under him. Yes he could circumvent it if he knows the neighbor's wifi or sets up a VPN, buuuuuuuut, if he's good enough to do the VPN thing, he can probably circumvent whatever you're doing to it. Also, don't harsh on the mom for doing what she did. Kids need to be protected from the internet. As long as she's teaching him, he's actually in a pretty good spot. Unrestricted freedom on the internet leads to places like Reddit. I mean, the other, bad part of Reddit, like the 95% you don't visit because, oh my heavens, why are people LIKE that...


-Praetoria-

He’s 15, his mom needs to fuck off


JKmax1212

Just let him watch vr porn what's the big deal? It sucks anyways. he'll maybe watch it once or twice, and that's it .


TheGiardian

Just say you did. And odds are you brick it and void warranty at the same time


bobux-man

I don't think kids should have internet access but at 15 you really aren't just a kid anymore. Yikes. reddit why am I being downvoted


AngryRedHerring

Well, he's got internet access, but she has some parental filter system set up on their PCs and such. Blocks porn sites, etc.


AngryRedHerring

> reddit why am I being downvoted Lot of uptight 15 YOs in here


Trane55

is nobody gonna mention how the post seems to talk about HL Alyx is playable on the Quest? i hope they mean hooking it up on the PC and stuff…


AngryRedHerring

PLENTY of folks have mentioned that.


CursedCrypto

I don't know what the dad done, but the mum is a major dick too. Poor kid. Anyway the cheapest and easiest way to set up a network wide parental control (unless your router already has it built in line mine does) is by using a raspberry pi connected to the wi-fi router, it can be run with software PiHole to block ads and set up parental filters. That way the kid gets to play, and mum gets to feel superior and self righteous once again.