Section 95. View Router Log

95. View Router Log

BEFORE YOU BEGIN	SEE ALSO
Access Router Configuration About Network Connection Problems	About Content Filtering and Opening Ports Block Access to Websites Block Access to Internet Services

If you are using the content filtering features provided by your router (see About Content Filtering and Opening Ports and Block Access to Websites for more information), you might be inadvertently blocking access to Internet sites or services depending on how you have configured the content filtering. Content filtering is a double-edged sword, and you really have to think through how you configure content filtering if you want to provide different levels of access to the users on your network.

View Router Log

You can see the content filtering statistics (how access to the router is being allowed or blocked) by viewing the router log. If you see that access to a particular website or service such as email is being blocked by the router and you did not intend this filtering, check the content filtering settings you have configured.

Open Router Configuration Page

Open your web browser, enter the URL for your router in the address box (the URL, login name, and password are available in your router's documentation), and press Enter. Then enter the logon name and password for your router.

Access Logs Screen

On the router's main configuration page, click the Logs link (or a similar command on your router). The Logs screen opens.

Refresh Logs Screen and/or Send Log

To view the most current data being collected in the log, click the Refresh button.

If you want to take a snapshot of the current log and send the data to your email account so that you can read through it more carefully (and detect any problems in terms of sites or services unintentionally blocked), click the Send Log button (or similar command). This action will send the log to the email address you have configured in the router's email notification settings.

The log provides you with a look at all the data traffic between your network and the Internet. If you see that a connection to a certain website was denied by the router, and you hadn't intended on blocking access to that site, check your Block Sites configuration to see whether a keyword you entered is blocking that site. If you see that instant messaging traffic is originating on a computer after 9:00 in the evening, and you have asked your kids not to use instant messaging after 9, you might want to consider using the service-blocking feature to block access to instant messaging and then configure a schedule for that blocked service so that instant messaging is available only until the time you set (and on the days you set). For more about configuration issues related to blocked sites and services, see Block Access to Websites, Block Access to Internet Services, and Set Up a Filter Schedule.

Tip

To use the email log feature, the router must be configured for Email Notifications. This feature can be found on the E-mail configuration page of the router's configuration screen, which is opened using the E-mail link or a similar command. Select the Email Notifications option and then enter the outgoing mail server (the mail server you use in the form of smpt-mail.isp.com). You will also need to enter the email address to which you want to send the alerts. Some routers can also send automatic alerts to this address when someone attempts to access a blocked site or service.