Product test
Devolo 5G router: fast, stable Wi-Fi using the mobile network
by Lorenz Keller
Disney animated film instead of porn: what's the Circle firewall good for?
20.5.2019
Translation: machine translated
If you want to know where your children are surfing the internet and for how long, you can either talk to them or buy a firewall. Circle has been working on the latter in collaboration with Disney. I have tried it out.
A firewall as a babysitter
Circle Home is an inconspicuous little box. It only has two connections: Micro-USB for power and a LAN port (1 Gbit) if you want to connect the device via cable. I opted for the wireless version. Only 2.4 GHz is available. The setup is very simple: install the Circle app, follow the instructions, create an account and a few minutes later the device is ready for use.
You can also distribute rewards. There are three to choose from: a later bedtime and the daily limit or cancelling the offline time.
The "Usage" menu item lists which app or website has been viewed and for how long. Click on a website to block it. A time limit can also be set for apps.
Handwork is the order of the day
If you want to set up Circle Home reliably for your whole family, you have no choice but to configure each device separately. This is the only way to ensure that all pages and services are really covered. If there is a family computer or a family tablet that everyone uses, you still only have manual control. Circle cannot distinguish who is using a device.
What also only works to a limited extent is monitoring the game time. My Switch is recognised by Circle, but the usage time only runs during an online game such as "Fortnite". That really limits its usefulness.
Slower and with an obvious weak point
As all traffic goes through the firewall, the internet speed is affected somewhat. Without the firewall, I manage up to 380 Mbit/s on my laptop. With Circle Home switched on, the speed drops to 280 to 320 Mbps. However, I hardly noticed this when surfing.
What the firewall has no influence on at all is the mobile network. Smartphones that are not connected to the Wi-Fi and therefore not connected to the Circle Home continue to surf unhindered. And if someone creates a hotspot, they can also bypass the firewall with all other devices. The new Circle Home Plus is supposed to be able to prevent this with a paid plan. However, I was unable to test this device.
Conclusion: Works on the whole, but is that what you want?
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chAs a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
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