New Feature : Snooze Firewall Block
Completed
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I have multiple block rules for the same thing because I have them on different schedules (weekday/weekend). Rather than having to identify which block rule is in effect, I just create an ALLOW rule that I unpause to cancel out the BLOCK rules. So it would be helpful to snooze a paused rule to unpause it for a specific time.
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I consider the Emergency Override to be the nuclear option and I rather not use it casually.
Perhaps rather than having 'snooze' for blocking rules and a 'timer' for allow rules, how about enhancing the existing pause option. I think allowing pause/unpause to have start and end times would satisfy most needs.
Pause/Unpause (depending on current rule state)
Start time:
- Now
- In x number of [minutes/hours/days]
- At specific date/time
End time:
- Never
- In x number of [minutes/hours/days]
- At specific date/time
This will allow you to schedule temporary pausing/unpausing of rules, which may be useful for holidays and random breaks. The last thing you want is to have to alter your core rules to account for one-off events, which will lead to your security and control looking like swiss cheese.
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@Robert - The "Swiss cheese Cake" / "Emergency OverRide being a nuclear option" argument is valid for the use of the "Emergency Rule" but less so for a "time bound" Emergency Rule. If anything, a "time bound" emergency rule is a safety net for the emergency rule (Better to switch off an emergency rule after X minutes vs completely forget to switch it off )
The Snooze / Timer is effectively Pause/Unpause with a timer (I guess different way of implementing same capability). From UX perspective, the Snooze/Timer or Pause/ Unpause will be fine if the number of rules are limited and the user knows exactly which rule(s) to pause/unpause. However pausing/unpausing individual rules could prove to be a real pain (UX wise) if the user has to identify which rule(s) to pause out of a dozen rules ... and that too for just those extra 10 minutes the kids are asking for.
Ofcourse, the win-win case is if we have both "Timed" Emergency Rule and "Timed Pause/UnPause" capability (easily accessible in rules list and doesn't require going into individual rule definition). This way, users can decide between ease of use (Timed Emergency) or Enhanced Security (Timed Pause/UnPause of individual rule(s)).
Firewalla, we know you are following this :)
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@Rizwan I had an earlier post mentioning creating an allow rule will avoid the need to identify which block rule is active. I did also separately request for a way to group or sort rules to make it easier to identify active rules. I also asked for a way to group rules together so they can be scheduled and managed as a unit. This would then allow you to create a personalized emergency access rule, made up of multiple allow rules, that will only affect some block rules and leave others intact like the porn block.
I think once your kids see how easy it is to override all the rules, they will just keep pushing for that everytime they are affected by the schedule. Maybe if I can schedule these breaks, then i can just blame the schedule. Hmm, maybe give the kids some sense of control by having a web portal that allows them to give themselves extra time from a fixed time pool.
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Firewalla certainly needs to make the interface more friendly and intuitive. The current need to either figure out which rules are active or which rules are needed to be enabled to counteract other rules may be too intimidating to my better half. I would love to have the ability to customize the interface's section with pre-baked circle rule toggles with shortcuts to my own rules with custom actions like the ever popular: Allow Internet for 15 minutes
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