Summary: The perfect answer to protect your entire home network: Just connect it up, set desired parental controls to block the type of sites you don't want, and Presto! every computer in the house is instantly protected. It's magic.
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Unfortunately, D-Link doesn't tell you how the magic can go wrong. The box doesn't know about bad web sites. Instead, every time your browser requests something, the box phones home to D-Link to check it. D-Link approves or blocks it based on your preferences.
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It's not just once per page - every picture, every ad, every element from each URL address is checked with D-Link.
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On a regular web site, the box phone home dozens of times. While checking a few web e-mails, it may be hundreds. If for any reason the box can't connect to D-Link, you are in big trouble. You are dead in the water, basically no internet at all.
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The password override won't help you, because even password override is controlled through the D-Link web site, so if you can't get to that site, you can't even temporarily disable the broken service.
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When was the last time Google was down?
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If D-Link operated like Google, depending on their computers might be OK. Unlike *free* Google servces, *paid* D-Link services are a disaster.
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At any random time, you become aware that 'Hey! The internet is *really* slow today!'. 20 minutes to log into web-based e-mail?
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But it is NOT the internet that is slow - it is D-Link's computers. Not enough capacity for busy times, or maybe hackers don't like them and they get hit with DOS (denial of service) attacks. Google and others providing *free* services deal with all these issues. D-Link's with a *paid* service chooses not to.
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This is a nightmare, especially if you use computers for anything important (weather, e-mail, homework...). Worse, D-Link customer service will not even acknowledge the problem.
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If you need your internet working, you must physically bypass the securespot box (assuming you still have some firewall and are not totally opening your network up).
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It's easy to move a couple of cables. Then every few hours, you can change it back and see if D-Link is running yet.
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In case you are not there when D-Link dies, you can train your spouse, kids, guests, friends etc. exactly where the box is and how to quickly bypass it.
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Whoops! Now everybody not only knows how to bypass it, they are even trained to be in the habit of regularly bypassing it. That sounds like the protection is gone.
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Presumably D-Link sees your $80 subscription as a gift, and they choose not to spend it giving you services you thought you bought.
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You can also worry about information D-Link collects. The box gives them more detail on your surfing than Google dreams about. Unlike Google, they can tie it to a person, an address, and a credit card.
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A reputable company would never use that information. But if D-Link are careless with a service you are paying for, how carefully will they treat your data?
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Bottom Line: Securespot is brilliant when it works. But it's a service, not a box. And the service doesn't work.
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Avoid it.
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