Server-based free web content filter?

A

Aslander

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 16, 2005
Messages
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Does anyone know of a server-based web content filter that is free? I need to block adult content on a secondary network with about 30 computers that is only for young kids. We need a free solution, and something that is on the server-side would be best so that I do not have to go set them up on each computer, plus half the computers are running Red Hat Linux.

I'm thinking of something sort of like Smoothwall, but for web content filtering. It would be nice if there was a mod or something for Smoothwall that could enable this, but I haven't been able to find one.

Thanks in advance.
 
Okay, so a couple questions:

ClarkConnect - Is this like SmoothWall in terms of setting up, is it Linux based, easy to use?

And as for the DanGuardian with Smoothwall, how is the install process? Smoothwall --> DanGuardian --> Squid? I don't know much about Linux, so hopefully the install process for these add-ons is simple.
 
Like this in step 1 of the instructions:

"Get the dansguardian-2.8.0.6.tgz archive (409k) from here and copy it to your /tmp folder on your SmoothWall."

I know I'm going to sound stupid, but what is the best way to get it to the tmp folder? Does SmoothWall have the capability to type in some commands to download that file, or do I need to copy it to a cd or what?
 
Maybe I should ask this, is there a guide on how to set up a web content filter using Smoothwall, DansGuardian, Squid, Modsys, and whatever else it seems you need to install?
 
We use a clarkconnect box at work, it is very easy to setup. Just download the custom packages for squid (if you didn't install them during setup) and dansguardian. You can install them with apt-get or through the web interface. Then start the services and point your browser to the proxy address, or use the machine as a gateway.

I have more detailed docs, but they are at work. Check the clarkconnect website. I think they have wiki and forum posts on how to get everything up and running. Check this page for info to get started: http://www.clarkconnect.com/help/

For ClarkConnect, and I'm assuming other like it, the easiest way to download packages is via command line. I have SSH setup on mine so I can use Putty to install packages and other things.
 
It goes like this:

Someone requests a page. Squid downloads it and puts it in it's cache. Dansguardian pulls it from the cache and filters it. The final page is sent to the client. It keeps the kids safe, and way cuts back on your bandwidth usage (cached objects such as images are stored on the proxy server).
 
What kind of storage space would be recommended for this then, since it caches everything?
 
I use 2GB, and it's plenty. Speed will be a greater problem than capacity for you. A RAID-5 array of SCSI drives would be almost mandatory in a 30-user environment.
 
InorganicMatter said:
I use 2GB, and it's plenty. Speed will be a greater problem than capacity for you. A RAID-5 array of SCSI drives would be almost mandatory in a 30-user environment.
Click to expand...

Really? I've been using an old 800mhz machine with a single IDE hard drive where I work with almost 200 clients and haven't had anyone complain about a performance hit. I have an old server with a RAID 5 array that I could try out if it would make a big difference.
 
I can't even get ClarkConnect to install, gives me a "Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception" error after I finish selecting all the options and begin the install.

I tried redownloading it and burning it to a diff type of cd but it's still doing it.

I guess I will try and figure out how to get all this set up on SmoothWall since I know that installs fine.
 
Might Look at CensorNet also. Last time I looked they had a few product that also did AD integration as well.
 
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