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Web content filtering

Submitted by jonsd on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 08:47

Last year I set up MEPIS 6 for a friend. Now he wants content filtering to protect his children from unsuitable web sites.

This sounds like a common requirement for desktop Linux, but I can't find simple information about how to set it up. Ideally it should be a simple configuration option under the MEPIS System Configuration menu, but I can't see anything there.

So far, I've:

  1. Installed the "squid" and "dansguardian" packages.
  2. Edited /etc/dansguardian/dansguardian.conf to comment-out the UNCONFIGURED line.
  3. Made links in /etc/rc5.d S30squid link to /etc/init.d/squid
    S50dansguardian link to /etc/init.d.dansguardian
    (this was after much reading and experimention to find what worked, a simple user
    shouldn't need to do this?)
  4. Configured Konqueror -> Proxy -> Manually specify the proxy settings to: HTTP: http://127.0.0.1 port 8080
    [5] System restart.
Now Konqueror blocks access to "adult" websites.

Problems and questions:

  1. I tried setting Firefox similarly. Firefox->Preferences->Advanced->Connection Settings->Manual proxy configuration
    HTTP Proxy: http://127.0.0.1 Port: 8080

But then Firefox can't find ANY web sites ("Server not found").

  • Changing the user's proxy settings obviously isn't satisfactory because the user can simply change them back again. I read about something called "transparent proxy", which needs editing iptables. I certainly don't understand enough about iptables to do this myself. I use GuardDog to set up iptables for a firewall, but it doesn't seem to have any option to redirect ports (port 80 to 8080, I think is what's needed). I even read somewhere that I must uninstall GuardDog if I want to do this, but I don't want to loose firewall protection.

  • If I did manage to set up Transparent Proxy, then I want some users (children) to be filtered but other users (adults) to have free access. How do I do this? The dansguardian has an "exceptionuserlist", but the info says that you can't have both Transparent Proxy and also User Authentication, which I think is what's needed for the "exceptionuserlist". Anyway, I don't understand the instuctions for setting up User Authentication.

    • I'm happy to configure dansguardian's filtering criteria by editing its file in /etc/dansguardian, but unless I've missed something, setting up content filtering on MEPIS seems to be completely beyond the the ability of a normal user.

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    content filtering

    Submitted by john-m on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 16:25.

    Would it not be easier to use firefox addon blockxxx this program has a blacklist of websites and words and new ones can be added. Also you can password protect program so children can not alter it.
    Heres a link https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/226/

    John

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    > Would it not be easier to

    Submitted by jonsd on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 19:32.

    > Would it not be easier to use firefox addon blockxxx.

    The user could just avoid the filter by using Konqueror?

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    Don't know if you are

    Submitted by tonhou on Mon, 03/12/2007 - 22:36.

    Don't know if you are interested in this:
    http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=207008
    It does not use squid but tinyproxy (which has a much smaller overhead).
    Should work ok with SimplyMEPIS.
    Ubuntu Christian Edition has picked this up and the developer has added a nice configuration front end to it found amongst the options here:
    http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2007/02/ubuntu-ce-v15x-dapper-downloads.html

    Hope this is of some help.

    --Tony

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    I've used this

    Submitted by stychman on Wed, 03/14/2007 - 15:03.

    I have used this before and it works. You need to have some GNOME libraries installed before it works though but once setup it will block everything it should block and is easy to change if you need to allow a site.

    "Freely you have received, freely give" [Matt 10:8]

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