need a bit of help for a kids only PC

Perhaps a heavy looking solution:

I'm running a linux firewall/router combination. It is equipped with an http proxy, Squid. The nice part is that you can add extra functions to Squid, like content filtering. My filter is Squidguard. It is a blacklist filter, so it depends on an external source. Squidguard can be configured to allow certain systems or users more or less freedom.
There are more advanced setups, but this is all for free.

My system is sme server, with some extra plugins.
No, you need not learn linux, just follow a few howto's.

 

the makers of Bitguard firewall have a good filter product to protect your children against online pornography. http://www.tryus.dk/enologic.asp

 

back again.

apparently the little one likes to use my machine (windows 2k3 standard)..."i just like yours". so i don't want to have to start buying contentprotect for all the machines in the house...paid for one and it's good. but maybe a hardware solution...including cerberian. can you give me some feedback on cerberian...good/bad, does it slowdown browsing. i was looking at zyxel and belkin as these two apparently offer cerberian.

 

Probably more costly than you want, but the smartwebbrowser might be a good choice for your ten year old. It has a monthly fee so you could use it for awhile and see if you like it.

http://www.smartwebbrowser.com/Firefox_Browser.html





Another option of course is, cough...AOL.

 

On my system (ZyXel ZyWall 10W with Cerberian) I see no slowdown, but I've adjusted it a bit.

I am not intimately familiar with the specific feature set on the HS-100W, so I'd recommend downloading the user manual on the page given. I did a quick download of the manual and it's not quite as configurable as that on the Zywall 10W - on the Zywall you can set the allowed timeout period for the Cerberian content server as well as what action is taken if the server times out (block or simply log the event are options) - this is the way I tend to eliminate system drag - I have a 5 second timeout set and that works well with my situation - it does not timeout all that frequently. The tradeoff is potentially allowing an infrequent pass through the system - I don't force a block on a timeout, but I'll live with that. With the relatively short timeout that I set, I see absolutely no slowdown. Based on the number of timeouts in the log (I check infrequently), their servers typically respond before the timeout period is reached even for my short setting.

The other difference between the two systems is that the HS-100W uses a router based logon to verify user identity and associate an additional set of admin defined rules (time allowed, etc.). The Zywall 10W just enforces the same rules for everyone or allows a IP based customization. In other words it implicitly assumes 1 person/PC. That happens to work for me and I really didn't want a cascade of logons.

Ignoring the content filtering features for the moment, I'd buy a Zywall again based on router performance alone. It is absolutely rock solid and fast enough for some room to grow. I think that throughput will start to max out at 12-15 Mbps, but my connection is now at 3 Mbps, so I have a ways to go. Downside of the Zywall 10W, vs. the HS-100W, is that the Cerberian subscription cost is based on router class (basically expected number of users) and it's ~ $60/yr for this class of router - a little pricey - but I didn't sweat paying up, after all, it's only ~$1/week.

Don't know about the Belkin router at all.

Blue