Content Filtering Using Internet Proxy Servers
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International Journal of Computer & Organization Trends –Volume 3 Issue 1 January to February 2013 Content Filtering using Internet Proxy Servers Swati Saxena Asst. Professor Mangalmay Institute of Engineering & Technology, Greater Noida C-114, Gamma 1. Greater Noida, U.P. (India) Abstract you have no control over the type of filtering. Most Content filtering has been around since the internet internet providers only worry about blocking has been around. Content filtering is the process of pornographic websites. If more categories need to be removing certain content from the internet before it blocked this method might not be for you. gets to the user that requested that page. There are The last method I will talk about is having a dedicated many different reasons you would want to block content filtering computer that is constantly certain content from users. One popular example is monitoring the network and making sure that having internet access at work locations; another is everything going in and out is appropriate. This making sure students at schools of all type do not go method has many benefits. One is the filtering is taken to inappropriate sites that are prohibited in the school place on a remote computer that can by physically policy. Here at Brigham Young University of Idaho locked up so people do not have access to turn it off or we have a content filter in place that makes sure the to break in. Another benefit is that you can scan every pages students and faculty are appropriate. Another word and picture that goes into your office, school, or example is filtering content in homes to protect the home because you do not have to worry about slowing children from certain places on the internet. There are the computer down. This computer is dedicated to just many different types of sites that you might want to scanning so you will be able to scan more pages per filter out. The most popular is pornography. Many second without slowing down the content coming places also filter out other sites as well, here are some from the internet. Another benefit is you are the one in examples: chat, email, games, personal; guns, bombs, control and can add certain sites, phrases, words, and news, advertisements, and etc. this paper will show urls that you do or do not want being displayed. There how filtering content can be helpful to raise is a disadvantage to this method as well, you need to productivity in school and jobs. This paper will also invest some money in buying a dedicated computer to show how it will help children not go to bad sites and scan the content, but in the long run you will save help parents control what their children see on the money buying your own computer then having to pay internet. a monthly fee is you are going to be needing it for many years . Another disadvantage is you will have to I. Content Filtering Basics install and setup the programs yourself. There are many different ways you can filter websites II. Content Filtering Software Packages using content filtering programs. One method is in Linux buying a program you install on your personal computer and it scans all traffic going out and coming The two most popular content filtering packages in in from the internet. The benefit of this method is it is Linux are squid Guard and Dans Guardian. These very simple and easy. But there are some programs are used to filter the internet and regulate disadvantages. For example most of them now have what gets sent to the users. They also keep a log of monthly subscriptions, if you do not pay the filtering what sites are accessed so you can go in and see if stops. Another disadvantage is the filter program is on people are trying to go to bad websites. These two the same machine as the user, so the user can try programs are similar and also very different. They stopping the program which can be fairly easy or hard. both require a proxy server to pass the internet content And another disadvantage is most computers have through them before it arrives at the user. But one is a virus and malware scanners running on them and lot faster and gives little options and the other gives adding content filtering will just make the computer more options but needs to have a fast computer to run more slowly [3]. Another method is buying process the websites [1]. I will also briefly talk about filtering service through your internet provider. Some two popular proxy servers used in Linux, squid and tiny proxy. Finally I will talk about Ubuntu Christian Edition, a Linux distribution that includes DansGuardian and you only need to install it on a computer and setup the content to be blocked and you Internet providers provide this service for free but the are ready to start filtering content. To see an example majority of them charge a monthly fee. The benefit of of how you would implement a content filtering this method is that it is very easy and you do not have computer in your office, school, or home see figure 3. to do anything on your end. The disadvantage is that You have all the computers send website requests to ISSN: 2249-2593 http://www.ijcotjournal.org Page 5 International Journal of Computer & Organization Trends –Volume 3 Issue 1 January to February 2013 the content filtering proxy server which then send the have a file called banned-chat and inside have a list of requests out to the internet [2]. When the content chat websites that you would like to block [5]. In these comes back it has to pass through the content filtering files you need to put each website or ip address on a proxy server and it will then check to make sure it is separate line. In the end of the document I will talk appropriate. If it is not appropriate it will display an about Blacklists and where you can get thousands or error page similar to the one in figure 4. millions of websites already categorized to help filter the internet. The benefits of squid Guard are that if III. Squid Guard you do not have a fast processor you are still able to filter out millions of websites without seeing much The basic content filtering package in Linux is squid delay on your network. The disadvantage of squid Guard. It is an open-source software package for use Guard is you will never be able to block all websites in non-commercial settings. If you want to use it in in the internet. Squid Guard only blocks a website if commercial settings you will need to buy a license by the web address matches one of them in the bad lists contacting the developers. Squid Guard is a combined or a regular expression. You need to constantly update filter, redirector and access controller plug-in for your blacklists so you have the latest list of bad squid. Squid Guard can be used in many ways to websites in order to make sure you can block the block content from getting to the users [5]. On their majority of the websites. website they list many ways it can be used. Here are some examples listed on their website V. DansGuardian (http://www.squidguard.org). “Limit the web access for some users to a list of accepted/well known web A more advanced content filtering package in Linux is servers only; Block access to some listed web servers DansGuardian. It is an open-source software package and addresses for some users; Block access to URLS for use in non-commercial settings. If you want to use matching a list of regular expressions; Redirect it in commercial settings you will need to buy a blocked pages to an intelligent CGI based info page; license by contacting the developers or you can buy a redirect advertisements to a blank image; Have product called Smooth Guardian. DansGuardian can different rules for different user groups; and much run on multiple platforms, Linux, FreeBSD, more [5].” OpenBSD, NetBSD, Mac OS X, HP-UX and Solaris. It can filter websites just like squid Guard, but beside IV. Installing and Configuration Squid the same features as squid Guard it can do a lot more. guard It also reads all content being passed through the network and if it sees certain words or phrases it will Installing squid Guard is not very hard in most block the pages even if the web address is not in the circumstances. On Ubuntu distributions you just need list. This makes it a true web content filter. Because of to run “aptitude install squid guard” and it will install this you do not have to be constantly updating your all the necessary programs and setup thedefault blacklist because even if new websites come available settings for it to run. Other distributions that are rpm on the internet, of they are pornographic for example based like Redhat, Centos, SUSE, and others can they will always have certain words and phrases. download and install the rpm file from the squid (Smack, 2006) This makes filtering the web easier and Guard’s website[5]. Other Linux distributions will you have more control of what websites can be need to download and compile the program on their displayed on the computers. You can also replace computer. Before you can start squid Guard you will certain words or phrases on web pages.