parental control / web filter

[Siri Amrit Kaur]

On Tuesday 30 August 2005 01:23 pm Josh Coffman kindly wrote:
>
>   I don't have a machine to use to route web traffi
> through so I would want something on each machine
> (desktop & laptop) that is configurable per user. My
> wife and I wouldn't need as strict of filtering.
>
> Can anyone make a recomendation?
>
For something extremely quick and simple to install, I recommend a 
hosts file. The following link has some great ones that are updated 
frequently. It lists thousands of sites that, once in your /etc/hosts 
file, will not be able to access your machine. These are mostly ad 
sites (so it makes surfing really nice). It also has a number of 
adult sites listed. The current hosts file was updated a few days ago 
and lists over 47,000 sites.

They also have a "Porn Sites" list that has even more adult sites 
listed. It's not updated as frequently as the regular hosts file. 
It's the basic hosts file, with porn sites from 
http://research.internetfilter.com/research.php added to it. The porn 
site file was last updated in January. I think it has some 60,000+ 
sites listed.

I like hosts files because they don't require any special software or 
hardware, and they don't require any more skill than using a text 
editor. As root, you just copy and paste the plain text file listing 
the banned servers into /etc/hosts. If the file blocks something you 
want, just put a # mark at the beginning of the line for that server. 
Before putting in a hosts file, copy your original hosts file and 
save it. Then try the new hosts file. If you find you dont' like 
using it, you can just delete it and put your original one back in 
place. 

Once you have a hosts file in place, delete the cache from your 
browsers and you won't get any more banner ads. Nice!

I've used a hosts file for years, ever since a houseguest once used my 
computer (in the guestroom) for porn. HTH- Siri Amrit

Get hosts files:
http://remember.mine.nu/