Set up web content filtering in 4 steps with Ubuntu

As an IT guy, one of the most common things coworkers ask me is how they can control which sites their kids can access online. This is very easy to do and free using Ubuntu linux, dansguardian and tinyproxy.

Step 1: Install the software

In Ubuntu's terminal, issue these commands:

$ sudo apt-get install tinyproxy dansguardian

When prompted, enter your root password and confirm the download.

Comments

[kristyon]

I use www.opendns.org for content filtering. Simple if you have a static IP, but there are tools availble to update things if you have a dynamic external IP. At long as your wifi network settings are password protected. Check it out!

[jhawks1]

At least on my computer, running Ubuntu 11.04, it installed tinyproxy.cof in the etc folder. not in a tinyproxy folder in etc. so to configure mine, i had to use the command

$ sudo nano -c /etc/tinyproxy.conf

[cmyrick12345]

This looks like it would work great, assuming you have a server at home. Most people don't have a server. Also, what if your kid has a laptop, and takes it elsewhere? In this case, they would be completely blocked from accessing any internet elsewhere, including using it at school, unless you tell them how to bypass the proxy, which completely eliminates the purpose of the content filter.

Are there any better options for content filtering in Ubuntu?