Internet filtering at work

I

Ice2Cool

Expert Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
1,532
Reaction score
18
Location
Dbn
Hey all

So im a complete dumbass when it comes to issues like this - I have about 15-20 users on my work network who use internet and have to download cad files etc. I have no issue with staff using the internet to google and the odd surfing during their lunch breaks etc - but I want to stop torrenting and visiting of any NSFW type websites. My IT is outsourced and they tend to recommend very expensive solutions. We have a windows server that has our share drives and sql servers etc - what would be my best option for filtering? I would also like to be able to see network usage by user to see if anyone is abusing the internet at work. Are there any free options which are available that are good? Otherwise what is recommended?

Thanks
 
Ice2Cool said:
Hey all

So im a complete dumbass when it comes to issues like this - I have about 15-20 users on my work network who use internet and have to download cad files etc. I have no issue with staff using the internet to google and the odd surfing during their lunch breaks etc - but I want to stop torrenting and visiting of any NSFW type websites. My IT is outsourced and they tend to recommend very expensive solutions. We have a windows server that has our share drives and sql servers etc - what would be my best option for filtering? I would also like to be able to see network usage by user to see if anyone is abusing the internet at work. Are there any free options which are available that are good? Otherwise what is recommended?

Thanks
Click to expand...

K9 web protection is free and does the job. I'm sure there are better options out there, but this app is pretty easy to set up and uses a web interface to manage everything.
 
mercurial said:
K9 web protection is free and does the job. I'm sure there are better options out there, but this app is pretty easy to set up and uses a web interface to manage everything.
Click to expand...

Problem is as far as I can see you have to install something on each individual PC or device. It would be better to have a solution that works at the internet gateway so any device that connects to the network is automatically monitored.
 
peeps mentioned the linux goodies, pfsense and smoothwall and untangle, all very very good options. require a dedicated box

try these free tools too, for windows:

http://www.solarwinds.com/freetools/free-tools-index.aspx

and then also, you can get a small mikrotik router(they cheap ~R500) and you can create static IP's for each user and limit their usage, or limit a DHCP pools usage, or which ever. there are guides online, mikrotik can be daunting at first
 
Pfsense's free Gateway on a VM or old machine,can even configure for SSL Interception (no facebooking!)

Relatively easy to configure and downloadable modules for reporting etc
 
PsyWulf said:
Pfsense's free Gateway on a VM or old machine,can even configure for SSL Interception (no facebooking!)

Relatively easy to configure and downloadable modules for reporting etc
Click to expand...

+1, PFsense would work great, you can deploy on a small low powered PC with 2x NIC's
 
deweyzeph said:
I would also combine that with OpenDNS too and then use OpenDNS's filtering to pick up anything that Squidguard misses. With this setup you'll have everything locked up tight.
Click to expand...

That's not an awful idea.
 
koeksGHT said:
Not completely free but a good option

https://www.untangle.com/
Click to expand...

This. Free version without the add-ons also does the job.

But OP will have to spend a little bit of money. Any IT provider, worth their salt, will be able to configure this on a cheap box with some additional NICS. We build these boxes for our clients and manage it for them.
 
Ice2Cool said:
Hey all

So im a complete dumbass when it comes to issues like this - I have about 15-20 users on my work network who use internet and have to download cad files etc. I have no issue with staff using the internet to google and the odd surfing during their lunch breaks etc - but I want to stop torrenting and visiting of any NSFW type websites. My IT is outsourced and they tend to recommend very expensive solutions. We have a windows server that has our share drives and sql servers etc - what would be my best option for filtering? I would also like to be able to see network usage by user to see if anyone is abusing the internet at work. Are there any free options which are available that are good? Otherwise what is recommended?

Thanks
Click to expand...

What solutions were you offered out of interest, what were the prices and why were they too expensive?
If you're handling CAD files, I would imagine you probably have a significant financial interest in the content or the protection of their content.
 
Have a look at cyberoam, very cool UTM product. We roll them out at most of our customers that want more control over there internet usage
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X