I learned that OpenDNS has an option to perform filtering, and that it's actually free to use. I decided to log into my old OpenDNS account and try out the filtering. Filtering is configurable and you can make at loose or as tight as you would like. There are general categories you can add or remove to your preferences like porn, or file sharing site. As well as time wasters, religion, and politics.
To get started, OpenDNS first has to know which IP address you are coming from. I figured the best way for my site (my home) was to set up my home server to use ddclient. On my CentOS server, I simply had to do 'yum install ddclient'. Then OpenDNS provides a configuration sample for it (http://www.opendns.com/support/article/192)
Now that OpenDNS know where I'm coming from, I have to tell my systems to use the right DNS servers. There are great guides for configuring you home routers on the site. Mine was a bit different because of Verizon, but the general idea was the same. Once I figured that out, I was on my way.
Next I decided to sign up for the filtering. I started with the 'low' option and the added some things to customize. Even though you can test with http://www.theinternetbadguys.com, I checked with the obvious http://playboy.com. Sure enough the site was blocked. Awesome! I did find out that I had to unblock "Adult Theme" if I wanted to access Reddit.
I like this approach much more than having to setup a squid proxy like I tried in the past. The biggest reason is that since it's done in DNS, I set this up right on my router and ALL devices are filtered on my network. That means the iPad, iPhones, and the Wii are protected, as well as the desktops and laptops. I also like that I don't need to setup a cron job that down loads a block list every day and restart the service. It's a very elegant solution to a long standing problem and it works great. I think that I'm going to configure this for a couple of friends for their family networks.
Overall, I really like this method of filtering.
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2 comments:
Hi Jason,
Thanks for the great post about OpenDNS! For your friends who want the simplest approach to Web content filtering, you can also set up FamilyShield -- it's similar to OpenDNS Basic, but it automatically blocks adult content. More info here: http://www.opendns.com/familyshield
If you or your readers ever have any questions about using OpenDNS, feel free to get in touch.
Thanks!
-Laura
OpenDNS.com
Oh! I didn't know there was a difference until I read the whole page you linked to. That's fantastic.
I can't stress enough how nice it is to have such a simple, maintenance free solution that works for all my devices.
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