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Squid

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Contents

  Squid "woody" <tossit1@Use-Author-Supplied-Address.invalid> - 2011-08-22 23:06 -0500
    Re: Squid Dan C <youmustbejoking@lan.invalid> - 2011-08-23 04:24 +0000
    Re: Squid David Brown <david@westcontrol.removethisbit.com> - 2011-08-23 08:45 +0200
    Re: Squid Richard Kettlewell <rjk@greenend.org.uk> - 2011-08-23 10:00 +0100
      Re: Squid "woody" <tossit1@Use-Author-Supplied-Address.invalid> - 2011-08-23 11:06 -0500
        Re: Squid David Brown <david.brown@removethis.hesbynett.no> - 2011-08-23 21:19 +0200
          Re: Squid "woody" <tossit1@Use-Author-Supplied-Address.invalid> - 2011-08-24 00:07 -0500
            Re: Squid David Brown <david@westcontrol.removethisbit.com> - 2011-08-24 12:50 +0200
    Re: Squid KR <kristian.rasmussen@broadpark.no.spam.com> - 2011-08-25 03:28 +0200
      Re: Squid David Brown <david@westcontrol.removethisbit.com> - 2011-08-25 07:37 +0200

#502 — Squid

Don't see a group related to squid, or windows XP,  I need to create a squid 
setup under XP Pro.  Dual homed.
One NIC 192.168.9.195 with wireless access point
second nic 192.168.0.195 with gateway to internet at 192.168.0.1  I want the 
users on the wireless access point to use the squid caching server for thier 
gateway, and have squid cache, log an potentially filter the internet.
the 9.x network is a small parochial school.  I'm thinking about running net 
nanny to filter on the 0.x side...If someone knows how to do this, please 
let me know.  I thought newsgroups were long dead.

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#503

On Mon, 22 Aug 2011 23:06:07 -0500, woody wrote:

> Don't see a group related to squid, or windows XP,

Really?  You can't find a group related to Win XP?

> I need to create a squid setup under XP Pro.

Uh-huh.  And you thought it would be good to ask about that here in a 
*LINUX* networking newsgroup?

>  Dual homed.
> One NIC 192.168.9.195 with wireless access point second nic
> 192.168.0.195 with gateway to internet at 192.168.0.1  I want the users
> on the wireless access point to use the squid caching server for thier
> gateway, and have squid cache, log an potentially filter the internet.
> the 9.x network is a small parochial school.  I'm thinking about running
> net nanny to filter on the 0.x side...If someone knows how to do this,
> please let me know.

I'd set up a box running IPCop or Smoothwall, myself.

> I thought newsgroups were long dead.

You're quite confused about many things, aren't you?



-- 
"Ubuntu" -- an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".
"Bother!" said Pooh, as he lay back and lit Piglet's cigarette.
Usenet Improvement Project: http://twovoyagers.com/improve-usenet.org/
Thanks, Obama: http://brandybuck.site40.net/pics/politica/thanks.jpg

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#504

On 23/08/2011 06:06, woody wrote:
> Don't see a group related to squid, or windows XP,  I need to create a squid
> setup under XP Pro.  Dual homed.
> One NIC 192.168.9.195 with wireless access point
> second nic 192.168.0.195 with gateway to internet at 192.168.0.1  I want the
> users on the wireless access point to use the squid caching server for thier
> gateway, and have squid cache, log an potentially filter the internet.
> the 9.x network is a small parochial school.  I'm thinking about running net
> nanny to filter on the 0.x side...If someone knows how to do this, please
> let me know.  I thought newsgroups were long dead.
>

Think this over a few times.  Windows XP is great for many things - I 
use it regularly.  But it is a terrible choice for an application like 
this - you will be /much/ better off with Linux (or alternatively a 
BSD).  Linux is far more efficient for things like this (you can use an 
old dinosaur for an application like this - no need to waste something 
that can run a desktop), and it need hardly be said that it is more 
secure.  Even if you have never touched Linux, you'll find it easier to 
set up a reliable and secure router and caching server using Linux - 
it's that easy with Linux, and that hard with Windows, and 99% of the 
how-tos and web tutorials to guide you are for Linux.

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#505

"woody" <tossit1@Use-Author-Supplied-Address.invalid> writes:
> Don't see a group related to squid, or windows XP, I need to create a
> squid setup under XP Pro.

There are dozens of Windows-related newsgroups under comp.* alone:

comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy Speculation and debate about Microsoft Windows.
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.financial       MS-Windows financial & tax software.
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.misc            MS-Windows applications.
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.utilities.win95 Utility/add-on programs for Win95.
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.winsock.misc    Other Winsock applications.
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.word-proc       MS-Windows word-processing applications.
comp.os.ms-windows.ce                   Microsoft Windows CE operating system.
comp.os.ms-windows.misc                 General discussions about Windows issues.
comp.os.ms-windows.networking.misc      Windows and other networks.
comp.os.ms-windows.networking.tcp-ip    Windows and TCP/IP networking.
comp.os.ms-windows.networking.win95     Win95 to Novell, TCP/IP, other nets.
comp.os.ms-windows.networking.windows   Windows' built-in networking.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.misc        Windows NT system administration.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.networking  Windows NT network administration.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.security    Windows NT Security topics.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.misc              General discussion about Windows NT.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup.misc        Windows NT software setup.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.backoffice       Windows NT BackOffice.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.compatibility    Win NT software compatibility.
comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.services         Windows NT system services software.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.controls          Controls, dialogs and VBXs.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.graphics          GDI, graphics and printing.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.memory            Memory management issues.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc              Programming Microsoft Windows.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.networks          Network programming.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.nt.kernel-mode    Windows NT driver development.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.ole               OLE2, COM and DDE programming.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.mfc         MFC-based development for Windows.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.misc        Windows Development tools.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.winsock     Winsock programming.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.vxd               Windows VxD and driver development.
comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32             32-bit Windows programming interfaces.
comp.os.ms-windows.video                        Video adapters and drivers for Windows.
comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc                   Miscellaneous Topics about Windows 95.

Try an appropriate one of those.

-- 
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/

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#506

There are lots of newsgroups dealing with windows, but I don't find one 
specifically dealing with squid, at least in the news servers I have access 
to, and the one I can post through.  I spent many years on usenet news 
groups, but about 6 or 8 years ago I remember seeing an announcement 
somewhere that usenet groups were being discontinued.  They have always been 
much more useful than blogs or forums....At one time I subscribed to around 
200 of them and was pretty active ona dozen, and none were alt.binaries.,,,,

The reason I am stuck with XP Pro among other things, is the fact that the 
computer I got for the school came with XP PRO and a legal license for it. 
It is an older Dell. Yes linux is free and all that, but I don't have the 
time  to deal with a learning curve for Linux, get the school set up and 
keep up with everything I have to.

I am simply looking to find an expert on squid that can help me, since I did 
not find a squid specfic group, and knowing that squid is usually a linux 
specific thing, I figured I might be able to find some useful help in this 
group, or a pointer to a group or guru somewhere.

Free newsfeeds are few, and while I did find gmain.comp.web.squid.general 
the server that carries it doesn't let anyone post to it.... :(

I do not know much about linux, inspite of haveing copies of at least 6 
flavors of it sitting around.  The fact that you have to create mount points 
just to access a shared drive, unlike windows, where you can just browse and 
click on it pretty much turned me off to it,(and no, LinNeighborhood last I 
checked doesn't work the same way).

>
> comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy Speculation and debate about Microsoft 
> Windows.
> comp.os.ms-windows.apps.financial       MS-Windows financial & tax 
> software.
> comp.os.ms-windows.apps.misc            MS-Windows applications.
> comp.os.ms-windows.apps.utilities.win95 Utility/add-on programs for Win95.
> comp.os.ms-windows.apps.winsock.misc    Other Winsock applications.
> comp.os.ms-windows.apps.word-proc       MS-Windows word-processing 
> applications.
> comp.os.ms-windows.ce                   Microsoft Windows CE operating 
> system.
> comp.os.ms-windows.misc                 General discussions about Windows 
> issues.
> comp.os.ms-windows.networking.misc      Windows and other networks.
> comp.os.ms-windows.networking.tcp-ip    Windows and TCP/IP networking.
> comp.os.ms-windows.networking.win95     Win95 to Novell, TCP/IP, other 
> nets.
> comp.os.ms-windows.networking.windows   Windows' built-in networking.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.misc        Windows NT system administration.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.networking  Windows NT network administration.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.security    Windows NT Security topics.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.misc              General discussion about Windows 
> NT.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.setup.misc        Windows NT software setup.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.backoffice       Windows NT BackOffice.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.compatibility    Win NT software 
> compatibility.
> comp.os.ms-windows.nt.software.services         Windows NT system services 
> software.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.controls          Controls, dialogs and 
> VBXs.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.graphics          GDI, graphics and 
> printing.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.memory            Memory management issues.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.misc              Programming Microsoft 
> Windows.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.networks          Network programming.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.nt.kernel-mode    Windows NT driver 
> development.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.ole               OLE2, COM and DDE 
> programming.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.mfc         MFC-based development for 
> Windows.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.misc        Windows Development tools.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.tools.winsock     Winsock programming.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.vxd               Windows VxD and driver 
> development.
> comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32             32-bit Windows programming 
> interfaces.
> comp.os.ms-windows.video                        Video adapters and drivers 
> for Windows.
> comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc                   Miscellaneous Topics about 
> Windows 95.
>
> Try an appropriate one of those.
>
> -- 
> http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/ 

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#507

On 23/08/11 18:06, woody wrote:
> There are lots of newsgroups dealing with windows, but I don't find one
> specifically dealing with squid, at least in the news servers I have access
> to, and the one I can post through.  I spent many years on usenet news
> groups, but about 6 or 8 years ago I remember seeing an announcement
> somewhere that usenet groups were being discontinued.  They have always been
> much more useful than blogs or forums....At one time I subscribed to around
> 200 of them and was pretty active ona dozen, and none were alt.binaries.,,,,
>

That must have been a particular server or provider that was being 
discontinued - Usenet is very much alive.

You won't find a newsgroup for squid-on-windows, since very few people 
will ever use squid on windows except perhaps for some testing.  I'd 
guess more than 90% of caching proxies are on Linux, with the remainder 
split between BSD and a few Microsoft "Internet Security and 
Accelerator" installations.

> The reason I am stuck with XP Pro among other things, is the fact that the
> computer I got for the school came with XP PRO and a legal license for it.

Just because you have a license to run XP on the machine, does not mean 
it's a good choice!  You are posting to a newsgroup for experienced 
Linux users - people here will recommend Linux because it is /better/ 
for jobs like this, not because it is free.

> It is an older Dell. Yes linux is free and all that, but I don't have the
> time  to deal with a learning curve for Linux, get the school set up and
> keep up with everything I have to.
>

As I said in my other post, it will be quicker to learn Linux first that 
to figure out how to make XP into a secure router and proxy.

But as another poster suggested, your easiest solution is to install a 
router-oriented Linux distribution such as Smoothwall 
<http://www.smoothwall.org/>.  For a simple setup like yours, it really 
is a no-brainer.  It's barely more difficult than downloading and 
installing a program in Windows, and it handles all the squid setup for 
you with a simple web interface.

> I am simply looking to find an expert on squid that can help me, since I did
> not find a squid specfic group, and knowing that squid is usually a linux
> specific thing, I figured I might be able to find some useful help in this
> group, or a pointer to a group or guru somewhere.
>

I realise what you are asking - but you are asking for the wrong thing. 
  It would be irresponsible to encourage you further down the wrong path.

Note that this is not blind fanaticism (though there are fanatics in 
this newsgroup, as with many such groups).  I use Windows as well as 
Linux, and there are many area of use where Windows is a better choice. 
  But for this sort of use, Linux is far and away the better choice - so 
much so that it is worth it even if you are not very familiar with Linux.

> Free newsfeeds are few, and while I did find gmain.comp.web.squid.general
> the server that carries it doesn't let anyone post to it.... :(
>

gmane mirrors mailing lists as newsgroups.  Some are mirrored with 
posting privileges, some just read-only.  If you think that mailing list 
might be useful, then join the mailing list rather than using gmane 
(though gmane is great for looking at the archives).

> I do not know much about linux, inspite of haveing copies of at least 6
> flavors of it sitting around.  The fact that you have to create mount points
> just to access a shared drive, unlike windows, where you can just browse and
> click on it pretty much turned me off to it,(and no, LinNeighborhood last I
> checked doesn't work the same way).
>

You don't have to make mount points to access a shared disk if you don't 
want to - Gnome and KDE both give you direct access to Windows shares 
(or samba shares from Linux servers) from within their file managers, 
creating the mount points on the fly.  But mount points is the way Linux 
(like all *nix systems) handles multiple file systems.

Personally, I would much prefer if Windows supported the Linux way of 
dealing with mounting shares.  I find it a huge inconvenience in my job 
(which includes being the IT manager of my company) that Windows won't 
allow you to connect multiple times to the same server with different 
usernames, as Linux allows.  The workaround, to get good access to 
windows shares on a windows computer, is to use a port of the Linux 
smbclient program running on Windows.

And of course there are always different ways to do this sort of thing 
on Linux.  In particular, you can use "autofs" to make a single mount 
point that you can then use for all your windows share mounts - they 
will be mounted automatically when you try to use them.


However, that's all by the way.  I am not recommending you switch to 
Linux for your desktop use - that's a personal preference, and depends 
on lots of factors.  I am simply recommending you switch to Linux for 
your caching proxy server and router.  It won't be accessing any windows 
shares, so you have no problem there.

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#508

>>
>
> That must have been a particular server or provider that was being 
> discontinued - Usenet is very much alive.

That is good news :) because I find forums to be a pain.  There is no 
central conact for finding them
and google doesn't always help.
>
> You won't find a newsgroup for squid-on-windows, since very few people

I was looking for someone to help me get squid configured..


>
>> The reason I am stuck with XP Pro among other things, is the fact that 
>> the
>> computer I got for the school came with XP PRO and a legal license for 
>> it.

It may not be a good choice.  I've been the IT manager for our company (12 
people) since 2005
and run an all ms network.  Vista is so bad that I won't even allow a vista 
machine on the network.
The filtering software of choice, Net Nanny does not run under linux, so 
even if I were a linux guru,
I'd still have to deal with it under Windows.  The only reason I did not 
scrub XP and install Windows 2000 server is that part of the school 
certification requies that all software on school computers has a legal 
license, and the license I have for 2000 server is a dev license.
>

> Linux users - people here will recommend Linux because it is /better/ for 
> jobs like this, not because it is free.
>
>> It is an older Dell. Yes linux is free and all that, but I don't have the
>> time  to deal with a learning curve for Linux, get the school set up and
>> keep up with everything I have to.
>>
>
> As I said in my other post, it will be quicker to learn Linux first that 
> to figure out how to make XP into a secure router and proxy.

Well I don't know.  I've struggled through several linux installs and 
attempts to really work with it
and finally gave up. I've installed mandrake 8.2, redhad 7.7, suse 8.x among 
others over the years, but networking is a nightmare on them.  When I was 
setting the company network up, I tried Trustix for the firewall, 
smoothwall, and a couple other distros and never did get them working right, 
so I threw up my hands and bought a Servegate which does run a version of 
linux.

We got an internal use license through the microsoft partner program for 
windows 2000 and I set the company up on that, later migrating to windows 
2003.

The learning curve for linux is years literally.

>
> But as another poster suggested, your easiest solution is to install a 
> router-oriented Linux distribution such as Smoothwall 
> <http://www.smoothwall.org/>.  For a simple setup like yours, it really is 
> a no-brainer.  It's barely more difficult than downloading and installing 
> a program in Windows, and it handles all the squid setup for you with a 
> simple web interface.

That would require reformatting and wiping out XP Pro, voiding the warrantee 
on the box,
and that is something I don't want to do at this time.

>
>
> I realise what you are asking - but you are asking for the wrong thing.

Wrong or no, it is the only path I can go down right now.  The internet 
protection software we have
to use does not run under linux.  I doubt it will run under wine on linux. 
In addition to acting as a
web filter, it has to host several administrative programs and educational 
software, none of which runs under linux.  Not to mention that the teacher 
has her hands full and doesn't have the time to
learn openoffice etc.  The other wrinkle is that the school is part of the 
Seventh-day Adventist school system, and they have a low cost educational 
license program for microsoft stuff.

>
> Note that this is not blind fanaticism (though there are fanatics in this 
> newsgroup, as with many such groups).

Grin.

 I use Windows as well as
> Linux, and there are many area of use where Windows is a better choice. 
> But for this sort of use, Linux is far and away the better choice - so 
> much so that it is worth it even if you are not very familiar with Linux.

If this were a dedicated machine just for this purpose, well I'd agree.
But it isn't and I don't have another reliable machine to use, especially 
one that is fast enough to
be useful.  I have a couple old 600 mhz pavilions, but those are so long in 
the teeth that it would be
a nightmare.

> gmane mirrors mailing lists as newsgroups.  Some are mirrored with posting 
> privileges, some just read-only.  If you think that mailing list might be 
> useful, then join the mailing list rather than using gmane

I have done that.

> (though gmane is great for looking at the archives).
>
>
> You don't have to make mount points to access a shared disk if you don't 
> want to - Gnome and KDE both give you direct access to Windows shares (or 
> samba shares from Linux servers) from within their file managers

The last time I tried to use Gnome and KDE was either on Fedora core 3 or 
suse 8.3 back in 2005
and the only way to browse the shares on a network and connect to them was 
to use linneighborhood, and then you had to go and actually create a mount 
point, after browsing

> creating the mount points on the fly.  But mount points is the way Linux 
> (like all *nix systems) handles multiple file systems.

and the way Windows does too, just that it is normally so well hidden and 
integrated that you
don't even know it.  They have another name for them.

>
> Personally, I would much prefer if Windows supported the Linux way of 
> dealing with mounting shares.  I find it a huge inconvenience in my job 
> (which includes being the IT manager of my company) that Windows won't 
> allow you to connect multiple times to the same server with different 
> usernames, as Linux allows.

You mean from the same machine to multiple shares on the server.

That is a huge headache and security hole for certain  Why microslut did it 
that was is beyond me.  To get around that I had to violate my own security 
protocol and install batch files that mapped with the administrator password 
for the server.
Fortuantly the people in the company are clueless about that, and are 
explicityly trusted, so it has worked o.k., but gives me the willies.....

The workaround, to get good access to
> windows shares on a windows computer, is to use a port of the Linux 
> smbclient program running on Windows.
tell me more about this...

>
> And of course there are always different ways to do this sort of thing on 
> Linux.  In particular, you can use "autofs" to make a single mount point 
> that you can then use for all your windows share mounts - they will be 
> mounted automatically when you try to use them.
>
>
>.  I am simply recommending you switch to Linux for your caching proxy 
>server and router.  It won't be accessing any windows shares, so you have 
>no problem there.

It would absolutely have to access windows shares.
The box has to eventualy scan the laptops, backing them up.

Do I have to have a resident router to use squid on the same box?  The 
router is a firewall router for the internet.

The ultimate goal, is that the administrator can set down at the xp box and 
brows the 0.1 network and internet un filtered, and uncached.  But the 
students have to go through the cache and filter, and cannot get the the 
internet filter/router directly because it is on a different subnet.
XP PRO can be made to act as a router.
I found this newgroup echoed over in 
www.network-builders.com/squid-t109049.html and attempted to sign up for 
that forum, but got tagged as a spammer during the sign up.

So if you know anyone who can help me configure squid under XP I would like 
a pointer to the person or resource.

I would be happe to post the config file with all the comments stripped.

>
> 

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#509

On 24/08/2011 07:07, woody wrote:
>>>
>>
>> That must have been a particular server or provider that was being
>> discontinued - Usenet is very much alive.
>
> That is good news :) because I find forums to be a pain.  There is no
> central conact for finding them
> and google doesn't always help.
>>
>> You won't find a newsgroup for squid-on-windows, since very few people
>
> I was looking for someone to help me get squid configured..
>

The main configuration for squid is in a single configuration file, and 
the default example is reasonably configured.  It also has plenty of 
comments making it simple to change.  If you want to set up something 
more complicated, like a transparent proxy, then you will have a bigger 
challenge with windows - I have no experience with that.

>
>>
>>> The reason I am stuck with XP Pro among other things, is the fact that
>>> the
>>> computer I got for the school came with XP PRO and a legal license for
>>> it.
>
> It may not be a good choice.  I've been the IT manager for our company (12
> people) since 2005
> and run an all ms network.  Vista is so bad that I won't even allow a vista
> machine on the network.
> The filtering software of choice, Net Nanny does not run under linux, so
> even if I were a linux guru,
> I'd still have to deal with it under Windows.  The only reason I did not
> scrub XP and install Windows 2000 server is that part of the school
> certification requies that all software on school computers has a legal
> license, and the license I have for 2000 server is a dev license.

Of all windows versions, XP is the best choice (or W2K if it supports 
the software you need).

I think the main confusion here is that I assumed you were wanting to 
set up a machine as a router/firewall/gateway and install squid on it as 
a caching proxy.  But now it seems you want to install this on a desktop 
machine that is otherwise in use by a teacher - contrary to all standard 
practices for reliable and secure networking.

>>
>
>> Linux users - people here will recommend Linux because it is /better/ for
>> jobs like this, not because it is free.
>>
>>> It is an older Dell. Yes linux is free and all that, but I don't have the
>>> time  to deal with a learning curve for Linux, get the school set up and
>>> keep up with everything I have to.
>>>
>>
>> As I said in my other post, it will be quicker to learn Linux first that
>> to figure out how to make XP into a secure router and proxy.
>
> Well I don't know.  I've struggled through several linux installs and
> attempts to really work with it
> and finally gave up. I've installed mandrake 8.2, redhad 7.7, suse 8.x among
> others over the years, but networking is a nightmare on them.  When I was
> setting the company network up, I tried Trustix for the firewall,
> smoothwall, and a couple other distros and never did get them working right,
> so I threw up my hands and bought a Servegate which does run a version of
> linux.
>
> We got an internal use license through the microsoft partner program for
> windows 2000 and I set the company up on that, later migrating to windows
> 2003.
>
> The learning curve for linux is years literally.

Installing a modern Linux distribution takes a few hours for someone who 
has only a vague idea about Linux, but is willing to try (the Linux 
world has moved on over the years).  Learning to set up a secure network 
and get the routing, DNS, firewall, etc., etc., in place takes time 
regardless of the systems you want to use.

>
>>
>> But as another poster suggested, your easiest solution is to install a
>> router-oriented Linux distribution such as Smoothwall
>> <http://www.smoothwall.org/>.  For a simple setup like yours, it really is
>> a no-brainer.  It's barely more difficult than downloading and installing
>> a program in Windows, and it handles all the squid setup for you with a
>> simple web interface.
>
> That would require reformatting and wiping out XP Pro, voiding the warrantee
> on the box,
> and that is something I don't want to do at this time.
>
>>
>>
>> I realise what you are asking - but you are asking for the wrong thing.
>
> Wrong or no, it is the only path I can go down right now.  The internet
> protection software we have
> to use does not run under linux.  I doubt it will run under wine on linux.

The "internet protection software" you have there is a client-side 
program, AFAIK - you run it on the desktop and not on the server/router 
machine.  On the router, you would do your filtering by using OpenDNS as 
the DNS server with options to block all unwanted sites - it is much 
simpler, much faster, and much cheaper than Net Nanny, and much harder 
for enterprising students to work around.  You could even install 
DansGuardian for extra protection.

It's a matter of choosing the /right/ software, and putting it in the 
/right/ place in the network.

Of course, if you are obliged by outside forces to use a particular OS 
on the machine, or particular software, then all I can offer you is my 
sympathies.

> In addition to acting as a
> web filter, it has to host several administrative programs and educational
> software, none of which runs under linux.

Those are client software apps, that don't belong on a 
router/gateway/proxy.  If those apps run on Windows, run them on a 
Windows desktop - not on part of your network infrastructure.

> Not to mention that the teacher
> has her hands full and doesn't have the time to
> learn openoffice etc.  The other wrinkle is that the school is part of the
> Seventh-day Adventist school system, and they have a low cost educational
> license program for microsoft stuff.
>

It doesn't matter how low a price you get for MS stuff if there are free 
alternatives that are better!

But again, you don't run office programs on network infrastructure machines.


>>
>> Note that this is not blind fanaticism (though there are fanatics in this
>> newsgroup, as with many such groups).
>
> Grin.
>
>   I use Windows as well as
>> Linux, and there are many area of use where Windows is a better choice.
>> But for this sort of use, Linux is far and away the better choice - so
>> much so that it is worth it even if you are not very familiar with Linux.
>
> If this were a dedicated machine just for this purpose, well I'd agree.
> But it isn't and I don't have another reliable machine to use, especially
> one that is fast enough to
> be useful.  I have a couple old 600 mhz pavilions, but those are so long in
> the teeth that it would be
> a nightmare.
>

600 MHz is lots more power than you need to run squid and a 
firewall/gateway/proxy with Linux, unless you have very high bandwidth 
lines (say 30+ Mbps).  At that age, I'd guess you have 256MB ram, which 
again is plenty (though more would be useful if you can easily add it).

When you are only running a few specific non-gui tasks, you don't need a 
lot of horsepower with Linux.  I've set up file servers on old Pentium 
90 machines that do a perfectly good job, and I've just recently set up 
a firewall/router using Linux on a wireless router with 150 MHz cpu and 
16 MB ram (no squid, however) - it's fine for a 20 Mbps internet connection.

>> gmane mirrors mailing lists as newsgroups.  Some are mirrored with posting
>> privileges, some just read-only.  If you think that mailing list might be
>> useful, then join the mailing list rather than using gmane
>
> I have done that.
>
>> (though gmane is great for looking at the archives).
>>
>>
>> You don't have to make mount points to access a shared disk if you don't
>> want to - Gnome and KDE both give you direct access to Windows shares (or
>> samba shares from Linux servers) from within their file managers
>
> The last time I tried to use Gnome and KDE was either on Fedora core 3 or
> suse 8.3 back in 2005
> and the only way to browse the shares on a network and connect to them was
> to use linneighborhood, and then you had to go and actually create a mount
> point, after browsing
>

Life has moved on in the last 6 years in the Linux world...

If you have the time, I'd recommend trying a copy of Linux Mint (run it 
from a live CD).

>> creating the mount points on the fly.  But mount points is the way Linux
>> (like all *nix systems) handles multiple file systems.
>
> and the way Windows does too, just that it is normally so well hidden and
> integrated that you
> don't even know it.  They have another name for them.
>

Yes, I know how it works on Windows - it's not the same (though I agree 
there are more similarities if you dig into the hidden details).

>>
>> Personally, I would much prefer if Windows supported the Linux way of
>> dealing with mounting shares.  I find it a huge inconvenience in my job
>> (which includes being the IT manager of my company) that Windows won't
>> allow you to connect multiple times to the same server with different
>> usernames, as Linux allows.
>
> You mean from the same machine to multiple shares on the server.

No, I mean multiple connections from the same machine to the same share 
on the server, but with different user names and passwords.

For example, when someone complains they can't access the files they 
need on the server, I have to be able to log into that share on the 
server using their username to confirm the problem.  I also have 
different usernames for myself on the servers - one "normal" username 
with everyday privileges, and one "super" username with access to lots 
more, which I only use if needed (to avoid risking accidents).

>
> That is a huge headache and security hole for certain  Why microslut did it
> that was is beyond me.  To get around that I had to violate my own security
> protocol and install batch files that mapped with the administrator password
> for the server.
> Fortuantly the people in the company are clueless about that, and are
> explicityly trusted, so it has worked o.k., but gives me the willies.....
>
> The workaround, to get good access to
>> windows shares on a windows computer, is to use a port of the Linux
>> smbclient program running on Windows.
> tell me more about this...
>

You can get it from here (there are probably other builds lying around 
the net) :

<http://leecutsco.de/lpackham/smbclient/>

It's a command line program, similar to ftp.

>>
>> And of course there are always different ways to do this sort of thing on
>> Linux.  In particular, you can use "autofs" to make a single mount point
>> that you can then use for all your windows share mounts - they will be
>> mounted automatically when you try to use them.
>>
>>
>> .  I am simply recommending you switch to Linux for your caching proxy
>> server and router.  It won't be accessing any windows shares, so you have
>> no problem there.
>
> It would absolutely have to access windows shares.
> The box has to eventualy scan the laptops, backing them up.
>

That's the wrong box - backup is not part of your network routing 
infrastructure.

Of course, using Linux as a backup server is also possible (and normally 
a good choice) - accessing windows shares from Linux is not hard.

> Do I have to have a resident router to use squid on the same box?  The
> router is a firewall router for the internet.
>
> The ultimate goal, is that the administrator can set down at the xp box and
> brows the 0.1 network and internet un filtered, and uncached.  But the
> students have to go through the cache and filter, and cannot get the the
> internet filter/router directly because it is on a different subnet.

Give the teacher a desktop PC connected to the main network, which has 
your current internet firewall/router.

Setup a /dedicated/ box (such as one of your old 600 MHz machines) to 
act as a gateway between the student's network and the main network.

> XP PRO can be made to act as a router.

Yes, in the same way that Paris Hilton can be made to act.

> I found this newgroup echoed over in
> www.network-builders.com/squid-t109049.html and attempted to sign up for
> that forum, but got tagged as a spammer during the sign up.
>
> So if you know anyone who can help me configure squid under XP I would like
> a pointer to the person or resource.
>
> I would be happe to post the config file with all the comments stripped.
>

I wish you luck on your task.  It sounds like you are fixed (partly by 
choice, partly by outside forces) on a solution that will be hard to 
implement and will not work reliably or securely.  I'm sorry I can't 
give you any specific help with squid on windows.

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#510

On 23.08.2011 06:06, woody wrote:
> Don't see a group related to squid, or windows XP,  I need to create a squid 
> setup under XP Pro.  Dual homed.

Squid works the same regardless of OS, so you might want to check out
the squid-related mailing lists:
http://www.squid-cache.org/Support/mailing-lists.html

Using an XP Pro computer as a proxy server is possible, but certainly
not a solution anyone would recommend. Having said that, these are the
issues you have to consider:

* You'll need to make sure that there's no way the clients can get
around the proxy by changing browser or OS settings. The wireless zone
must have no functioning Internet gateway.

* If you want to avoid the nightmare of having to configure workstations
manually (and believe me, you do), you'll need a DHCP server to serve
clients in the wireless zone. You can use tftpd: http://tftpd32.jounin.net/

* Another issue is the proxy settings on the clients. You may configure
this manually (and fix it every time a user messes with the settings),
or use a proxy.pac file served by a web server on the XP computer and
retrieved by clients by way of the WPAD protocol
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Proxy_Autodiscovery_Protocol ,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_auto-config)

If you can get all this to work, you will be able to filter Internet
access with squid. Alternatively, get a cheap router with built-in
filtering capabilities.

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#511

On 25/08/2011 03:28, KR wrote:
> On 23.08.2011 06:06, woody wrote:
>> Don't see a group related to squid, or windows XP,  I need to create a squid
>> setup under XP Pro.  Dual homed.
>
> Squid works the same regardless of OS, so you might want to check out
> the squid-related mailing lists:
> http://www.squid-cache.org/Support/mailing-lists.html
>
> Using an XP Pro computer as a proxy server is possible, but certainly
> not a solution anyone would recommend. Having said that, these are the
> issues you have to consider:
>
> * You'll need to make sure that there's no way the clients can get
> around the proxy by changing browser or OS settings. The wireless zone
> must have no functioning Internet gateway.
>
> * If you want to avoid the nightmare of having to configure workstations
> manually (and believe me, you do), you'll need a DHCP server to serve
> clients in the wireless zone. You can use tftpd: http://tftpd32.jounin.net/
>
> * Another issue is the proxy settings on the clients. You may configure
> this manually (and fix it every time a user messes with the settings),
> or use a proxy.pac file served by a web server on the XP computer and
> retrieved by clients by way of the WPAD protocol
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Proxy_Autodiscovery_Protocol ,
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_auto-config)
>

You can also configure squid to be a transparent proxy - then the 
clients don't need to know it is there.  This also has the advantage 
that it works for non-browser activity (such as software updating), and 
it is harder to bypass.

It is even possible to get squid to cache activity such as windows 
updates and youtube videos, but that involves more effort.

> If you can get all this to work, you will be able to filter Internet
> access with squid. Alternatively, get a cheap router with built-in
> filtering capabilities.

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