Looking for a router with Content Filtering.

[shoju]

My company has 2 locations. At our main location, we have a Sonicwall firewall that we handle our content filtering with. At our other location, there are 2 employees. Purchasing a $500+ firewall is currently out of the question, when all I need it for (currently) is content filtering.

Is there a router out there, that is easy to use, easy to install, and comes equipped with content filtering? I'm not looking for something robust, just something that I can shut off the porn, gambling, etc... with.
(Content Filtering by Category)

Currently they are just running 2 comps off of the Cable modem. These computers aren't on a network, but in the future they may be VPN'd into our current network.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? I'm currently looking at a D-Link 628 as I was told that it had content filtering, but I can't find a way to be sure of that.

[kandrathe]

Have you looked at OpenDNS?

http://www.opendns.com/how/safer/content-filtering/

[shoju]

I haven't really. I'm a web / graphic designer who is learning the security /networking / side of things on the fly. I just went through their site, and I think I understand how it works, though I'm confused. One section says its free, the business section talks about a purchase, how expensive is this?

[vor_lord]

OpenDNS is free if you let it serve ads (I'm not sure what they are like since I'm a paying customer).

I don't know what the pricing plan is, but I pay $10 a year for them. It's a simple enough first order filtering. Note that you have to make sure that either your router disables other DNS requests, or that you in some other fashion ensure that openDNS is being used.

Otherwise anyone could point at other DNS and bypass your desired filtering.

[shoju]

For a business, its $1500 a year.... That pretty much kills the viability of using it.

[Kevin]

For a business, its $1500 a year.... That pretty much kills the viability of using it.

I've got a Netgear WNR3500L and it does content filtering. Haven't really used it much, but it was pretty straight forward. I helped my Dad set up his N600 (WNDR3400 I believe) which has the dual band options and it also has the content filtering.

Both support the block as all the time or only during certain hours. You can block by keyword, domain, and a few other options, you can set trusted IPs to be able to punch through the block.

Again I've only toyed with it for testing but it seemed to work well and was straight forward.

So $50-$80 router, they have remote management options. I think they would do what you were wanting. The D-Link you linked looks like what my Dad has.

[shoju]

Thanks! Sometimes working on a shoestring budget, and trying to keep things on the up and up are tough to do. One day, I will have a real budget for IT equipment.

[kandrathe]

For a business, its $1500 a year.... That pretty much kills the viability of using it.

I've got a Netgear WNR3500L and it does content filtering. Haven't really used it much, but it was pretty straight forward. I helped my Dad set up his N600 (WNDR3400 I believe) which has the dual band options and it also has the content filtering.

Both support the block as all the time or only during certain hours. You can block by keyword, domain, and a few other options, you can set trusted IPs to be able to punch through the block.

Again I've only toyed with it for testing but it seemed to work well and was straight forward.

So $50-$80 router, they have remote management options. I think they would do what you were wanting. The D-Link you linked looks like what my Dad has.

I believe Netgear partnered with OpenDNS to implement their Live Parental Control (content filtering).

http://www.netgear.com/about/press-relea...90804.aspx



[attachment=53] Pricing for Deluxe is $5 / user / year.

For preventing users from altering their DNS to some other... Look into your routers options for DNS proxy. Redirect Port 53 requests to your DNS server (OpenDNS). Of course, hard core sex addicts will memorize their URL's and bypass the need for DNS entirely, but that can be dealt with by policy. By and far the best way to prevent employees from inappropriate surfing is to have a policy, and then enforce it with HR. Something like OpenDNS is great for preventing unintended Google search clicks from bringing up something unexpected in the middle of the team presentation.

[shoju]

For a business, its $1500 a year.... That pretty much kills the viability of using it.

I've got a Netgear WNR3500L and it does content filtering. Haven't really used it much, but it was pretty straight forward. I helped my Dad set up his N600 (WNDR3400 I believe) which has the dual band options and it also has the content filtering.

Both support the block as all the time or only during certain hours. You can block by keyword, domain, and a few other options, you can set trusted IPs to be able to punch through the block.

Again I've only toyed with it for testing but it seemed to work well and was straight forward.

So $50-$80 router, they have remote management options. I think they would do what you were wanting. The D-Link you linked looks like what my Dad has.

I believe Netgear partnered with OpenDNS to implement their Live Parental Control (content filtering).

http://www.netgear.com/about/press-relea...90804.aspx



Pricing for Deluxe is $5 / user / year.

For preventing users from altering their DNS to some other... Look into your routers options for DNS proxy. Redirect Port 53 requests to your DNS server (OpenDNS). Of course, hard core sex addicts will memorize their URL's and bypass the need for DNS entirely, but that can be dealt with by policy. By and far the best way to prevent employees from inappropriate surfing is to have a policy, and then enforce it with HR. Something like OpenDNS is great for preventing unintended Google search clicks from bringing up something unexpected in the middle of the team presentation.

Yeah. We have the policies in place.... sort of. Right now, the policy they are trying to enforce is the "use of sites not deemed appropriate by management". But without content filtering in place, they feel that they can't enforce that because there is no preventative measures taken to lock down the sites.

I'm going to be going with a net gear router, and locking it down with a copy of the permissions / content filtering that I have at home for my 14 year old.