[CentOS] pointers for using CentOS box as filter for children

[Scot L. Harris]

On Tue, 2005-10-11 at 13:04, Robert wrote:
> greetings
> 
> has anyone here setup a CentOS box to use as a home or business gateway for
> children through young adults or otherwise?

> can one hit a moving IM program protocol port target that recognizes the
> packets and shut it down?
> 
> also, what packages out there are people using that have time based
> restrictions, like until 11pm or other configs?

You need to look at using a proxy server setup.  Basic setup you would
have a firewall which would only accept connections from the proxy
server.  The proxy server can then be configured to allow only certain
protocols and/or access to specific sites.  Clients would be configured
to use the proxy.  Without the proxy being setup that client would only
have access to the local LAN.  Check out squid to use for the proxy. 
You can use just about any firewall as long as it allows you to restrict
access to all but the proxy server.  

You can use cron to enable/disable access at specific times.