Tracking internet useage on network
 

I have several computers attached to a single router that is then attached to the internet. Some of the computers are mac some pc some connected though wires some through wireless connections. I would like to be able to keep track of where the users are going on the internet. Can I set up a linux based router using a spare computer such that it will keep track of web pages/url visited including the day and time accessed. The set up would look something like this

internet->linux router->normal wired/wireless router->all users

I know I would need two network cards for my linux box. I have seen programs like squidGuard that will filter content from the internet but I am more intrested in knowing what urls are being accessed. Any help or pointers would be appretiated. I am not very comfortable with linux so don't try to be simple in any explanation. Thanks

If you can dedicate a pc for this why don't you try smoothwall firewall.

It is easy to install and it has a nice web interface and provides information by ip address.

Hello rgo,

You can setup a Linux based proxy server with SafeSquid or Squid. Both generate access logs that can be processed by log analyzers like Sarg to generate detailed daily / weekly / monthly usage reports like this - sample log report.

Cheers!

1. if you just want to track websites visited by your users, setup a transparent proxy. if your router can handle port redirection, you can install squid in the linux machine (only 1 NIC needed) and redirect all web requests to this machine.

try google.com/linux and search "squid transparent proxy"

and to get a usage report, use SARG:

http://sarg.sourceforge.net/


2. if you decide to make your linux box your gateway, try bandwidthd to report usage per IP:

http://bandwidthd.sourceforge.net/

it's easy to setup.

and for this, you need to have two NICs in your GNU/Linux box.

try to set them up. if you have problems, post it here @ LQ.