SOCKS

[Glen Davies]

> Hello - I hope some of you out there can help me.
> 
> I'd like to know what SOCKS is and how it can be used.
> I've looked at their web site  (http://www.socks.nec.com/)  
> but I'm still not sure I understand what it is.
> 
> Here's what we'd like to do:
> We have 15 public workstations that access CD-ROM and online 
> products.  We currently get our online products via telnet but we 
> want to start accessing them on the Web.  We want to be sure our 
> patrons use the Web for these products only and don't go anywhere 
> else. (We have other public Internet workstations where people sign 
> up for an hour or 2 and go wherever they want.)
> 
> We plan to use Netscape's kiosk version but we can't lock the
> CTRL-L to open a location.   From what I've been able to understand
> about SOCKS  so far, is that we could set up a SOCKS proxy server
> and allow patrons access to only our Reference sites (Searchbank, 
> FirstSearch, SIRS, etc.)   We'd then use the SOCKS client on these 15 
> public workstations to be sure patrons are using them as they were 
> intended.
> 
I don't know about SOCKS but we are using Netscapes Proxy Server 2.5 
for NT (free to non profit and educational organisations) to do exactly 
what you are wanting to do. 

The proxy server has an URL list to allow and URL list to deny 
option. On the stations we want to limit access on Netscape points  to 
the proxy server (no special client side software is required) and if an 
URL they request is not on the allow list they get a response saying why 
they can't access it. I have disabled the Options menu in the 
Netscape browser using Integrity Kiosk so that users can't remove 
or change the proxy server setup.

Regards
Glen 
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Glen Davies                        "I've been drunk for 
Systems Support Librarian    a week now, and I 
Learning Resource Centre    thought it might sober
Christchurch Polytechnic      me up to sit in a 
daviesg at lib.chchp.ac.nz       library." 
New Zealand                               F.Scott Fitzgerald
                                          The Great Gatsby, ch3.
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