Re: filtering using squid

>> Can squid be used for filtering certain incoming HTTP text or TAG ?
>> I read in the FAQ about filtering HTTP requests but didn't find anything about filtering some incoming http documents which is possible using Netscape proxy.
>
>I don't think squid is geared towards being a filter. You may want to
>look into using the internet junkbuster which is made to do this.

Actually, Internet Junkbuster is made to filter URLs, not documents.
I think it will not do what this poster asked about. I am not sure
if there is anything that will, in fact, I'd be curious to know
what the poster was really trying to do by filtering on "HTTP text"
or "TAG"s. Does this mean filtering on HTTP/1.1 headers returned
by the servers i.e. Apache, IIS, Netscape Commerce? That is the
only possibility I can think of for a proxy, because parsing HTML
documents just isn't a job for a proxy, esp. one that cares about
performance.

I use Internet Junkbuster, and I am actually interested in the new
"external URL rewriting program" documented in the Squid release notes.
This is apparently just the "hook" I need to implement Junkbuster-style
advert blocking inside my Squid cache.

Junkbuster is a wonderful program, but not without a few problems.
Luckily the source is available, and you can hack that all you like.
But since Junkbuster is based on a very simple concept for URL
filtering, that is, "that which is not expressly denied is permitted",
a small Perl program that attaches at the aforementioned Squid hook
could theoretically do the same things, and more.

Junkbuster also has some good anonymyzing facilities, which include
cookie filtering, the option to automatically return a "wafer", or
generic cookie which you specify, and HTTP header blocking (such
as From:, User-Agent:, Referer:, X-Forwarded-For). As you'll see,
much of this was written into Squid in the current release, which
shows that someone out there is keeping an eye out for the
privacy-conscious users. In fact, Squid outdoes IJB with respect
to the fact that there are THREE settings to block HTTP headers. I
like "paranoid", myself. Things have a way of slipping through
sometimes, when you're trying out new and fantastic browsers...

Ideally I'd like to phase out Internet Junkbuster, because my local
Squid is already doing many of the things IJB used to do. Now I just
have to write that Perl program, and get it to parse my block.ini...

--robert
Received on Mon Sep 28 1998 - 00:41:28 MDT