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Creating a Cybercafe
I've got a client who wants to setup a cyber cafe in a remote country. All he needs is internet access to the web for some 15 computers and some ruementary email to provide to clients. i've already set my sights on Linux for the server doing email and internet proxying. My problem is the workstations, What would be the best os for this type of application ? I need a way to be able to limit access by time (ie 30 minutes and the system logs off ), security and website filtering (no porn or illegal stuff). I like linux for this too, how ever the feasability of this on a remote scale and his local tech support is the problem I'm having.
any suggestions ?
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You'll want Windows NT or 2000 for the ultimate security. If you use Win9x or ME, make a ghost image of the workstations so you can quickly get them back to normal if somebody does something stupid with them. Make all the workstations completely identical in hardware which makes it way easier to administer and take care of. One set of drivers for all.
I have been to Internet cafe's and they have software that tracks the usage by pages printed, time spent, etc. Don't know the name of it or where you'd obtain it tho.
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Linux on the server is fine - set the proxy to secure, allow each username login only for one machine, and set it to disable after one login.
Use NT/2000 with NTFS and system policies for the most security.
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l'd actually reccomend linux for the workstations over anything else. Little to no maintenance involved, you'll keep your costs down (since you dont need MS Office and Photoshop, why pay $200/per comp for an email client?)....and to set up the computers to automatically log off after 30 minutes, you can use a one line script that works off the built-in crontab.