Seeking url logger for router (vanity)

WRT610N ^ | 9/13/2010 | blueflag

[Blueflag]

Tech Freepers --

I seek a simple url logger for my (in-home, DSL-connected) Linksys/Cisco WRT610N Dual-N Band Wireless Router. The experience I seek is that I can capture and then view a log of every url visited from the 6 PCs in my house. I would *really* prefer to capture these by url/domain name as opposed to IP address, like the Linksys software does.

I am a fairly competent techie, but not a network kinda guy (e.g., I don't edit ports or dhcp settings).

Ideas and links are appreciated.

thx

[Blueflag]

Tech Freepers --

I seek a simple url logger for my Linksys/Cisco WRT610N Dual-N Band Wireless Router. The experience I seek is that I can capture and then view a log of every url visited from the 6 PCs in my house. I would *really* prefer to capture these by url/domain name as opposed to IP address, like the Linksys software does.

I am a fairly competent techie, but not a network kinda guy (e.g., I don't edit ports or dhcp settings).

Ideas and links are appreciated.

thx

[Blueflag]

BTW, I would prefer I can see the IP of the PC, the time of access and the url accessed.

Just askin’

;-)

[DrC]

I’m no techie either, but OpenDNS appears to be the rough equivalent of a reverse telephone directory:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/technology/personaltech/19pogue.html

If so, it may be reasonably straightforward to convert IP addresses into their URL equivalents.

[Blueflag]

interesting looking tool. I’ll check it out, especially since it’s free!

[Larry Lucido]

Wish I could help. I understood "logger." The rest went right over my head.

[rabidralph]

They shut that site down on Craigslist.

[Blueflag]

Thanks, but I am looking for hardwood, not pulpwoods ;-p

And I am logged in ...

[Blueflag]

Actually it looks really good. BUT they are *really* slow to send me the confirming email so I can log in. grumble.

[FReepaholic]

http://www.opendns.com/solutions/overview/

[vharlow]

We use Network Magic....if set up to report to you, you get a list of where every system visited and the amount of time online. It’s useful here because I’m homeschooling.

[Chickensoup]

bump

[Dacula]

Bump

[homegroan]

that was my first thought too-thought someone was finally hiring-loggers that is!

SZQ

[rdax]

http://www.wallwatcher1.com/

[Blueflag]

I am in-process on trying the opendns freeware. Right now I can’t receive the “you must conform your email” email, cuz ATT is blocking it! LOL.

Looks like it’ll work, BUT, I think it reports back visits as IP addresses instead of urls.

I have contacted their support team ‘cuz I can’t log in, and this is series.

[Cboldt]

The OpenDNS solution won't break down the accesses by the PC identities on your local/internal network. All of the requests are reported as against the IP of your router, which is what is seen by the outside world.

Your router is merging the requests from all the machines on your home network, and then splitting the returning results so they go to the correct machine.

My first thought is to either export the report the router makes and run a report generator on that file, to get IP names rather than addresses. Another thought is to configure an instance of linux to be your local router (using iptables), and have your hand-built router create the log files. I'm thinking this approach is already written by others; probably tens of variations to choose between.

[Blueflag]

Which version? Home, Pro, Essentials?

I can’t readily tell which one provides the clear reporting.

thx.

[Blueflag]

The OPENDNS software *may* also report the subnet IP addresses of the individual PCs and their outbound urls. dunno yet ‘cuz I can’t register it yet . grumble.

But I must add that your valid idea to “configure an instance of linux to be your local router (using iptables), and have your hand-built router create the log files” is well beyond my ability and interest level. My brother who is a MSE could do that, but not me ;-)

How hard can it be to get software that reports out in a simple dashboard “what urls did my various PCs go to, and when?”

harrumph

;-)

[Blueflag]

looks good. but whazzup with this? “WallWatcher support will end February 1, 2011. The programs will remain available, but without maintenance or enhancements, and no one will be available to answer questions.”

[Cboldt]

-- The OPENDNS software *may* also report the subnet IP addresses of the individual PCs and their outbound urls. dunno yet `cuz I can't register it yet ... --

OpenDNS can only report what it knows about your network. Using mine as an example, the inside network is a bunch of 192.168.0. addresses. OpenDNS knows nothing about this. However, OpenDNS can know about every request outbound from here, which is on a totally different network (that is, the address that web hosts get our browse requests from is more like 72.xxx.xxx.xxx).

In other words, the outbound "URLs" of the all the machines on your home network is probably the same, that being the (external) IP address of your cable modem.

-- How hard can it be to get software that reports out in a simple dashboard "what urls did my various PCs go to, and when?" --

Not too. I think there are quite a few products that do this. If you don't need a report that tells which machine on your network made each web visit, then all you need is a way to convert the IP addresses in the Linksys/CISCO report into names.