Re: [squid-users] Setting up proxy on wi-fi access point to serve local ads

From: Amos Jeffries <squid3_at_treenet.co.nz>
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:24:29 +1200

rhinoward wrote:
> Hello All I have been working with a supposed proxy expert and paying a lot
> of money to have the ability to serve local ads on our wifi network. We want
> the radio itself to act as the proxy and call for the ads from our server.
> Basically we would like to place IAB standard Banner ads on the secondary
> pages the end user is viewing when using our network. But seamlessly not as
> a wrapper at the top. Can anyone help me?? Thank You!

So, lets get this straight:

  * you want to hijack the users Internet requests.
  * insert arbitrary content into the content they download

... and have them like it?

Please be aware this is a crime in most countries.

Besides the hijacking which is borderline. You are intending to alter
HTTP content which is constructed and copyrighted to persons with whom
you have no contracts for content changes. Altering the content in
transit is a breach of the authors copyright for which you will become
fully liable should your visitors complain. There is legal precendent
against several large telecos who attempted this already.

There is a far better solution which is already in use by others in your
exact situation and more accepted by the Internet community. Captive
portal with splash pages.

In those setups, you provide a page containing your adverts and anything
else you like. This page is wholly yours and can be altered as you see
fit. The proxy blocks users requests whenever you wish and redirects
them to this page.

This avoids all the legal implications, since the content is yours, and
a condition of access through the device is regular hits on the page.
The user by using your connection can be made aware of that service
agreement in the page itself.

Squid bundles with a "session" helper that can be used to set the
initial splash and regular re-splashes. The deny_info directive can
redirect seamlessly and also pass the origin request to your page such
that you can provide a click-through link for continuing their request
after the ads.

  * This removes all the legal issues, and page-re-writing issues.
Leaving you with only to solve the problems of determining which
requests are browser requests and which are automated agents and
background AJAX type requests. Good luck.

Amos

-- 
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Received on Fri Aug 13 2010 - 05:24:35 MDT

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