Can DACS function as a URL filter?
Yes. Along with appropriate firewall settings, it can be done through a DACS-enhanced Apache proxy server or by developing software that uses dacscheck(1) to determine whether a request should be granted or denied. URL filtering software, sometimes called content-control software or Internet filtering software, runs on a host interposed between browsers and the Internet. At least in theory, each outgoing web request addressed to the Internet is directed to the URL filtering software. Those requests that are approved by the software are forwarded to the Internet, while all other requests are not allowed. Because this application uses DACS to look at outgoing rather than incoming service requests there are some subtle differences in its operation (consider DACS cookies, for instance), but its rule-processing engine is still highly-suited to this task.
