I have a wireless network to connect different computers in my home to the internet. From the main computer, is it possible for me to monitor what sites the other computers are viewing, without purchasing any special software? If so, how do I do this?
You can't expect to get answers if you don't mention what sort of router you have, the operating system(s) on your computers, and the type of wifi network cards in them
if you looking to keep tabs on where the spouse or kids are going, there are a couple of different broad brush solutions. One would be just looking at your router log. Another would be something like WallWatcher software on your PC that merely pulls the logs from the router for realtime viewing. If you are looking to actually see what is on the screen of the other computers, then that's a different story & software solutions. What router do you have ?
Any particular make and model router?
On what manner of machine were you planning to use for monitoring? Most routers do NOT store ancient history of the kids midnight browsing habits. The data needs to be recorded immediately or it's lost. That means you'll need to have a computah turned on all the time collecting statistics and URL's. An old laptop will work.
Various network monitors:
Most show traffic statistics, but a few record URL's.
There are also traffic and URL monitors that are specific to various routers.
If your router is on the list, you can use the software. If your router is not on the list but has a syslog, then you can write to them, and they can add your router's syslog to the program.
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