Request for advice on internet sharing in a LAN/WAN

[tgray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I would like to receive some advice on sharing internet connections 
in a LAN environment.  I am aware of Squid being awesome but 
that it also has some limitations that can be overcome by running 
Squid and (something mentioned just a day or two ago but I've 
forgotten).  And would like some input on sources for 
documentation and whatnot on those.
I'm willing to RTFM, but since I have very little time to myself 
between college and work, I'd like to eliminate some of the 
research time and narrow my search for the "perfect" solution with 
your collective advice.

Our setup:

We have multiple facilities all of which have users that need to 
access the internet.  Our network is entirely Win9x with NT boxes 
in the hands of IT personell only. Our servers are Novell, each 
facility has it's own tree.  (I can hear some of you cringing, maybe 
laughing.  It's not my choice, don't blame me about the multiple 
tree thing.)  Most of that has no bearing and is just for reference.

Currently our internet sharing is being accomplished using a 
LanBridge program that runs on a Win95 box.  Each facility has a 
server that reaches the internet through a proxy on our firewall.  
Client software is loaded on the "internet authorized" users 
systems.  That software intercepts internet requests and puts them 
through the LanBridge server.  TCP/IP does not need to be 
installed on the client machines (which is nice, but no big deal).  If 
the LanBridge server is down at one facility, the client software will 
scan our WAN for any others connecting to the first one.

My desire get away from this setup because we've recently had 
problems with the LanBridge software spontaneously expiring it's 
registration key, forcing us to contact the authoring company to get 
it re-activated.  With Linux and Squid + (Mystery program) we 
could control it all in-house.  That would be a good thing in my 
book.  It would also be the first application of Linux in my shop... 
I'm fighting uphill to legitimize it in my supervisor's eyes.

I'd like to have central, one-stop configuration of authorization, 
including being able to limit what web-sites, and time of day a given 
computer can be used to access the internet.  Also, is there a 
"Surf Watch" equivalent out there that's free for Linux?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.  My apologies for the length 
of this post.  If I've betrayed any ignorance of the topic(s), please, 
banish it for me.


"If you don't think life is interesting,
you're not paying enough attention." me, 1987-ish.
--Tim Gray