Restrict internet access in LAN

I have 9 PCs (identical PIII w/ win98), connected via a 3Com hub, so we have a small LAN. There is no server or anything like that- I have just plugged all the PCs into the hub so they have access to each other. This network gets internet access through one dial-up connection that is distributed to all computers through a hardware proxy.

What I want to do is restrict internet access for all pcs. I have thought 2 scenarios:
a) I allow internet access but only to 4-5 sites that I choose beforehand (i.e. hotmail, google ,sysopt, download). When they try to see any other page/site they will get "page not found" msg.
b) They have no real internet access. I save 4-5 sites downloaded and stored to one of the pc's hard disk, and all the machines can only see these pages.

Could someone tell me what kind of software or hardware do i need? Please feel free to direct to tutotials, help texts, or anything like that. I am not asking a ready solution. I want to read and learn.

Thanks in advance.

For the first scenario, you need better Internet sharing software. I'd recommend Kerio WinRoute Firewall, as this is good at sharing the Internet connection across the network, but also allows you to restrict access to sites. I know that it can definitely filter out certain sites displaying an error message of your choice, but you'd have to check whether it can block all sites except a few which have been allowed.

For your second scenario, I think you'd need to setup a web server. Install Apache on one of the computers and set it up so that it hosts the sites which you've downloaded. You'd then need a local DNS server which would forward all requests for the few domains to your own web server, rather than accessing the Internet.

what would be the point in allowing someone to access google but no other sites? surely the point of google is to find another website relating to what you searched for?!

lol... quite true