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We work hard to understand the challenges facing educational institutions - so we can develop our software products to suit.
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Our popular range of Guardian web filters are Becta-accredited* and CIPA-compliant**. This proves that they meet Government-approved standards for Internet filtering products used in Education. In addition, blocklists are updated automatically on a daily basis and incorporate content from the Internet Watch Foundation CAIC*** database.
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Web pages are filtered using Dynamic Content Analysis - a technology that screens their content, context and construction in detail, detecting and blocking objectionable material as well as dangerous hidden content and the anonymous proxy sites that help students to bypass school filters. This technology also prevents the inadvertent blocking of legitimate searches (e.g. breast cancer).
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For security vendors, fighting new and rapidly-evolving proxy technologies is a constant battle. Thanks to our development team's continual commitment to keeping detection signatures up to date, few vendors can match Guardian's proxy-blocking record. In the last 18 months, the number of types of proxy we detect has quadrupled. Click the links for more information on anonymous proxies and blocking HTTPS proxies.
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Safesearch settings can be forced on popular search engines and image search results can be selectively displayed, omitting images that come from inappropriate sources.
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Guardian is specifically designed to help IT departments 'fine tune' the delicate balance between protecting students, while allowing both staff and students access to online learning resources. It offers both time and room-based blocking, so filtering can be flexibly adjusted to suit different users, in different classes or at different times of the day. Troublesome users can even be banned from the system for a specified period.
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Reports can be generated for popular yet contentious individual websites such as YouTube, (which offers valuable educational content but is also a public platform for cyberbullies to post embarrassing or distressing videos). The online activities of students (including Instant Messaging) can also be monitored in real time using AJAX-based traffic logs. For overstretched administrators, School Guardian also incorporates scheduled reporting and a practical User Portal so reports and other basic functions can be accessed by (and delegated to) different departments.
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Support for Instant Messaging allows students' IM conversations to be controlled and monitored. This is a useful feature where school administrators need to allow IM in a controlled way outside of school hours. (e.g. in boarding schools).
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Guardian's web proxy cache helps to optimize bandwidth use by storing and retrieving frequently accessed web pages. In a school environment, where online learning resources need to be accessed at the same time by many users, web caching is essential to maintain quality of service.
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Thousands of educational institutions worldwide rely on SmoothWall security. To see how and where we have solved problems for different schools worldwide please see Case Studies & Testimonials.
For more information about our solutions for schools and the discounts that we offer to educational institutions please contact us.
SmoothWall sponsors EduGeek, a popular forum for IT administrators in schools and has demonstrated a clear commitment to improving security in schools by producing resources for ICT teachers including our popular Password Protection Poster and a Cyberbullying Best Practice Guide.
All the features in School Guardian are also available in our stand-alone web filter Network Guardian.
| * | | British Educational Communications & Technology Agency |
| ** | | The Children's Internet Protection Act |
| *** | | Child Abuse and Illegal Content |
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Related Pages
» School Guardian
» Cipa & Becta Compliance
Solutions for Schools
»  Cyberbullying Best Practice
» Anonymous Proxies
» Blocking Ultrasurf /HTTPS proxies
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