The failure to use a school web filter could result in children gaining access to hardcore pornography in the classroom. If a school web filter is used, it is essential to ensure that it is configured correctly. Two Canadian parents have just discovered that porn is still accessible via classroom computers after conducting a simple test at their daughters’ school.
In this case, the Internet could only be accessed at the elementary school in Markham, Ontario, using a valid account and Internet access is supervised, so the chance of children viewing adult content is limited. That said, if children want to view porn they would not be prevented from doing so. The software solution that had been put in place did not block pornography and prevent other adult content from being displayed.
After gaining permission to use her daughter’s Internet login, Eva Himanen conducted a simple search on Google to see whether it was possible for images of an adult nature to be viewed in the classroom. She did this by typing the search terms “porn” and “naked sex” into Google.
Rather than images and search listings being blocked, the search brought up numerous thumbnail images of exactly the material one would expect such as search to produce. There were also listings of a wide range of porn websites that had not been blocked. A school web filter was allegedly in place, but images were still displayed.
Access to the Internet is controlled by logins and parents and children are required to sign an acceptable use form each year. However, while students may agree not to search for adult website content, that does not prevent them from viewing inappropriate material.
If a child was able to access pornographic images without being spotted by a teacher, it is likely that the Internet use would be discovered. Logs of all websites visited are maintained by the school and are regularly checked. Any websites of an adult nature that are accessed would be tied to an individual child’s login and action would be taken again that individual. However, the damage would have already been done. If one student was to perform such a search and break the rules, other children’s may also be affected.
The Importance of Implementing Robust but Flexible School Web Filter
Blocking access to certain sections of the Internet is straightforward with WebTitan. WebTitan’s school web filter is quick and easy to implement and can offer protection in a matter of minutes. It is possible to block websites by category as well as by keyword term, and blacklists can be uploaded easily.
One of the problems that can occur with a school web filter is the overblocking of website content. It is possible that blocking a particular category of website, or a specific keyword term such as “sex”, would result in some website content being blocked incorrectly. This could potentially prevent individuals from accessing sexual education material, some of which may be required under the curriculum.
A web filter may therefore require a certain degree of fine tuning. False positives will always occur with any web filter, although careful implementation and choice of keyword terms and website categories will keep this to a minimum, while ensuring that harmful content is blocked. Using a flexible, and easy to use school web filter such as WebTitan will make this as straightforward as possible.
TitanHQ’s web filtering solutions for schools have a high degree of granularity, allowing potentially harmful content to be easily filtered, while ensuring valuable educational material is still displayed. It is still important to have allowable use policies in place, but should a student attempt to break the rules, they would still be prevented from viewing adult content, and their actions would be logged to allow action to be taken.
WebTitan can be applied on school wired and WiFi networks with ease, but protection can also be extended to tablets, Chromebooks, and laptops that are taken home by students. The filtering controls will be applied, no matter where that device is used to access the Internet. That can be especially important for children who do not have an effective parental control filter at home.
For further information on the full range of features of WebTitan school web filtering solutions, contact the sales team today for advice. WebTitan is available on a 14-day free trial to allow you to test the solution for yourself in your own environment before deciding whether or not to make a purchase.
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