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Delivering safe and appropriate web access on diverse Council controlled networks

- Friday, January 06, 2012Smoothwall

Deploying Central or Local Web Filtering, Security and Control?

The choice when building web filtering and security systems seems at the outset to be simple - a top-down relatively inflexible centrally managed and deployed system or individual local deployments that deliver increased flexibility but have higher costs.

Neither solution in isolation is ideal - especially if your remit covers a mix of school, publicly accessible, administrative and operational networks.


Remembering that each network has specific user profiles with their own needs and web usage patterns - couple this with different management styles, legal and administrative requirements.  The challenge of delivering a web experience that isn’t unduly restrictive (and conforms to the organisation’s policies) to individuals looks at first glance insurmountable.


The answer to this seemingly intractable problem is simple - mix both central and local deployments.  Manage the systems centrally and devolve (where appropriate) control of policies to local management - a true hybrid web filtering and control solution.

Smoothwall Web Filtering + Security - delivered as a mix of software, hardware and virtualised

Smoothwall’s flexible deployment methods and device based licensing model allows you to deploy the solution that best fits your needs - and one that will co-exist with your existing infrastructure and policies.  You can choose any mix of Smoothwall software, virtualised or hardware deployments to cover your complete estate - from small UTMs for outlying locations to full multi-thousand user data centre deployments and everything in-between.

Utilising your existing authentication you can manage policies for each user, group, and location - defining when and what they can access on the web, even for mobile and guest users.

Smoothwall Hybrid Web Filtering and Security Deployments

Benefits for Policy Makers

  • Centrally controlled impassable ‘red-line’ policies ensuring legislative requirements and organisational values are complied with
  • Operates highest recognised standards of filtering and e-safety for children (Department of Education (Becta) Accredited for Education Use)
  • Policy management with precise ‘who, what, when, where’ and device level control
  • Accessible
  • Detailed forensic and evidential quality logging combined with (non-technical) trend and usage reporting portal
  • Devolved policy management to non-technical staff
  • Integrated Home Office Anti-Terrorist / Illegal Content Blocklist
  • Integrated Internet Watch Foundation Blocklist
  • Fits British  social and cultural norms - designed, engineered and supported UK
Benefits for Network Managers
  • Co-exists with existing directory services and authentication
  • Can be integrated into existing data centres and infrastructure
  • Scalable consistent deployment and implementation as software, hardware or virtualised service
  • All the benefits of a centrally hosted system with the flexibility of local deployment
  • Centralised systems management
  • Unified interface and technology platform
  • Devolved management of local policies
  • Licenced by maximum device count not by users,location or number of deployments
  • Dynamic web content analysis with advanced categorisation with daily updates
  • Active perimeter protection from web-borne viruses and malware (identity theft, botnets, trojans, spyware, encryption)
  • Filter public WiFi and guest devices on networks
  • Supports BOYD (‘bring your own device’) schemes with authentication against the local directory service via captive portal
  • Local support and advice - designed, engineered and supported in the UK
Benefits for Educators and Teachers
  • Dynamic web content analysis delivers safe content in the classroom
  • Operates highest recognised standards of filtering and e-safety for children (Department of Education (Becta) Accredited for Education Use)
  • Delivers proper access to diverse web resources
    • YouTube/education
    • Safe Search
    • Social Media (when used in an educational context)
  • Manage and unblock uncategorised web pages without referring to IT support (by using the new SWURL feature)
  • Allows teachers to focus on teaching not the supporting  IT
Benefits for Users
  • Appropriate and safe access to web for all types of user
  • BOYD (Bring You Own Device)
  • ‘Light touch’ filtering with the right policy enforced at the right time
    e.g. Facebook at lunchtime only