Georgia District Struggling with Web Proxies and Network Invisibility Implements iTrust

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 09/09/08

Dougherty County Schools in Albany, GA has selected DeepNines iTrust to secure its students and control its network. The 17,000-student district found that despite its investment in a content filter, students were using Web proxies and other circumvention techniques to access inappropriate material online during school hours. The district also needed a solution that could provide granular network control.

"Our favorite thing about the DeepNines solution is the degree of control it gives us," said Bill Dorminy, technology director. "With our old filter, we often had to make broad network changes to accommodate a single user, but with DeepNines we have the ability to set policies for a variety of different users and situations."

"The DeepNines solution has been incredible," said Dorminy. "For the first time, we have complete control of our network, and we know that our students are utilizing the Internet for its educational resources and content."

iTrust augments existing content filters by preventing Web proxies and other filter circumventions. Because it monitors all ports, it allows for the elimination or control of content not handled by Web filters that strictly monitor port 80 http traffic, such as peer-to-peer traffic, UDP-based traffic, and online chat. The product also provides network visibility by monitoring who is on the network, what applications are being accessed, and how much bandwidth is being consumed.

iTrust is also in use by Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas, TX.

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About the author: Dian Schaffhauser is a writer who covers technology and business for a number of publications. Contact her at dian@dischaffhauser.com.

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