Internet Security

OpenDNS Blocks Academic Fraud

• By David Nagel
• 02/10/10

OpenDNS is rolling out a new Internet security tool to block academic fraud sites. As part of its free and premium cloud-based DNS and filtering services, the company is launching a new feature that prevents users from accessing Internet resources that enable academic fraud, such as essay ghostwriting services and other sites that help students violate an institution's academic integrity guidelines.

OpenDNS provides a variety of Internet services and is widely used in K-12 schools and in some post-secondary institutions. It offers free basic DNS services, as well as Internet security tools, such as adult site blocking, protection from phishing, Web proxy blocking, and domain whitelisting. It also provides premium services, such as service-level agreements with 24-hour phone support, as well as various other options.

More than 25,000 schools and districts currently use some combination of these services, according to OpenDNS.

The new academic fraud blocking features--adopted from an idea submitted by a user through the company's IdeaBank--will automatically be added to users' accounts (including users of the free version of OpenDNS). The new feature will go live Feb. 10.

OpenDNS Basic is free for all users. OpenDNS Deluxe starts at $9.95 per year; the Enterprise edition starts at $2,000 per year. Further information can be found here.