Please carry out the following checks.  If any of the tests fail then your Cachepilot configuration is not providing adequate protection.  Contact Easynet Support on 08453334568 for further advice and assistance.

Google Safe Search

Open your browser and type the URL www.google.com a search windows will open click on the search settings link top right.  If you can view and change the SafeSearch Filtering options SafeSearch in not enforced.

YouTube

If you have decided to allow access to YouTube for a CachePilot user group, login as a member of this group and access the URL www.youtube.com a green banner titled "Enabled Safety mode" should appear directly below the YouTube search bar.  After any video is selected check to ensure that viewer’s comments are disabled.  They would normally appear directly below the video.

Blocked Categories

From your workstation’s browser access the following URLs.  All of the following URLs should be blocked if they are not your browser will be automatically redirected to the Smoothwall home page.  If any sites are not blocked check you’re filtering for configuration errors!

The above categories are blocked by default on all Northern Grid Cachepilots.

Social networking sites are now the most common method of spreading malware and viruses due to their popularity and poor design.  If the school allows access to these sites a rigorous security policy needs to be enforced to protect the network.

Cachepilot FAQ

What can a CP do for your school?

A CachePilot can speed up the delivery of web resources to your school through transparent and advanced caching techniques.  The device can also be used as a local content store.  The Smoothwall web filtering solution protects web users from offensive and malicious websites and offers URL category blacklists and dynamic content control. 

How does the Smoothwall filtering work?

Smoothwall uses two separate techniques to block inappropriate websites.  A URL category blacklist database is stored and updated on the unit of well-known websites.  To enhance the URL blacklist a dynamic content filter is deployed.  This heuristic filter is able to identify and categorize websites in real time, and block or allow them according to the policy deployed.

The dynamic content control uses a weighted phrase limit.  The WPL is a sensitivity bar and defaults to 50 suitable for a primary school.  Secondary Schools may wish to increase the limit (desensitize) to 120.   The CachePilot has the ability to blacklist (block) or whitelist (allow) any website, webpage or file type download.

Can I use Site Lists with the new Smoothwall filtering solution?

We recommend you do not use site lists but they can be added to the site list permission if required.  The new filtering configuration is now simpler to use and more efficient due to the separation of filtering components.  To modify the filtering select User Accounts / Groups  and select the group you wish to modify. The Global group policy applies to everybody and should be populated with your school blacklist. The new filtering configuration allows exceptions to be added in a group thereby eliminating the need to reduce the number of blacklisted categories for the Global group.

The Cachepilot slows down web access?

A correctly configured and maintained CachePilot does not generate any significant delay. Slow Internet performance may result from a problem on your network or on the remote web server. The new web filtering solution is more reliable and provides faster performance than a CachePilot running Smartfilter.

Websites on the Internet are hosted on a range of equipment resulting in performance differences to add to this geographic location and server loading can impact on the speed of your web access. If a website is generally slow to access it is a prime candidate for using the CachePilot’s advanced caching functionality.  If the Internet connection is slow contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to run a remote diagnostic check.

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