Woods Services gain Advanced Web Filtering Technology with Bloxx

“The centralized management, automatic updates and URL categorization all work exceptionally well, and the help desk is no longer wasting time with manually updating URL databases.”

Jamie Pastor, Network Administrator, Woods Services

Background

Founded in 1913, Woods Services provides residential, educational and vocational supports for children and adults with exceptional needs. Located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Woods provides supports and services to more than 1,000 people with special needs and challenges. Their residential and community programs combine a personalized approach with expertise in special education, clinical services, therapies, habilitation, vocational training and health care, while maintaining the defining qualities of Woods Services – acceptance, respect and a warm, caring atmosphere. The facility prides itself on holding true to its mission for nearly a century: “To help each individual reach his or her highest level of achievement, whatever it may be.”

The Challenge

Woods Services had been struggling to manage two solutions: a Microsoft ISA server and an Internet filter from SurfControl (the Web filtering company recently acquired by Websense) to monitor the online activity of students, residents and staff. Adding to the difficulty of balancing two solutions, Woods observed that automatic updates to the URL database and upgrades frequently failed to occur.

“The Internet filter from SurfControl was supposed to be updated every day with URLs of new Web pages,” commented Jamie Pastor, network administrator at Woods Services. “Some days there were updates, but other days there were none, so we were spending a lot of our time manually updating our list of sites we needed to block, which was a drain on our IT resources.”

The use of anonymous proxies, which are designed to let users easily bypass Web filters and so view any available Web sites, was also being made easier by the skipped updates.

“Students were finding ways to proxy through certain sites to get where they really wanted to go,” added Pastor. Filters relying solely on URL databases cannot keep up with the dynamic nature of today’s Internet. Hundreds of new anonymous proxies are created every day, and if they aren’t added to a URL database, they allow users to gain access to whichever site they please, rendering the Internet filter useless.
The lack of reliability, combined with tech-savvy users, was resulting in effortless circumvention of the filters on campus. These factors, plus the consumption of valuable time as the help desk updated the URL database, lead Pastor to seek out a new solution.

The Solution

The Bloxx Web filtering appliance with Tru-View Technology combines the best of traditional methods with its patented language analysis and intelligent identification techniques, providing three levels of protection. Performing a live analysis and real time categorization of Web pages, the Bloxx appliances are quicker and more accurate than traditional Web filters that use only manual classifications of URLs and keywords.

This means that even if the Web page is not in the URL database, or if access is attempted via an anonymous proxy, the page will still be analyzed and classified to protect the user from inappropriate material.

These features addressed Woods Services’ concerns and convinced it to install two Bloxx TVT-1250 Web filtering appliances to monitor and manage both of the facility’s Internet connections.

The Results

The Bloxx appliances integrated with ease into Woods’ network. “We pretty much just set it up and let it do its thing. It is a self-sufficient and reliable solution,” says Pastor. “We’re going on a year and a half now since we implemented the Bloxx appliances. The centralized management, automatic updates and URL categorization all work exceptionally well, and the help desk is no longer wasting time with manually updating URL databases.”

With around 700 users on its network, Woods Services caters to all different departments and groups with the Bloxx appliances. Pastor explained: “You have the ability to easily adjust the sensitivity of the unit based on the needs of the groups we create. For example, our HR department is allowed to view career sites, but the rest of the staff is not.”

He added that they also choose to block instant messaging to improve productivity. In regards to students and staff circumventing the filter with anonymous proxies, “Bloxx has eliminated that challenge.”

When asked if he believes the appliances have saved Woods Services money, Pastor emphatically responded, “Absolutely, we’ve saved money! We got a great deal on two Bloxx appliances and a three-year discounted package. Not to mention the money saved in employee productivity and the time saved from not having to manually update the system.”

With its automatic Tru-View categorizations, and as a manageable, all-in-one appliance, Bloxx proved to be the most efficient and cost-effective solution for the Woods Services network, staff and students.