CDW-G has signed a strategic partnership with Web filtering vendor 8e6 to help prevent children as young as 12 from bypassing security and Web filtering appliances in schools using proxy servers.
CDW-G, a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW that sells to the government and education market, will now offer schools in the K-12 sector three versions of the 8e6 products: the 8e6 Professional Edition, which includes Internet filtering, proxy pattern detection, forensic reporting, and real-time reporting and remediation; the 8e6 Standard Edition, which includes Internet filtering, proxy pattern detection and forensic reporting; and the 8e6 ProxyBlocker, a solution designed to work with any existing Internet filtering solution to specifically address the growing proxy problem in schools.
Bob Kirby, senior director of K-12 education at CDW-G, said preventing children from bypassing Web filters by using proxy servers has been a growing challenge for schools. “Children are getting much more Internet savvy and have found ways around security; some set up the proxy server from home, then access through the school computers. We needed to be able to offer schools peace of mind with our offerings,” he said.
The deal will allow 8e6 to get more nationwide coverage, according to Paul Myer, president and chief operating officer of 8e6 Technologies.”It is difficult for us to get the reach we need in the K-12 districts,” he said. “Our products are customizable, which means schools can decide to block sites, such as social networking sites, if they so choose. We identify the proxy signature rather than the proxy site, which means we are able to block them more effectively.”
According to CDW-G’s K-12 School Safety Index 2007, 95 percent of school districts claim to block or limit Web site access, yet only 81 percent say they monitor student Internet activity. The study also found that while most schools have some level of Web filtering, many cannot keep up with the daily emergence of new threats, including Web-based proxies.