SecureSchool Internet Filter Can Now Filter Chromebooks Off Campus

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New capability solves a major problem faced by K–12 schools: Giving students monitored Internet access when working on school-issued laptops at home.

Internet filtering for Chromebooks outside of school was once a near-impossible feat.

But SecureSchool has a game-changing new feature customers may not know about. Using the Chrome Management Console, IT admins can now configure their schools’ Chromebooks to enable SecureSchool content filtering off campus.

With their cloud-based platforms and low cost, Chromebooks are surging in popularity in K–12 schools throughout ...

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How to Keep Students Safe Online

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So much lurks in cyberspace that can harm kids. Here’s how to keep your students safe online.

Thanks to CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act), schools that request E-Rate funding are required to put Internet filters and other safety features in place to shield students from pornography and other inappropriate images. But keeping students safe online isn’t that easy.

Blocking websites, monitoring email, limiting Internet usage, and monitoring kids’ cyber activity is just the beginning. To steer clear of dangers like cyberstalking, ...

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Benefits of an Automated School Help Desk

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If you’re still running your school help desk the old-fashioned way, it’s time to automate.

So you are the school help desk. Do you find yourself:

  • Digging through a messy pile of trouble tickets?
  • Frantically searching emails for work requests?
  • Spending hours on the phone assigning tasks and chasing down your repair team?
  • Getting bombarded by staff requests every time you hit the vending machine?
  • Logging issues manually on a spreadsheet?
  • Losing work orders?
  • Suffering from headaches, hair pulling, and random outbursts?

You’re not alone. Many schools—particularly ...

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Is Wi-Fi Safe? Are Children at Risk? The Debate Rages On.

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“Wi-Fi is safe.” “Wi-Fi is dangerous.” Hear both sides of the debate and decide where you fall.

Our homes, businesses, schools, coffee shops, and even airplanes are all going wireless, allowing us to be connected 24/7. It’s incredibly convenient—and most of us can’t imagine life without Wi-Fi.

But is Wi-Fi safe?

There’s a lot of controversy about the potential health risks of the wireless radiation emitted by Wi-Fi, cellphones, and other devices—especially in children. Some say living in a “virtual sea ...

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“Unlock” & Content-Filter HTTPS Traffic With SSL Intercept

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The world is going HTTPS. Is your school prepared?

The recent and rapid adoption of HTTPS (hyper text transfer protocol secure) has made Internet use safer. By encrypting data over a secure socket layer (SSL), the communication between a client (e.g., a browser) and the server can’t be intercepted—which protects against eavesdropping, tampering, and man-in-the-middle attacks.

HTTPS was once relegated to banks, online shops, and sites that request financial and other sensitive information. But thanks to the NSA’s ...

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Lousy Wi-Fi Performance? How to Remedy This Annoying Problem.

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Slow Wi-Fi is exasperating. Here’s what’s slowing you down to snail’s pace—and what you can do about it.

With nearly 90 percent of K–12 schools allowing students and staff to use personal devices on their networks, BYOD offers tremendous learning and cost-saving opportunities.

But it also means a lot of people are vying to get—and stay—connected to your Wi-Fi network. And that may be an exercise in frustration.

Here are six possible culprits for slow Wi-Fi and what you can do ...

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Hacked Website: Myth Versus Reality

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Yes, a hacked website can happen to your school. Here, the myths, misinformation, and truths. Plus, tips for protecting yourself.

If you surfed the Internet in 1994, you could probably have gone to all 3,000 websites. (And back then, a hacked website was rare.) Today, you’d be hard pressed to visit even a tiny fraction of the billion-plus sites out there.

Exponential growth has come at a price: About one percent—or ten million—of these websites are hacked or infected.

While your ...

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The Emotional and Legal Consequences of Sexting

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Sexting can have severe repercussions for K-12 students. Embarrassment is just the beginning.

A well-known politician posts a photo of his private parts on Twitter. The image gets leaked, he suffers humiliation, and the Congressman ultimately resigns in disgrace. Now there’s an entire Wikipedia article devoted to the incident. “Sexting for adults” one thing.

But when an underage kid sends and/or receives a sexually explicit photo, the consequences could be far worse than just being embarrassed or publicly shamed.

Depending on the jurisdiction, he ...

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