I've run into similar problems with our SonicWall Pro 3060. It's a great
unit, but the content filter is a pain on a good day. It does not provide an
easy way around the filter for myself and our security. There is also no way
that I can see to track down who visited a specific URL etc.
Every so often I need to find out if a student was on a given site. The only
way that I can do it at the moment is to go after their Internet Explorer
history files (we don't using roaming profiles, so I have to visit each
machine in question) and run then through a tool that drops the history into
Excel.
I used DansGuardian in a previous position and the logging was great, I
could nail down the site and the internal IP that was used to access it.
However, my students were too good at getting around it so I was constantly
updating it. I also agree that configuring it is tricky and time consuming.
I'm getting a demo of Cymphonix this afternoon and am researching other
options as well.
What are other schools using for filtering and usage monitoring?
+++Jeff
On 12/11/07 10:02 AM, "Johnson, Jason P Mr WRAMC_Wash DC"
<Jason.Johnson3@amedd.army.mil> wrote:
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> I set up DansGuardian with Squid using a desktop computer (Mac OS). I
> was tired of paying a la carte for all of sonicwall's services each
> year. It definitely required effort, but was not too bad as FOSS goes.
> I would recommend a computer with a good amount of memory (1GB+) and
> dual network cards that match your highest LAN speed (one inbound, one
> outbound). You will still have to pay for blacklists. You can pay as
> little as $70 a year and update your list once a month or as much as
> $600 to update it every day.
>
> Ultimately I ditched the DansGuardian setup in favor of an appliance
> (From Cymphonix). As a result I paid about $1800 up-front and $700 per
> year. In addition I received excellent reporting and log analysis,
> bandwidth throttling, virus protection, MAC and LDAP/AD authentication,
> and a host of other add-ons in a machine that took 30 minutes to install
> and configure. Most of this is available through add-ons in
> DansGuardian but you have to track them down and install them and most
> require some significant configuration.
>
> The Cymphonix product was great for us (reporting is stunning), but
> their support was not very good, so you may want to look at other
> solutions. As I kept adding to my DG documentation, I became worried
> that, if I were hit by a bus, no one was going to be able to figure all
> of this customization out. For something that critical (i.e. if it goes
> down no one access the internet or can provide integrated border
> security) I would look to a boxed solution unless:
> --You have the staffing depth to support a lot of customization.
> --It is a fiscal decision.
> --You need a content filter to meet a requirement (i.e. eRate) but are
> not particularly interested in aggressively filtering as an institution.
>
> _J
> ___________________________________
>
> Jason Johnson - Program Director
> Web Services Branch - Walter Reed Army Medical Center Ingenium (ISO
> 9001:2000 certified)
> Office: 202-782-1047
> Cell: 202-262-0516
> jason.johnson@ingenium.net
> jason.p.johnson2@us.army.mil
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for independent school educators
> [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Lisa Sjogren
> Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 10:30 AM
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: DansGuardian/POESIA
>
> Has anyone used DansGuardian or POESIA for their school? Did you install
> it on the server or individual computers? We have a SonicWall currently,
> but are looking at alternatives and suggestions for parents as well.
>
> Thanks!
> --Lisa
>
> ---
> Lisa Sjogren
> Director of Technology
> St. Raphael's Catholic School
>
> 763-504-9450, ext. 311
> 763-504-9460, fax
>
> lisa.sjogren@srsmn.org
> My Blog: http://lisasjogren.srsmn.org
>
>
>
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ] Submissions to
> ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
Jeffrey Mesch
Director of Technology
Father Ryan High School
Nashville, TN
Office: 615-383-4200 x226
Mobile: 615-207-8068
E-mail: meschj@fatherryan.org
AIM: jeffmesch
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
