NetBox Blue, one of the world's most innovative internet management and security providers, has launched the latest-generation Internet Access Control System (IASC) designed specifically for the education sector. NetBox Blue SecurED offers a world-class firewall, spam filtering and virus protection as well as patented Web Filtering and Internet Quota Management all in the one integrated appliance.

"NetBox Blue SecurED is the most complete and cost-effective way for education providers to fulfill their Duty of Care to internet-enabled students," NetBox Blue Director of Education Sector, John Pitcher, says.

"Schools across Australia already rely on NetBox Blue for their internet and email security and management and the release of NetBox Blue SecurED is further evidence of our commitment to the education sector and our dedication to innovation."

"We understand the fine line education providers must tread between offering students access to the wealth of information on the internet and protecting young minds from the tidal wave of inappropriate content."

"That is why NetBox Blue SecurED uses Closed Loop Collaborative Filtering technology to provide the most advanced web content filtering ever."

The centralised web content filtering database is constantly updated to ensure students are given the maximum protection from inappropriate material.  If students access a previously unknown site that site immediately undergoes classification thus ensuring the database is kept relevant to the needs of education users.  Access to whole web categories can be managed through policies customized to the needs of every user, based on such aspects as user group, time, day of the week and quota availability. Users are seamlessly identified through true single sign-on authentication so every user's activity can be tracked and reported on.

Faith Lutheran College, Redlands in Queensland is using NetBox Blue SecurED to protect almost 1000 students and teachers from inappropriate web content.

"It's our Duty of Care to protect kids from the really horrible stuff that's out there on the internet," Faith Lutheran College, Redlands ICT Systems Manager Allan Richards says. "The NetBox filtering is certainly doing its job. We're very happy."

Schools also benefit from SecurED's unmatched Internet Quota Management feature. This gives schools the surest means of controlling download use and costs. It also gives education providers a reliable means of accounting for student internet use.  

NetBox Blue SecurED blends an array of internet management features seamlessly with enterprise class security features to give schools an easy-to-manage and cost-effective solution that can be deployed on high end servers or in a virtual environment on VMware.

"NetBox Blue SecurEd stands apart from the competition because it blends so many crucial features in the one appliance. For schools on a tight budget with limited ICT resources, that's a real bonus," Mr Pitcher says.

"SecurED really is a ‘set-and-forget' appliance.  Reporting is automated and it only takes a few minutes a week to manage but the technology is best of breed and stands up to the internet security challenges faced by schools."

For Faith Lutheran College Redlands, this is a very attractive feature.

"The manageability of the NetBox is far and above anything else I've seen. We did see other demos of products out there but we liked the NetBox because it's simple to manage even though it's a complex device," Mr Richards says.

"It‘s dropped the time I spend supporting our web and email filtering by 20 hours a week. It's made a big difference."

When it comes to support, NetBox Blue offers unrivalled service such as standard 4 hour on-site hardware support throughout Australia. 

"Being Australian and with over 10 years experience in the education sector equips us to deal far more effectively with our customers' needs than competitors with overseas call centres and return-to-factory warranties" Mr Pitcher says.

"We take automatic backups of every NetBox and provide a semi-managed service so we can resolve support issues and get our clients back up and running quicker than anyone".

"That means peace of mind for education ICT managers who want to know they can rely on their technology providers to back them up every step of the way."