Kentucky K-12 and Internet 'filtering' (Part 2)

Years ago, Microsoft Proxy 2.0 was the state standard product purchased to comply with Senate Bill 230. It was really known more for its ability to cache content, which was a definite requirement at the time due to the slow WAN links we had at the time (many 56Kb point-to-point and/or similar speed frame-relay links). As far as blocking inappropriate content, the solution was to add pages to a black-list. This is how the ISA product functions today. Third-party add-ons were available then (and are today) that categorize web sites in popular categories and allowed for easier blocking and reporting, particularly related to sexually explicit content, which was certainly the focus at the time.

Some districts in this area were using a product called i-Gear. This was third-party software that was installed on each of the proxy servers in the schools. It did a good job of allowing districts to block various categories. There was a separate browser-type window that remained open on each desktop that let users know they were logged in to the i-Gear solution. This window included a button to log out. One of the primary features I remember districts liking was that window, which was an easy way of knowing whether your browsing session was still logged in. Operating systems at the time were Netware or perhaps Windows NT 4.0 and the concept of a single domain for an entire school district had not become uniform.

I don’t even recall what caused the original concerns with i-Gear. Personally, I think it was a combination of factors: Proxy servers were getting older, there were more and more Internet sites being created, i-Gear subscription costs were increasing and there was some change in this particular market sector. I-Gear was manufactured by URLabs, which was purchased by Symantec in 1999. I'm not sure if Symantec even offers a specific Internet filtering solution today. Their focus seems to be on antivirus, email filtering and endpoint security.

IPrism is a product manufactured by St. Bernard. It’s a hardware-based web filter that nearly all of our area school districts purchased in late 2003 or early 2004. Districts combined node counts and were given a discount on their subscription pricing. Most seem to be happy with the product. Several districts upgraded their iPrism hardware after moving to a high-speed (10Mb or 100Mb) connection to the Internet.