Internet Filtering
All student internet usage on the College system is filtered and logged and is trackable if investigation is required by the Principal.
Be aware that if you provide your daughter with a device that has built in cellular data connectivity that the school is unable to filter, log and monitor her usage.
It is highly recommended that if your daughter has a mobile phone that you limit the amount of data available on the plan. High data rates encourages mobile hotspots which enable students to bypass College filtering services that are designed to provide not only Duty of Care filtering but also to limit distractions from social media during class time.
Filtering Your Home Internet
There are various technical measures you can take to manage internet access at home and whilst it can play a role, supervision and education are the best forms of filters.
Filtering systems not only help block out inappropriate websites, but there are also certain features that can do such things as enforce internet cut off times for certain devices. This means you can set an internet 'bed time' for one or more specific devices on your network.
Many of these functions are built into modern Wi-Fi modem/routers through a combination of DNS filtering and/or router based filtering.
DNS Filtering
DNS stands for Domain Name System.
The Domain Name System serves as the phone book for the Internet by translating human-friendly names into numerical IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. For example, the domain name www.example.com translates to the IP address 93.184.216.119.
When you set up DNS filtering on your home router you can filter internet content across everything on your home network. In addition to computers and notebooks, it also includes Xbox, Playstation, Wii, DS, iPad, iPod, iPhone and any internet enabled device.
OpenDNS is a reputable company that provides free services for home use. From their website;
We divide the Internet's millions of websites neatly into 56 categories, like “adult,” “games,” “academic fraud” and “social media.” Parents can block entire categories of content, or just choose to block the individual websites that you know are problematic or unsafe for your family. Or, for easier setup, you can choose a filtering level: low, medium or high. The low filtering level blocks just adult content, where the high filtering level blocks adult content, social networking sites, video-sharing sites and more.
The OpenDNS system also allows for logging and reporting on your household's online usage.
For more information visit: https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/
Router based filtering
Using the DNS filtering solution above will apply filtering to all devices on your home Wi-Fi, including those used by parents. Router based filtering is appropriate when you want to filter multiple specific devices in your household with different rules. eg, you can apply stricter filtering or cut-off times to your child's devices whilst leaving your device more open.
Router based filtering also works with devices other than computers, eg, smartphones and tablets. Because devices like tablets do not run Mac or Windows they can be difficult to filter with software solutions.
Most WiFi modem/routers have a degree of built in content management, so you may already have a degree of content control with your existing device. To find out, there are instructions for each model of router in the box or on the internet. Find out by looking up the model number of your device. Current generation Optus or Telstra modems that are included in home internet bundles will contain a high level of parental control incorporating both filtering and time scheduling for individual devices. Contact your ISP to help you identify whether your router is capable of content management.
Netgear, Linksys, Draytek and many other brands sold extensively contain inbuilt content management features. If you go to a store like Harvey Norman and ask the sales rep they should be able to provide input.
Netgear offer another option called Live Parental Controls whereby, in conjunction with OpenDNS, they allow you to set up and configure multiple profiles for yourself and your children with different filtering permissions. It's a free service if you purchased a Netgear router.