Network-manageable anti-porn software

This year, the college I.T. department I work for decided to put out "mobile lab" loaner laptops for students to check out from our student center to use for homework (basically, something for them to take home and use if/when their own computers bite the dust). So far it's been a fairly successful venture, but we've had a couple instances of them coming back bogged down with viruses obtained from porn and piracy related activity. We're looking for a piece of software we can deploy to these computers that we can managed centrally that will block access to porn websites (I know nothing can block everything at once) and will send us reports of internet activity so that we can know what our mobile labs are being used for.

Things we're taking into consideration (in order of importance).

1. Cost.
2. Ease-of-setup
3. Ease-of-management
4. Thoroughness of websites blocked

Any suggestions? So far all we have on these laptops is AVG Business Edition.

EDIT: We've concluded we do not want anything that even has keylogging as a feature. Even if we can turn it off, the boss doesn't want a future director to be able to turn it on.

Hi.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but OpenDNS allows you to set the DNS servers to their addresses, and then you can set up blocking via their web site.

I use their free version at home, which is somewhat limited, but okay for what I need.

It allows you to block categories (porn) and specific web addresses as well. Reports show all and/or blocked sites by day/days/weeks, etc. OpenDNS was recently purchased by Cisco.

The only thing is, you'd need to make sure that your users can't change the DNS settings on the NIC(s) of the computers. Well, that's for home users - not sure how it works for business.

Chart Industries | OpenDNS


Enterprise Security Packages | Umbrella by OpenDNS

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Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestion, but OpenDNS will not do, as we need something that will block it no matter where they go; we have Sonicwall to keep our network secure, but we need something for the individual computers that will block users from accessing such websites with our laptops.

I understand the thread title seems misleading. We need software that we can deploy to multiple computers and manage centrally.

kbronski said:

Hi all,

Thanks for the suggestion, but OpenDNS will not do, as we need something that will block it no matter where they go; we have Sonicwall to keep our network secure, but we need something for the individual computers that will block users from accessing such websites with our laptops.

I understand the thread title seems misleading. We need software that we can deploy to multiple computers and manage centrally.

I don't think you have understood how OpenDNS works. It would indeed be able to block users from accessing websites when using your laptops "offsite". And, everything is managed by you, without having access to them when they are checked out.

EDIT:
I take my son's laptop, go to the network adapter, and set it up to use OpenDNS server addresses. He takes his laptop over to his friend's house and connects to their wifi. His NIC still uses OpenDNS servers to resolve internet addresses, and (using a little program called Marc's Updater), his computer IP address is synced with OpenDNS, so it knows where he is and applies my settings to his DNS requests.

simrick said:

I don't think you have understood how OpenDNS works. It would indeed be able to block users from accessing websites when using your laptops "offsite". And, everything is managed by you, without having access to them when they are checked out.

EDIT:
I take my son's laptop, go to the network adapter, and set it up to use OpenDNS server addresses. He takes his laptop over to his friend's house and connects to their wifi. His NIC still uses OpenDNS servers to resolve internet addresses, and (using a little program called Marc's Updater), his computer IP address is synced with OpenDNS, so it knows where he is and applies my settings to his DNS requests.

I have indeed misunderstood how OpenDNS works. Thank you for clarifying.

Still, a potential issue with this would be conflict between OpenDNS and Sonicwall. We need our computers to go through our Sonicwall appliance first when they are on-site. We use Sonicwall for a multitude of things on our network, particularly bandwidth management for different VLANs. Is there a way to give priority to Sonicwall with this sort of solution?

kbronski said:

I have indeed misunderstood how OpenDNS works. Thank you for clarifying.

Still, a potential issue with this would be conflict between OpenDNS and Sonicwall. We need our computers to go through our Sonicwall appliance first when they are on-site. We use Sonicwall for a multitude of things on our network, particularly bandwidth management for different VLANs. Is there a way to give priority to Sonicwall with this sort of solution?

I don't know enough about all their capabilities, since I only have home use, but go here
Chart Industries | OpenDNS
and under NEXT STEPS, get in contact with them. I am *absolutely sure* they will have a solution for your specific needs.

And, when you get it all sorted, come back here and let us know!

Here's something I just found in a google search - no idea what it means - you probably understand it though:
Only allow DNS to OpenDNS from a Sonicwall Interface - ICT Project Management - Support

We've been running into issues with the OpenDNS / Sonicwall relationship where it will work correctly, but will block access to certain network-hosted services (like student portal).

We're testing K9 in the meantime. It's not centrally manageable, but it may be a temporary solution until we find something more long-term.

kbronski said:

We've been running into issues with the OpenDNS / Sonicwall relationship where it will work correctly, but will block access to certain network-hosted services (like student portal).

We're testing K9 in the meantime. It's not centrally manageable, but it may be a temporary solution until we find something more long-term.

Oh wow - I am surprised. Well, that's no good.