In light of the current global health situation, we want to extend our full support to you and your teams as you prepare for the possibility of a temporary school closure.
Please read the following guidance on offsite filtering and remote network access.
There are two ways to filter off-site. One is to redirect users back to your on-premise Smoothwall. You can combine this with VPN if you wish (see below). If your users aren’t using VPN there are a number of technologies to redirect back. Alternatively, you can use Smoothwall’s client-based Cloud Filter. Install this on any PC or Chromebook and it will filter the content of the Chrome browser without needing to contact your on-premise device.
If you would like to enhance your filtering with a 24/7 managed service for digital safety that is also easy and quick to install, please contact us.
Client Filter for Chrome and Chromebooks
Please speak to your account manager regarding client filtering for Chrome and Chromebooks. If you are unsure who your account manager is please contact us. When the new filter technology is switched on, follow the roll-out instructions in the link below.
https://kb.smoothwall.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008478500-Installing-the-Smoothwall-Cloud-Filter-on-Chromebooks-using-Google-AdminSmoothwall Cloud Filter is now compatible with Microsoft Edge as well as Google Chrome, with added support for Azure Active Directory. For more information please contact us.
Redirecting
Global Proxy – The global proxy uses NTLM authentication and allows remote access to the Smoothwall Filter for iOS devices (via iOS Global HTTP Proxy), Android tablets, Chromebook, Windows and OSX laptops. More information can be found using the link below.
https://help.smoothwall.net/FilterFirewall/Content/8WebProxy/5GlobalProxy/GlobalProxy.htm
Connect Filter – This is a web redirector for Windows clients and devices. More information can be found using the link below.
The easiest and quickest way to allow users to access the network is using the SSL VPN. This is compatible with OpenVPN clients, and you can authenticate your users via Active Directory. Alternatively, L2TP is built into Windows and some other operating systems. This will require you to create users manually. More information can be found using the links below.
In the event that Smoothwall employees are required to work from home please be assured that we will be fully operational and contactable through our normal channels with no interruption to your service.