Think your child has limited internet access at school? Think again. It’s never been easier for a student to get around school filters and firewalls. By using proxies, even the least computer-savvy student can gain access to any website he or she wants to view.
Most educators agree that the internet is a powerful educational tool. But as the internet generation reaches high school, the need for internet security at high schools and middle schools is at an all-time high. It is surprisingly easy for increasing numbers of students to get around the expensive filters and firewalls school systems use to prohibit access to non-educational websites. To get around school filters, even the least tech-savvy student can tell you all about proxies and proxy servers. They may not know how proxies work, but they certainly know what proxies can do. An anonymous proxy or a public proxy enables your student to bypass a school firewall or internet filter. Once past the school filter via a proxy, the student can then IM their friends, update their MySpace, or check out any website they wish to see.
What Are Proxies?
For less internet savvy parents, a proxy is a website that redisplays a web page or another website using a different URL so that the school filters don’t recognize the site as being banned. In other words, through a proxy, a student can visit Meebo, and the school firewall will not know the student is on Meebo because the school’s internet security system doesn’t know the student is viewing a banned URL. Sounds simple, right? Sadly, it is.
Finding Proxies
Finding proxies is easy. Try it yourself if you don’t believe me. Just go to google and type in proxies or anonymous proxies or even how to get around school filters and you can literally find thousands and thousands of proxies and other ways students use to get around school firewalls.
Many school systems block well-known proxy sites as well as sites that list anonymous proxies students can use. However, this doesn’t prevent a student from searching for a list of proxies on the internet at home, then using these proxy lists at school to find one that works.
Other Ways Students Get Around School Internet Filters
One way a student can get around a school filter, it to simply add an “s” when typing in a banned URL. Instead of typing in http://myspace.com, they can type in https://myspace.com. The trick here is to make the school’s filter think that the site being accessed is secure (hence the “s”.) However, most systems will recognize this trick and deny access to the banned website.
The easiest way your student will try to access a banned website through school computers is to use anonymous proxies. As discussed above, the student goes to a proxy, enters the URL of the site he or she wishes to visit and there it is. It’s really that simple.
Naturally school system IT staffs are aware of the use of proxies to bypass school firewalls and try to block all known proxies. However, hundreds of new proxies spring up everyday. It’s like a single person trying to plug up a hole in a dam while thousands of people are simultaneously poking more holes in it. School systems are trying, but it’s a difficult battle they face.
Let’s suppose that a school system is able to block all known anonymous proxies, could your student still get around their school’s internet filter? Unfortunately, once again, the answer is yes. A student can quietly set up his or her own proxy server.
You may think your child doesn’t have the technical know-how to set up a proxy server at home, but with step-by-step instructions for setting up home proxies readily available on the internet (once again try a Google search on how to set up a home proxy server if you don’t believe me), this is an almost foolproof way to beat the school filters for an indefinite amount of time.
While schools routinely try to block all known anonymous proxies, an unknown proxy is virtually undetectable by automated means. School filters are designed to catch the big fish. The quiet little fish that lives in the shadows can move with impunity. In other words, school officials would have to notice that an individual student spends a lot of time at a particular website (their proxy). The chances of this activity being discovered are practically nil unless the student starts bragging about his or her proxy or letting other students use his or her proxy, which would draw more traffic to the proxy’s URL and draw attention to it.
What Can I Do About It?
Talk to your child about his or her internet usage.
Check if your child uses proxies to get around the school filters and firewalls.
Explain to your student that many anonymous proxies are ripe for phishing attacks, password theft and more.
Monitor your child’s internet usage.
Check with your child’s school system to see what measures are in place to block proxies.
Be aware that your child and his or her friends are an internet savvy generation that wants to see things online, often regardless of the security risks involved.
Know that the schools are doing their best to combat proxies and maintain a secure internet environment for your student, but they are limited in what they can do.
