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Internet Filter & Proxy Servers
The Norman Public School District has thousands of desktop, notebook, and tablet computers that need to access web pages from the Internet. Every network device on the Internet needs an IP address to send or receive information. Our district only has a couple hundred public IP addresses so we use private IP addresses for our district computers and printers. Computers with private IP addresses are not allowed to surf the Internet directly. The NPS proxy server has a public IP address and, as its name implies, acts a proxy (or go-between) for our district computers. It forwards requests to web sites on behalf of our district computers, receives responses from those web sites, then returns the responses to our district computers.
Our district proxy server filters (intercepts and blocks) some of the requests for web pages before they reach the Internet. If content is blocked by our district Internet filter you will normally see the Slash-URL symbol shown near the top of this page. If you are having trouble accessing a web page and you do not see the Slash-URL sysmbol, then your problems are probably not due to our district Internet filter. We attempt to filter web content that is inappropriate for our educational environment and students. Sometimes this results in blocking web sites that offer mostly good content because they also allow bad content. For instance, some image/photo host sites allow anyone to post any images which results in pornographic web sites posting explicit images advertising their web sites. Examples of the type of web content we block are described below in the section entitled What Internet Content Does NPS Block?
We describe a valid use of a proxy server above. Unfortunately, there are many thousands (some say millions) of proxy servers on the Internet that are designed to help people bypass or circumvent their educational, corporate, or governmental Internet filters. These sites mask the true address of the destination web pages from our Internet filter and allow people to access web pages they shouldn't access at school or work. As you might imagine, these bad proxies complicate our task considerably.
Children's
Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
The Schools and Libraries Division of the USAC (the folks who administrate the federal E-Rate program) require schools and libraries to have an Internet filtering system that protects against access by adults and minors to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors. For schools, the policy must also include monitoring the online activities of minors. Click here to read more about CIPA.
Internet, email, and computer use in the NPS District is expected to be consistent with our educational mission. Below is a brief summary of our NPS Internet policies for students and staff. Click here to read a more detailed presentation of NPS web policies.
- Internet use should support teaching & learning
- Avoid e-commerce, political lobbying, & hacking
- Do not deliberately disrupt computers or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means
- Obey laws; respect copyrights; do not plagarize
- Be respectful & courteous; use appropriate language
- Do not compromise the personal privacy or safety of yourself or of others (especially students)
- Do not post personal information/names with students' pictures
- Emails and files are not private; administrators and system operators may access any emails or files
- Report violations of these policies
What Internet Content Does NPS Block?
Please keep in mind that we block web sites based on the bad/inappropriate content
they contain regardless of the good/appropriate content they may also offer.
For example, most pictures on many image hosting web sites would be fine -
even useful - in an educational environment such as the Norman Public School District.
But "open" image hosts (which allow virtually anyone to upload any images) often
contain images inappropriate for viewing by minors, violate
CIPA,
and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of dollars of district
E-Rate funds.
Examples of Content Blocked by the NPS Internet Filter:
No Internet filtering policy will please everyone.
We will continue to do our best to balance the educational needs of our
educators and students of all ages with the protection and privacy concerns
of our parents, administrators, and regulatory agencies.
Norman Public Schools does not have sufficient staff to monitor the Internet
for the ever-growing list of inappropriate sites. If you discover a web domain
or web page that should be blocked then please send an email to one of
the contact
Some web sites are unintentionally blocked by generalized filtering rules
that make our Internet filter faster and more proactive.
If you believe a web page which is currently blocked by the NPS Internet filter
should be unblocked then please send an email to one of
the contact Please note: For security reasons requests to block/unblock web domains
or web pages should be submitted from in-district NPS staff email accounts.
Questions, comments, or complaints about the NPS Internet filter or filtering policy
may be directed to the contact NPS already has Internet filters
for inappropriate web content and email-borne viruses.
Please consult with your
Site Contact
or a member of the DCC
Technical
Support Team before installing any filtering or blocking
software on district computers.
Other web content filters you may want to investigate for use in your home
or organization are listed below.
K9 Web Protection from Blue Coat is a
free Internet filtering solution for home use.
Another freebie is We-Blocker from
We-Web.
WebWasher Classic from Secure Computing
can filter unwanted advertising banners, pop-up windows, animated images,
Java scripts, Java Applets, cookies, referers, and web bugs in addition to
acting as an Internet content filter. It is donationware ("free" with a charitable
donation).
More parental filter/control software options are available from online download sites
such as Tucows
and Download.com.
Click
here
to see a ranked list of
Parental Control Software Reviews - a review of the software reviews (with links).
This list of Internet filtering products is not
exhaustive and should in no way be taken as an endorsement for these products
by Norman Public Schools or the NPS District Computer Center.
These links are provided merely for your convenience as you investigate the
variety of Internet filtering options.
Blocking a Web Domain or Web Page
We appreciate you helping us fine tune our Internet filter and making our Internet
access a little safer for our students.
Unblocking a Web Domain or Web Page
Products listed alphabetically
Click here
to access Yahoo's categorized "Blocking and Filtering" software links.
Check the URL checkers to see how a site is categorized:
More Links to Help Keep Children Safe & Healthy
Child-Safe Internet
General Information for Parents
Local
Anti-Drug