RMSafetyNet vs. Smoothwall vs. Senso

[Koldov]

Hi,

 

Could anyone please give me a brief rundown of the benefits and pitfalls of these systems for Monitoring/Safeguarding?

 

I have no experience with either of these systems but as the new safeguarding recommendations are slowly beginning to filter into the collective SLT mind, I'm now being asked for an opinion.... and I quote "Are they user friendly for non-techy people who need to be aware of things safeguarding wise?"

 

We have a current solution, but for various reasons (as in, it isn't the flavour of the month and we have a bandwagon to jump on) I am being asked to look at other options... one of which I know we will probably have to go with anyway, so I don't even really know why I'm bothering to ask... but I've got to give a reply so it doesn't seem like I'm being 'that one, that there always is'...

 

Also, a funny thing was mentioned, in that 'I.T. should not be heavily involved other than installation, as we shouldn't be privy to sensitive safeguarding information!'...

 

So if little Johnny types in rude words, that alert should bypass I.T. and go straight to the Safeguarding Team? Is that how it's done these day? I feel that once this choice is made, there is another thing that would be taken off my hands and that the Safeguarding Team thinks they will now be responsible for the ongoing monitoring and configuration of policies etc.

Edited October 1, 2024 by Koldov

[synaesthesia]

I haven't used safetynet since the early days, so can't comment on that, however it's *vital* that IT are involved at some level, unless your safeguarding team are fully up to date with current lingo, able to figure out false positives and context etc, which the majority of non technical people won't be able to. And it isn't just ability, it's because you often have other tools to judge that context; whether it's experience or things like Impero, Senso, Netsupport etc.

We have both Smoothwall and Smoothwall Monitor in place due to a limited safeguarding team - Monitor is human-manned so context is dealt with and IT don't need to be involved. Anything picked up by Smoothwall rather than Monitor comes through IT so we can judge that context first.

[PotNoodleTech]

Hi,

 

Also, a funny thing was mentioned, in that 'I.T. should not be heavily involved other than installation, as we shouldn't be privy to sensitive safeguarding information!'...

.

 

You are the luckiest person alive! I think most of the rest of us would give a left arm for a statement like that! Get the filter in place hand the admin login to the safeguarding lead and job done!!

[Koldov]

You are the luckiest person alive! I think most of the rest of us would give a left arm for a statement like that! Get the filter in place hand the admin login to the safeguarding lead and job done!!

 

Haha! Yes, I thought so too.... but you know what? I very much doubt that is actually going to happen in the real world!!

 

First issue and it will be my door they're knockin' at!

 

 

Anyway, could we add Senso to the list as well?

 

I presume these are all 'MONITORS' not full on filtering solutions as well?

[msi_school]

In Warwickshire the LEA provide a managed service for monitoring with the Smoothwall Radar software and a team of safeguarding staff to view and prioritise alerts before forwarding them to the safeguarding or pastoral team based on their categorisation of the alert and the schools wishes.

 

I only got involved in installing the agent, it was the best process I have used for this.

[tom_newton]

Monitoring and filtering are quite different beasts.

I largely agree that once you are over the install part, IT should not have a great deal to do with the monitoring bit day to day. Largely because software like Smoothwall Monitor doesn't need a technical mind to decipher what's going on, as one of the mods will have written a description, there'll be a screenshot, etc.. which is why filter alerts (and often monitoring products that are just filters that have grown arms and legs) tend to remain the purview of IT, because nobody but us techie sorts can understand what the alerts mean.

 

Safetynet, is I believe, rather more in the filtering nature (though am happy to be corrected by any RMers knocking about).

 

So it's still a collaboration between IT and the DSLs - IT have to make sure it works, occasionally log in and see that all the devices are a-ok, but should rarely need to help unravel an alert, and the DSL is the first person "alerted", IYSWIM.

 

Happy to show you a bit more if you want to talk to someone who is not sales, and knows their way round the tech, there's always me or one of my colleagues in the product team.