Smoothwall issue?

[amvc]

Google and yahoo search is unuasable for students at the moment, but fine for staff. Both are using the same proxy, the only difference is that staff dont go through our smoothwall. Looking at the realtime web filter, all the google hits are comming up with...

 

Updating

Time Name/IP URL Score Status Code

9:43:49 ****** nati - Google Search 0 Warning →Redirected (302)

modified (URL)

9:43:49 ****** nati - Google Search 0 Warning →Redirected (302)

modified (URL)

9:43:49 ****** nati - Google Search 0 Warning →Redirected (302)

 

 

Any ideas? have we changed something inadvertantly causing this? It was happening friday too, students are now resorting to bing

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Jon

[dave.81]

We too have been having a similar problem since the HDD and i reinstalled with the latest ISO.

 

The delay between clicking on it and the page displaying is very slow.

 

I hadn't had time to check for a fault yet but seen i'm not the only one maybe it isn't just a dodgy install.

[amvc]

ok, the url its going to when it wont work on the students machine is...

 

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=vss&q=search&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=active&safe=vss&safe=activesearch

 

so quite a safe search, just a bit too safe

Edited January 25, 2010 by amvc

[tom_newton]

Looks like you are being repeatedly redirected for some reason. Maybe google have changed something that breaks safesearch. Will have an answer for you by the end of the day.

 

Tom

[tom_newton]

Hmm. Can't replicate it here. Can you PM me with your details (dave, I knows who YOU are ) and I'll have somebody call you to look into it.

 

Tom

[nile_c]

@amvs: i think I may be the 'somebody' tom was referring too. :-D

 

Let's cut out the middleman - you can PM me directly!

[amvc]

Thanks Tom and Nile, but i have worked it out. Our provider started forcing a safe search on friday and this obviously created some sort of loop which messed it all up. Turned off force safe search in SW and its all fine.

 

BUT... the safe search that our provider puts on is 'active' not 'vss' so now i need to do a little research to see if this is a problem for us.

 

Jon

[nile_c]

Great news, we suspected it was something like that.

 

If you have no luck getting the upstream safe search to your liking you could ask for it removed and do it locally. Or, if the provider's is working fine then leave it off on the Smoothwall.

In any case, it's best to use just the one.

 

PS: 'vss' is preferable to 'active' - it hides the safesearch configuration options.

[tom_newton]

May be worth asking if they force safesearch on other search engines - otherwise either block em, or ask for them to remove their safesearch.