SmoothWall customers: Plz read

[tom_newton]

Guys - do you ever add your own "custom content filtering" rules - and do you find it advantageous? Eg. do you ever "block all pages with the word rhubarb on them" - not just the URL block/allow rules.

 

Thinking about limiting this ability to just our blocklist team, as it would allow us some.. leeway.. elsewhere. Thoughts?

[powdarrmonkey]

When dead baby jokes were doing the rounds here, I used some regexes to save trying to work out all the URLs, and I've used a couple of others, but not as a matter of course.

[powdarrmonkey]

Oh, and edugeek has a regex-allow too of course

[DrCheese]

I don't use smoothwall, but I do use dansguardian which SW is based on and yes, I have in the past used it's custom content feature to block features common on a group of proxy websites that were doing the rounds here a few years ago. But since you guys provide blacklist updates there's nothing stopping a customer sending you a link to those sites and you doing it instead.

[RinSewand]

Once since we got it installed I think... depending on the speed that support could blacklist things though, we probably wouldn't need it... mind if we ask what the other leeway would be? (not that I'm expecting anything other than 'we could say but then we'd have to... dispose... of you' as an answer)...

 

RwD

[ChrisH]

I use regexes and keywords to help tackle blocking the same content on different sites.

[Ric_]

When I originally configured my box I added a few extra weightings to tackle problems with games and other problem sites. The default filters take care of most things though.

[pete]

I add bits and pieces when the default filtering isn't quite right, but there's limited utility of that particular regex being pushed back to SW.

 

Being able to regex teachername + unflattering thing + tld until the takedown request kicks in is useful.

 

So by all means put a "here be dragons" warning on it, but don't remove functionality please.

[tom_newton]

Ah, not talking about removing regex blocking - you'd still be able to block URLs by that means, and put in "straight" URLs.

 

The "leeway" I refer to, is the ability to make the pagescanning faster AND use less RAM, at a cost of not being able to edit the files.

We may well add in-page regex blocking though - which would block a page if it contained a particular expression. That's be a performance hit, but not bad if you only did a few.

[tom_newton]

@chrish; what "common content" was it if you dont mind me asking?

 

@rinsewand; how fast would be "fast"? Under 24h do you? (though we may go to much more frequent updates RSN)

[ChrisH]

I mostly block the most popular search phrases for the latest craze eg a particular game or other such thing. Eventually I will delete these after a month or 2, to keep the amount down as they don't bother searching for them any more.

[john]

I use the option of words with weightings often, fine ive not a huge list but i do have some in it to help deal with problem areas, such as corsets (we teach textiles before its questioned!)

[tom_newton]

@john; so you're dealing with overblocks? The new system will lower these considerably further anyway

 

If you two guys could send me your stuff... i'd appreciate it

 

Also - this would not affect being able to ban search terms....

 

Still contemplating which bits we could have. Will have to talk to the devs again tomorrow...

[john]

@tom; just on corsets, i said to put them in context such as Ted Baker Corsets and I got a good chuckle from staff when I was using it as an example

 

The rest are to add weight to set words to help ensure they are blocked, but they could probably come out anyway as they were from the earlier days of my ownership and to stop some annoying games being found.

[tom_newton]

John - if you could send em thru anyway, would be appreciated.

 

If you could ever cadge the morning off work, remember you guys have an open invite at any of our offices to come and talk filters/drink our tea.