Barracuda? Is it still popular?

[twin--turbo]

Do many people use Barracuda web filters?

 

Rob

[glennda]

Never used a Web filter but had a Message Archiver Arrive today - pretty cool device and get a free t-shirt

[twin--turbo]

Never really heard mention of them on here, we have one sitting in our second cabinet room that we pulled out of our sister school last year (they go through our Websense now).

 

I know naff all about it other than it was darn noisy when we had it over here during their temporary relocation. And it did not seem to work so it was bypassed.

 

Rob

[SYNACK]

I'm using the Barracuda Web Filter 310 here at the high school I'm at. Works great, has strict safe search as an on/off option out of the box and has always worked. I'd be surprised if Websense of all companies didn't have that built in. Is it something you can ask a Websense support representative about?

@link470 was using one back in 2009

[link470]

@link470 was using one back in 2009

Yup. We actually just stopped using it recently though because the 310 model's interfaces are limited to 10Mbits, and we recently upgraded to a 100Mbit WAN connection, and we went through some massive network changes. So the 310 quickly became a bottleneck for internet performance. We're seeing how things go with students using the internet appropriately and if we have issues, a web filter may come into play again.

 

That all being said, I'd definitely choose a Barracuda unit again. Customer support was fantastic in my experiences when I needed to call on them. I had great success with the 310, and the firmware for it kept getting better and better and making it a more powerful device. Not to mention perimeter antivirus/anti spyware, and the ability to strip ads from websites before they're delivered to the client are all great features. HTTPS filtering is another good one. Higher models don't have the 10Mbit limit either, so I'd go for a higher model. They're pricy, but well worth the money if it's a need in your school.

 

[side note, that "mention" ability on the forums is apparently pretty effective ...]

Edited September 1, 2012 by link470