Zentek

Hi Buzzard, I would support Bossman's view that common sense should prevail, however it would ultimately depend on the severity of the image in question. If the image in question is of an extreme nature, and were thought to be "illegal", then you should ask your local Police to attend and take a look. Hi Tec Crime Unit, Abusive Images Unit or CID. Their opinion would be necessary. However, if that approach were to be taken then be prepared for them to shut your Server down at the time of viewing and take it away for forensic examination! If you had such an image, and were genuinely concerned, and are within an hour's travel of Manchester i would be willing to send one of my Technical Directors along. FOc, to view on your behalf. She is an expert in Paedophilia and worked for GMP Abusive Images Unit for 6 years. (and she won't take your Server away). Additionally, if you or anyone reading this wants to contact me I would be happy to send them/you a USB pen drive that will scan your network drives/home user areas/laptops for any inappropriate images and provide you with a report as to what has been found and where. FOC. Just request by email to [email protected] Good luck Regards Andrew Ramsden. Managing Director Zentek Forensics Ltd. Chairman Zentek Solutions Ltd.

In response to the comments in this Topic so far I would add the following information for anyone who might need to make use of it. Firstly, I would support wholeheartedly what has been suggested by Techmonkey and Pete. Should any School Technician or Network Manager be asked to investigate the existence, or otherwise, of inappropriate material on their employer's behalf, they should proceed very cautiously. If any evidence of illegal material were to be found and the evidence were to be acquired in a manner not compliant with version 3 of the ACPO guidelines, then the likely result is that any "evidence" could be deemed to be inadmissible by a Judge, should the matter end up in a court. Effectively this means that; to pull the plug on workstations, pull the plug and remove the battery on Laptops, and a Server should be powered down in the normal way. This would be the appropriate advice if ACPO compliant evidence were to be collected. After that, isolate and protect the equipment and then ring the LA or the police. However, if the nature of what might be viewed is suspected to be an image of child abuse or an indecent image of a child then, or in fact such an image is viewed then additional "rules" apply. There is currently in effect a Memorandum Of Understanding between the CPS and ACPO, which sets out the guidelines as to a defence, in law, for circumstances that might lead to someone inadvertently or deliberately viewing or reproducing such an image for the purposes of detecting such a crime. In essence, Police Forensic Specialists would have relied on this MoU in order to carry out their work, although any prosecution of them for carrying out their specific duties would obviously be deemed not in the public interest. It is now thought that this MoU may, in part, have been superseded by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which also allows some similar defence. The bottom line is that you should treat any computer equipment/Mobile phone in the manner described above and that you must not, under any circumstances, make copies or print any images that appear to be indecent images of children. If you happen to accidentally view such an image, act as described above. Do not seek advice on the image from the Headteacher, they would not be in a position to judge it any more so than you, and you should not ask anyone else to view that image or encourage them to do so. This would be helping to proliferate any crime. Also consider isolating any backup tapes or devices that may also hold a copy of any questionable image. Most Local Authorities have the ability - in house - to investigate equipment in an appropriate manner. I am sure they would gladly do so upon request from any Headteacher. The above information does not in any way constitute legal advice, but should be considered as good practice; and if complied with should afford the fullest protection to the school and its staff. Should anyone wish to receive a copy of the MoU then just drop us an email and we will forward a copy to you. Andrew Ramsden Managing Director Zentek Forensics Ltd [email protected] Chairman Zentek Solutions Ltd

No worries MarkCUK ! No need to make peace! We were just trying to provide a 'balanced' viewpoint. We do understand the pressures that IT departments receive from 'other' departments, and how schools are strict with staff break times. It can be very difficult for 'any' IT Service provider and the sites respective IT department to work around the sites needs. This is especially evident due to the growing demands placed on a network, including extra curricula activities and evening classes etc. Regards, Zentek Support.

Hi this is Zentek Support, We would just like to comment on some of the points, made by MarkCUK, and maybe clarify a few: We 'do' have a separate maintenence fee for machines that are under manufacturer's "Warranty", but I assure you that it isn't a 'con'! This fee is to cover work that is outside of a manufacturer's warranty (i.e. HP); for example re-imaging a machine, re-installation of applications and adding machines back onto Domains etc. Engineers calling on behalf of tier one manufacturers will normally only restore a machine back to factory default. If a site has staff that are already proficient in bringing a machine back to a working state, then they can 'waiver' this fee ! Regarding Ranger, we 'do' push this product as it covers the 'loopholes' in a OS that AD Policies cannot cover (or may cover in a user unfriendly fashion). As a company we 'agree' that AD can cover around 75% of rangers functionality, but not with the 'ease of use' factor and more. If you want to know what the extra 25% is, then feel free to contact Zentek rather than us trying to 'push' this product again in a forum Regarding the 'shutting down of servers within a lesson'; we agree that in an ideal world we would like to reboot/shutdown a server out of hours or during break times etc. but we are always hindered by the following: 1) 'All' educational sites want a visit during break times - which is impossible ! 2) 'Most' site staff will not stay after hours to accomodate a call especially after 3:30pm ! 3) The nature of some faults will inevitably cause some downtime. 'Any' downtime for a site is inconvenient, no matter what time it may be. I sure that most educational IT departments can sympathise with what we have said, as most IT calls are 'always urgent' Regards, Zentek Support.