Joeloman

I would recommend that you contact your Smoothwall representative to discuss training and a review of your installation. As there may be a lot that is set up incorrectly and that there may be added categories that you do not block such as nitrous oxide etc. It may also be worth switching to Cloud Filter during the summer and perhaps starting from scratch when it comes to the filter.. It is much easier to manage the Cloud Filter and then you do not have to think about QUIC etc. When it comes to QUIC, there is no need to run any test, the answer comes on the first page. This is what it should look like if you use Smoothwall On Premsie. That is. QUIC should be blocked.

Probably this problem: https://kb.smoothwall.com/hc/en-us/articles/19066938031132-Cloud-Filter-issues-with-Chrome-v134

https://test.mysmoothwall.net Not testing for QUIC (yet) you need to run another test like https://quic.nginx.org

Test with a student account how it looks if you do the test at https://test.mysmoothwall.net If you use Cloud Filter, "Malware and Phishing" will be shown as allowed, as the function is in the browser. If you use Smoothwall Proxy, test if QUIC is blocked. If not, you must block QUIC for the filter to work. https://quic.nginx.org The page you specified should be classified as "Video Games" through "URL patterns" if Smoothwall is set up correctly.

In Smoothwall Firewall you can create your own Custom report. I think this will give you the information you are looking for "Templates"-> "Firewall and networking" -> "Application Bandwidth Statistics"

We have helped many schools with different setups.. The most common thing in Sweden when it comes to GCPW is that you only use GCPW for auth. and then also sync with Entra ID and that you then use Intune for the actual management of the devices.. It's been a while since we saw an installation with GCPW including device management. There were initially quite large limitations in the lockdown with GCPW but that may have changed.. At the time it was not suitable for a school environment and web filters. With that said, before you choose to test Cloud Filter, you should make sure that it is possible to lock down the client as Microsoft and Smoothwall describe that you should do in a school environment. That's right, local accounts are created in your PC and these are what Smoothwall will read. To verify that it works, you could contact support because there is a new upcoming product Smoothwall Endpoint Manager that reads your devices and shows logged in users. They may be able to turn it on for you, so you can see it works before you move on.

In order to help you as best as possible, you need to describe your setup in a little more detail. How does the login look like for both the computer and your Google domain? If you are not using MS-AD, do you mean you are using Entra ID (Azure AD) How do you manage your PCs? What permissions does the student have on the computer?

There are a few things you can check: Are you using Dead Peer Detection? There may also be a group policy that a new tunnel should be created after 30 minutes and not just rekey, which doesn't always work. Try changing the rekey to 60 minutes to see if that's where the problem is.

If I remember correctly, the only difference is that you get the user as Domainname/username instead of the name as email address. If you already have Cloud Filter, just test it: https://kb.smoothwall.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003601160-Install-Cloud-Filter-Extension-on-Windows-for-testing

It is a client for Smoothwall Cloud Filter, it is available for Windows and MacOS. For Chromebooks, an extension is enough. For Andriod, there is an Android Filter App and for iPad, there is a separate browser. Since the web filter is located directly in the device, no certificate is needed and it does not matter which network the client is connected to.

Today, quite a few people in Sweden avoid firewall products from the US and Israel. Partly for ideological reasons but also for security reasons, as it is a legal requirement in the US to have a backdoor to the government. It has also not gotten any better when there is a risk that the government in the US who are supposed to ensure that GDPR is followed risk such major down cuts that they may not be able to carry out their control. Then it feels better with a firewall from the UK or Sweden

Security must be considered good if you follow the usual instructions regarding Road warriors. NEVER give out the SSL tunnel and certificate together with the username and password. That is, always give these out in at least two different ways with passwords, e.g. via USB, Secure download and/or encrypted email. Use Geoblocking so that only traffic from approved countries can use the tunnel. In Smoothwall, a separate network is created for SSL-VPN and it is then up to you to specify which other networks and ports a user should be able to access. (Use groups) Often, traffic is only allowed to, for example, a server that also requires a secure login or perhaps a computer/server with virtual remote desktop. If you are then required to change your password with strong encryption quite often, there should not be any major security risk. Many people are required to always use SSL-VPN if they are connected via WiFi, as it is quite easy to intercept wireless communication...

Sorry I thought it was about Image Analysis on pictures that students put in Google Classroom Cloud.. Which Smoothwall can now check with its Cloud Scan https://smoothwall.com/solutions/cloud-scan I didn't know that Netsupport named the app classroom.cloud https://classroom.cloud

What product are you talking about? If it's Smoothwall Cloud Scan, there's nothing in the client itself that could slow them down, right?

Look at the Services-Authentication-Directories page and you can run a diagnostic. The logs can be found in Reports-Logs-System-Authentication service

If you don't already have it, always use the Internal Smoothwall DNS cache and check the speed of the DNS you use. Feel free to use Wireshark, both when it works and when it's slow. Sometimes there can be traffic that interferes that shouldn't be there. Once a virus created a virtual network card that cried out for DHCP (only fixed IP on that network). When about 100 computers cried out for DHCP, the network became slow.

If you are still on Leeds, there is a big difference in performance to update to Maiden. Sometimes it can be a network card that has problems, have you checked the Kernel log? If you see "Detected Hardware Unit Hang" then the advice is to do a reboot and then monitor if the error returns.

Could it be the connection to Azure AD (Entra ID) that is missing?

In order to be able to give you good advice regarding the choice of a firewall and perhaps also a web filter. We probably need to know a little more about your needs. What different operating systems do you use for students and teachers? That is, if you have Chromebooks for students, it is easy to restore and you probably also have control over the devices themselves so that they are not so vulnerable. Maybe you have your own servers that can be accessed from the Internet that must be protected against intrusions and attacks? Are students allowed to use their own equipment in your network? (BYOD) What is the speed of your connection and do you have any form of redundancy regarding the connection and do you have any limitation on the amount of data? What do you want to protect? For example, the students so that they do not access porn, violent sites, drugs, etc. Protect the school against information leaks. Protect the users' systems against various viruses and other attacks. If you want to protect students from porn, violent sites, drugs, etc., you must ensure that the web filter understands the different languages ​​you use at school. And that the web filter must look at the content in real time to be safe. I.e. different needs different solutions. If you want to protect students, I would say Smoothwall, which supports many different languages. And that you can keep the cost down by using your own hardware. If you want to protect yourself against information leaks Cisco. We would definitely not choose a firewall or web filter that is not made for a school environment.

I don't know about firewalla, but it seems to lack Layer 7, i.e. application control, etc. In Sweden we have no legal requirements for web filters, but there are a lot of people who use them anyway.. Many principals are often scolded if the school doesn't have a web filter. In Sweden, students are almost always allowed to take their school computers home, so it is important that the web filter is on its own device and works in real time. In Sweden, people very often use their own hardware to run the Smoothwall firewall. Often, two regular PCs are enough. It is quite common to reuse the ones that the school already has and just change the disk and put in more network cards. Since the web filter is located on the school computers and is managed via a cloud service, it doesn't need much computing power. Of course, the web filter itself costs quite a lot of money at Smoothwall, but then it is also extremely good. The opportunity to use Smoothwall as a firewall in your own hardware is low. The firewall is extremely competent with lots of good features such as Failover, Geblockning, Layer 7, DNS cache. Even large customers such as municipalities use it.

With Google admin you don't have much control over the Windows computers other than updates, and the same password etc. What I know. You can also make settings in the Chrome browser including installing certificates. If I remember correctly, they are only located locally in the Chrome browser. That is, it doesn't work with Edge or other programs. My advice is to also get Smoothwall Cloud Filter (if you don't already have it) and then install Unified Client on these Windows computers. Then they are protected even outside of school and you don't have to deal with certificates. There will be a new Unified Client coming soon that is more secure when it comes to apps etc., ask support about it.

Hi Liamread2000 Smoothwall also has a classroom tool, Smootwall Classwize. Smoothwall has had one for quite a few years. But it is not marketed directly in the UK, as the focus is on the other products. More info can be found here: https://smoothwall.com/solutions/classwize the latest features are not included. The product has many good features such as the teacher can have their own favorites which means that all the tabs the student needs to be opened at once. The teacher can share their screen with the whole class or only selected students. Also good if you have a USB microscope connected, for example, so you don't have to darken it but just share the screen. If you have Google, all classes are taken from Google Classroom so you are up and running in no time..

In Smoothwall https://web.archive.org is in the category "Proxies and VPNs".

It could be that they have used a private unit and account and then chose to log in with Google and there selected the school account. It is usually extremely much they want to use the school account instead of their own account. Since it has probably been surfed via a private device, it is also not possible to know who it was that I know of.

I recommend using Smoothwall Unified Client so you avoid all the problems with certificates and the sites that don't like proxies.