Filtering SSL and Google Services: Your Newest Options

Every time we talk to or survey schools, we hear SSL is a top challenge. Schools want to filter by individual YouTube videos, report on Google search terms or block inappropriate Google images — but doing that with a traditional filter is just…hard.

That’s because all this traffic (and more and more traffic across the web) is encrypted. Encryption is important: It’s what protects your banking information and online purchases. But for schools, in particular, it creates challenges.

You want to keep some information, like credit card numbers, protected and secure; however, filtering and monitoring search terms and web activity are critical to protecting students. This has created an ongoing challenge for schools, who have to manage encrypted (HTTPS) sessions and determine how, when, and where to decrypt traffic.

This has been tricky, requiring use of a proxy and certificates and PAC files. Until now.

Lightspeed Filter (formerly Relay) solves the challenges of filtering SSL traffic by building the decryption capabilities directly into our agents and eliminating the need for centralized proxy servers or trust certificate distribution.

• Relay, our cloud-based solution for filtering, managing, and reporting on student activity, can:
• Report on Google search terms
• Block and allow by individual YouTube videos
• Report on specific videos watched
• Block search terms
• Block inappropriate Google images

And we can do all of that across platforms (Chrome, Mac, Win!) without the hassles of a proxy or PAC files or certificates!

The Relay Smart Agent can be pushed to your school devices in seconds via G Suite, GPO, or MDM — and starts reporting right away. It also works wherever devices go, on campus or off.

Here’s what a few customers had to say they love about Relay:

• “Less complicated SSL inspection. You see it in the browser, [and there is] no need to run through a proxy or worry about SSL certs.”
  —Paul Hancock, Technology Director, Lanesville Community School Corporation
• “The detailed YouTube video reports, as well as some of the built-in SSL decryption, are instrumental in locating problem sites and behavior.”
  —Nate Wurster, Microcomputer Specialist, Galway Central Schools
• “It enables a view into SSL traffic while simplifying configuration and easing hardware limitations.”
  —Daniel Ketchum, System Administrator, Avondale Elementary School District #44
• “Relay does a much better job of filtering Google text and image searches.”
  —Andrew Moore, IT Director, Glenns Ferry School District

Relay makes filtering and reporting on SSL/HTTPS activity like Google searches, YouTube, Google images and more, easier!