The Need for Effective Web Filtering Isn’t Going Away

Web filtering for schools is more important as ever

K-12 web filtering for schools became a growing priority for schools as they closed and switched to remote learning last spring, but there were issues. Many schools had no remote filtering capability at all and therefore failed to protect students when working away from school. Those that had firewall-based Internet filters for school supported only certain operating systems and couldn’t keep the entire range of devices safe.

Content filtering software for elementary, middle, and high schools had become a must-have component for school and district IT departments. But as more and more devices were sent home to facilitate remote learning, school web filtering solutions that didn’t reside on every device, work with every operating system, or protect students from inappropriate or harmful content everywhere while they worked online were proving to be inadequate to say the least.

Web filtering software for online learning

Enter Lightspeed Filter™.

Lightspeed Filter is the only content filtering software for schools that incorporates each of the four recognized components for maximum student online safety: 1) a comprehensive, vetted content database; 2) vigilant, always-on web crawling; 3) segment-leading machine-learning; and 4) an exclusive team of in-house data scientists — real people — to analyze, interpret, and adapt the solution to new developments and threats. Lightspeed Filter supports Windows-based PCs, Chromebooks, Android mobile devices including tablets, Macs, and iOS mobile devices including iPads.

In a recent study assessing CIPA compliance, Lightspeed Filter was the only online school content filtering solution to successfully block 100% of pornographic content. Competing systems allowed as much as 60% of such content to be accessed. Lightspeed Filter, part of a suite of integrated online safety solutions including Lightspeed Digital Insight™, Lightspeed Alert™, Lightspeed Mobile Device management™, and Lightspeed Classroom Management™, protects every student device everywhere it goes, and as more devices land in more children’s hands, true online learning safety and effectiveness — delivered by the team at Lightspeed Systems — should be at their fingertips as well.