Scotch College Online Safety Measures

Scotch College has implemented robust internet filtering, malware protection, and content filtering systems to safeguard students from harmful content, cyber threats, and inappropriate material. Many protections apply both on and off the school network as outlined in the table below.

Security Controls

Controls in place on campus

Controls in place off campus

Limitations Internet Filtering Yes Yes
Content Filtering Yes Yes
Safe Search Yes Limited (currently there are issues with Safe Search while off campus) Safe Search works based on Content and internet filtering. If a website and its content are marked as safe but have images that are not age-appropriate, then there is a possibility of this content being displayed in Google Search. When correctly working off campus Bing and Google searches have safe searched enforced. Other search engines do not have this enforced.
Malware Protection - Anti-Virus
Yes Yes

Malware Protection Yes Limited Scotch College has stricter blocks on the Firewall to block content that is not stopped by other controls but these controls are only in place when on campus. Malware protection while off campus exists for Malware utilising command and control techniques of known CnC servers.
Malware Protection - Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Yes No
Controls on YouTube and Browsers - Safari and Google Chrome Yes Limited(currently YouTube Restricted mode is off while off campus) YouTube content is blocked based on content filtering and Safe Search; In some cases, content may be uploaded as age-appropriate but has inappropriate content and it may not be blocked.
Students can surf YouTube within Safari but overall controls are in place at device level. Under normal filtering policies You Tube Restricted mode will be in place for all students while at home. This is subject to change based on educational requirements for accessing this content.

Internet Filtering

URL Filtering – Blocks/permits specific websites based on URLs.
Category Filtering – Restricts entire website categories (e.g., adult content, gambling).
IP Filtering – Controls access to specific networks or servers.

Content Filtering & Safe Search

Safe Search Enforcement – Filters explicit content from search results.
Restricted Mode – You Tubes content filter.
Content Rating Systems – Blocks or allows content based on age groups.
Application Control – Restricts access to high-risk apps and platforms.

Malware Protection

Antivirus Software – Detects and removes threats.
Firewalls – Blocks unauthorised access and harmful websites.
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) – Monitors network activity for threats.
Regular Updates – Ensures security software is up to date.

While these measures provide strong protection, digital citizenship education remains essential in helping students navigate the online world responsibly.