FIREWALL SOFTWARE



Background…

Firewall technology first began to emerge in the late 1980s. The original idea was formed in response to a number of major internet security breaches (one was a virus known as the Morris Worm), which occurred in the late 1980s. (Wikipedia) From the late 1980s up to 1997, the fifth and final generation of firewall technology was put on the market.

In 1999, Congress passed the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), requiring schools qualifying for federal E-rate funding to use filtering technology to block access to materials that are “obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors.” That law sparked a great deal of controversy and what I hope to do is discuss whether this filtering technology is good or bad for education. (Education World, 2003)

Critics of the law claim that filtering technology is inconsistent and unreliable, that it blocks students student access to legitimate educational resources, and that it denies students the opportunity to learn to properly online resources. Proponents said that the disadvantages of filtering are overstated and that any disadvantages are more than by the need to protect students from inappropriate online materials and the need to protect educators from the possible consequences of unlimited student access to such material. (Education World, 2003)

With this thought in mind I will tell what firewall software is and follow it with some comments and thoughts from educators who ask; is it necessary, is it desirable, does it really work, is it foolproof, is more trouble than it’s worth, etc.?

What is it…

Firewall is software that monitors traffic in and out of a private network, or a personal computer and allows or blocks such traffic depending on its perceived threat. (Wiktionary)

Firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially Intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. (Webopedia)

There are several types of firewall techniques:
Packet filters: looks at each packet entering or leaving the network and accepts or rejects it based on user-defined rules. Packet filtering is fairly effective and transparent to user, but it is difficult to configure. In addition, it is susceptible to IP (internet protocol) spoofing.
Application gateway: Applies security mechanism to specific applications, such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and Telnet servers. This is very effective, but can impose performance degradation.
Circuit-level gateway: Applies security mechanisms when a TCP or UDP connection is established. Once the connection has been made, packets can flow between the hosts without further checking.
Proxy server: Intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network. The proxy server effectively hides the true network addresses. (Webopedia)

In practice, many firewalls use two or more of these techniques in concert. (Webopedia)

A firewall is considered a first line of defense in protecting private information. (Webopedia)


Points to ponder on the How and Why and Use…In Education

“Does filtering really work? It may be that filtering software or services provide a false sense of security to teachers and administrators. No filtering system is 100% fail proof. A diligent student will be successful at locating inappropriate material if it is out there. At the same time, a student with a legitimate request for information maybe unsuccessful. Unfortunately, many valid research sites are blocked along with the undesirable sites.”
(Swinford)

“No level of exposure to objectionable material is acceptable. However, filtering options may be influenced by the age of the student. Stronger filtering may be appropriate for elementary students, as they are learning to discern and disaggregate information, while secondary students may need some flexibility to perform research pertinent to their education.” (Swinford)

“The layout of many computer labs does not allow teachers to look over every student’s shoulder when students are using the internet. A filter allows teachers and districts some control over what students are accessing. An Internet filter, along with a clear Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), can help a school police what students are accessing and viewing, That way the school is protected from complaints or even lawsuits.” (Holmes)

“I personally oppose filtering…due to legal issues and concern about parental reaction, however, filtering is a fact of life for most educators.” (Nip)

“I oppose filtering because filters prevent students from accessing information they need. For example, working at home, I have found some great Web sites for teaching students to use cognitive thinking and quicken their motor skills. When I tried to access the sites at school, however they were blocked!” (Nip)

“Another problem I have with filtering software is that it is not foolproof. There are ways to bypass some filtering. Certain links also by pass filtering software.” (Nip)

“Firewall software is basically a manmade database of ‘bad’ sites, so any URL in the content filter’s restricted list is not allowed and the user receives a forbidden message. The content filter is constantly being updated by the vendor; we also have the ability locally to add blocked sites or to unblock sites. My experiences, however, is that inappropriate sites still make it through the firewall. Unfortunately, every day more negative sites are created than the blocking software can keep up with.”
(Timmons)

“My opinion is that we need blocking software, accompanied by a strict policy that is enforced with consistency.” (Timmons)

“I think legally it is in the best interest of schools to provide filtering. Students can easily end up on sites that are not what you want an elementary child to view. Teachers can’t hold every child’s hand constantly. If students accidentally end up somewhere inappropriate, parents could blame the school for allowing their children to view the material. School open themselves up to lawsuits if they fail to provide some type of filtering. (Smith)

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t also educate children to do their own filtering. The ethical use of computers should be taught in elementary school and continually reinforced. Education is key to providing students with the skills they need to use computers and the Internet outside the school setting. Many parents do not have filtering at home, but they want to be sure their child is not exposed to anything inappropriate at school. That is sort of a double standard, but that’s the way it is.’ (Smith)

“Having worked in several labs, some that used filtering and some that did not, I can say that I believe there should be some filtering. The online porn market uses the simplest typos to divert innocent searchers to its sites! I also believe, however, that computer users need to fine-tune their searches, so the results include more relevant content and less inappropriate material, and that the filtering folks need to spend more time fine-tuning their products.” (George)

“Is filtering software necessary? Unfortunately yes—but it should be used after teaching children how to use their judgment, discretion, and common sense when using the Internet. (Wagner)

“I have to remember, though, that while a filter protects my students at school, probably 90% of them don’t have filters at home. So I have to them the ‘brain tools’ and not just the filter tools” (Wagner)

“My students are first taught how evaluate sites for content, how to conduct searches that bring up information that they are searching for, hoe to the home button to return to our safe home page, how to use the back button, how to recognize that they have not ‘won a prize’ or ‘received an urgent message,’ and how to shut off the monitor if they get stuck in an unacceptable area. Once they understand those tools, then we utilize the Internet under the safety of a filter—not as a protection, but as a backup tool to keep students safe.” (Wagner)


















References…

Education World, (2003) The following Education World Tech Team contributed to this writing:

George, L. (2003). Technology Integration Specialist, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Holmes, F. (2003). High School LAN Manager/Webmaster, Osceole, Nebraska
Nip, S. (2003). Computer Instructor, Alexander Fleming Middle School, Lomita, California
Smith, R. (2003). Educational Technology Specialist, Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania
Swinford, J. (2003). Instructional Technology Consultant, Midland, Texas
Timmons, J. (2003). Instructional Technology Specialist, Lynchburg, Virginia
Wagner, J. (2003). Computer Coordinator, Corona, California


External links…

Filtering Software: The Educators Speak Out
(http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech155.shtml)
Firewall
(http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/f/firewall.html)
Firewall (networking)
(http://en.wikpedia.org/wiki/firewall_(networking)