Fastvue Blog Articles

Online Safety for Schools: Risks of Random Chat Apps and How to Mitigate Them

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Random stranger chat apps are amongst the most evasive social platforms, allowing users to interact with random people from across the globe with relative anonymity. While some studies have found these apps allow young people to interact in the online world in a way that enables them to express their opinions and identities more freely, there are serious online safety risks involved in using these platforms. Schools are faced with manifold issues here: how to monitor the apps students are using, how to know what they are being exposed to, and how to provide the education and resources to ensure students are responsible and vigilant digital citizens.

Monitoring Online Extremism: Tackling Toxic Masculinity and the Manosphere in Schools

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

It's no secret to Australian educators that misogynistic gender narratives, toxic masculinity, and associated extremist ideologies have gained traction among young boys and men in recent years. The rise of social media influencers, often referred to as 'manfluencers' - such as Andrew Tate - has played a significant role in amplifying these ideas. So, how can classroom teachers challenge misogyny in their classrooms? And what steps can school leaders take to foster safer, more inclusive environments?

How Employee Monitoring Can Help Detect Insider Threats

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Insider threats. It may sound like a Hollywood film where vigilantes take down an organization's network and save the world, but the reality is usually far less dramatic. The majority of insider threats actually stem from negligence, poor security awareness, and plain old oversight. While insider threats usually lack the drama of a big-budget film, their impact can be just as staggering, with one report finding the average cost to large companies has hit an explosive $16.2 million.

How to Monitor Employee Internet Usage: Balancing Privacy with Productivity

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The global workplace has changed dramatically in the past five years. Enterprises globally have shifted from remote work, driven by the pandemic, to what Forbes calls the 'productivity anywhere' era, where hitherto inexperienced flexibility reigns supreme. While some organizations are mandating a return to the office, hybrid work has firmly cemented itself as the norm. According to WTW’s Global Benefit Attitudes Survey, only 34% of the workforce spend the majority of working hours in their week in the office.

How will a social media ban impact Australian schools?

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT

In a world-first move, the Australian government, with the support of the coalition, passed a bill on 28th November 2024, banning young children and people under 16 from using social media platforms. So, how can schools meet these demands while preparing teens for the realities of the digital world? While restrictions can shield students during their school years, it is equally important to equip them with critical thinking, resilience, and responsible online behaviours to navigate the complexities of the online world independently.

Nine reasons why integrating your firewall with Fastvue enhances your KCSiE reporting

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Discover 9 ways Fastvue enhances student safeguarding by integrating seamlessly with your firewall. From real-time alerts to tailored reports, learn how our solution simplifies KCSiE compliance, supports BYOD policies, and provides cost-effective, on-premise monitoring to keep students safe online.

How Stephen Perse Foundation Transformed Digital Safeguarding with Fastvue

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Discover how Stephen Perse Foundation transformed its student safeguarding efforts with Fastvue’s real-time monitoring and keyword alerts. Learn how their switch to a user-friendly solution helped them comply with KCSiE guidelines, improve reporting, and identify potential student issues early.

Comparing Fortinet FortiGate’s Flow-based vs Proxy-based Web Filter Options

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

More features are available when selecting Fortinet FortiGate's Proxy-based web filter compared to Flow-based web filters. But do you need them? This article explores the extra features that proxy-based web filter profiles provide so you can make a more informed decision on which web filter to use.

Introducing SonicWall VPN Reports and VPN Dashboard

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT

We've made some additions to Fastvue Reporter for SonicWall to provide better visibility into SonicWall's VPN connections. Monitor the number of active sessions, find who has not connected recently, when most people connect and disconnect, and proactively respond to unexpected disconnections or invalid login attempts.

Introducing Fastvue’s New Safeguarding Report for Comprehensive Online Safety Monitoring

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Fastvue's new Safeguarding report helps your safeguarding, pastoral care and well-being staff review online safeguarding concerns more effectively, assisting them in their very important duty of ensuring student online safety.

Decoding digital dangers: Tech threats every DSL should know for online safety

Wed, 29 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

DSLs (Digital Safeguarding Leads) need to stay informed about digital dangers from malware to social engineering attacks, understand the risks and learn how to mitigate them effectively. This article helps DSLs understand some of these digital dangers to help them ensure a safe online environment for students.

Understanding firewalls for internet safety: A beginner's guide for educators

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

From firewalls to antivirus software, this article has you covered! Ensuring online safety is a top priority for educators as digital education continues to grow. Learn the fundamentals of keeping your technical infrastructure secure and complying with the latest KCSiE guidelines.

Three ways to block ChatGPT using Fortinet FortiGate

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

ChatGPT can help with many tasks, such as researching topics quickly, providing suggestions, creating outlines, organising your own thoughts and so much more, but it is also a fairly significant cheat code for students in classrooms that just want the answer to a question without really thinking about it themselves. So how can schools prevent students from accessing ChatGPT?

Internet monitoring and reporting: How Fastvue can help with the latest KCSiE requirements

Fri, 10 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Using snippets from the 2023 KCSiE (Keeping Children Safe in Education) guidelines, this article demonstrates how Fastvue Reporter takes care of the technical requirements around monitoring firewall log files and helps UK schools monitor and report on the online safety issues required by KCSiE and PREVENT.

Building a tech-savvy school: Tips and tools for DSLs to ensure online safety

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

From essential tips for staying updated with the latest trends to exploring online monitoring capabilities, we've got actionable advice to help you navigate digital safety in your school. Plus, discover how Fastvue's monitoring and reporting solutions can assist in your safeguarding efforts.

Simplifying tech jargon: Navigating the latest KCSiE regulations to safeguard students

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding the latest KCSiE guidelines is crucial for DSLs to ensure students' safety online. Yet, deciphering complex IT terms can be daunting. From Acceptable Use Policies to VPNs and DPI, we break down common tech jargon to help DSLs confidently navigate KCSiE requirements. Plus, discover how Fastvue can bridge the gap with easy-to-understand reports and alerts, ensuring a safer online environment for students.

How to mitigate the Log4j vulnerability on your Fastvue Reporter server

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT

This article and video explain how to mitigate the Log4j vulnerability on Windows servers running Fastvue Reporter. Fastvue Reporter uses Elasticsearch as its database, which uses Log4j for its own diagnostic logging. We recommend adding this environment variable to your Fastvue Server in order to mitigate the vulnerability.

Monitoring AI Prompts with FortiGate and Fastvue Reporter

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT

In this article, I'll show you how to use Fortinet FortiGate's Application Control to log the AI prompts users are entering into ChatGPT and Google Bard, and then report on those prompts using Fastvue Reporter.

Reporting on YouTube videos watched with Fastvue Reporter

Fri, 03 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Fastvue's new YouTube integration makes reporting on YouTube videos even easier easy by enriching video URLs with the title, category and channel information, enabling you to easily see whether the videos are appropriate for your school or workplace.

Simplify Forefront TMG Migration By Web Chaining To An Upstream Proxy

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT

This article describes how to avoid Forefront TMG migration headaches by web chaining to the upstream proxy you'll eventually migrate to.

Understanding and Optimizing Sophos XG’s DNAT Rules

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Sophos XG makes it easy to expose internal services to the public internet using the Server Access Assistant (DNAT) wizard. However, this does generate a lot of configuration that is not strictly required. By knowing your environment, some basic theory, and what is and is not required, you can configure clean concise DNAT rules. This article uses the example of exposing a Plex server on the public internet to understand Sophos XG's DNAT Rules and how to optimize them.

Fixing SSL Decryption Issues in Palo Alto PAN-OS 10

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Palo Alto PAN-OS 10 comes with some handy features to troubleshoot SSL decryption problems. This video shows how fix a specific SSL Decryption issue.