Wisconsin School District Uses OpenDNS to Do What its Firewall Can't
Fort Atkinson School District adds OpenDNS to its multi-layer security system.
Nov 19, 2007 — San Francisco -- OpenDNS, the award-winning DNS service that makes the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable, today announced Fort Atkinson School District has switched to OpenDNS from the DNS service it previously got from its Internet Service Provider (ISP) to complement its pre-existing network security setup. Fort Atkinson School District is a K-12 district in southeastern Wisconsin. OpenDNS is the world's largest, fastest-growing DNS service.
Fort Atkinson School District is using OpenDNS in its pioneering multi-layer security system consisting of multiple filtering layers, a SonicWALL router and URL redirector SquidGuard. Even with the comprehensive setup, before adding OpenDNS network administrators at the District found holes in their filtering functionality. Nothing in the existing configuration had the power to block Web proxies, tools commonly used to bypass Web filtering.
"The primary benefit of OpenDNS for us was and is eliminating student access to proxy sites," said John Ottow, Director of Computer Technology for the District. "This was a huge issue we could not solve with our SonicWALL."
Immediately upon switching to the OpenDNS service, the Fort Atkinson School District network became more secure and problems with proxies have proven a thing of the past. Though Ottow and team switched to OpenDNS primarily for proxy blocking, they've enjoyed another unexpected benefit: OpenDNS has been invaluable for increasing available bandwidth.
"OpenDNS's ability to block access to outside proxy sites will actually save us money as we will not have to purchase additional bandwidth," said Ottow. "The service is flexible and powerful. I'd recommend it to anyone."
About Fort Atkinson School District
Fort Atkinson School District is a K-12, rural school district in southeastern Wisconsin, USA. The District consists of four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, with more than 2,700 total students. Fort Atkinson School District is committed to delivering the quality opportunities and services each student needs to achieve his or her academic and personal potential. For more information about Fort Atkinson School District, please visit http://www.fortschools.org/
About OpenDNS
OpenDNS makes the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable. Based in San Francisco, the company operates a large distributed network that powers a new kind of recursive DNS (Domain Name System) service that provides all Internet users increased security, reliability and performance. OpenDNS is thoroughly committed to building and operating the best DNS platform in the world and to improving the Internet. For more information about OpenDNS, please visit: http://www.opendns.com
Fort Atkinson School District is using OpenDNS in its pioneering multi-layer security system consisting of multiple filtering layers, a SonicWALL router and URL redirector SquidGuard. Even with the comprehensive setup, before adding OpenDNS network administrators at the District found holes in their filtering functionality. Nothing in the existing configuration had the power to block Web proxies, tools commonly used to bypass Web filtering.
"The primary benefit of OpenDNS for us was and is eliminating student access to proxy sites," said John Ottow, Director of Computer Technology for the District. "This was a huge issue we could not solve with our SonicWALL."
Immediately upon switching to the OpenDNS service, the Fort Atkinson School District network became more secure and problems with proxies have proven a thing of the past. Though Ottow and team switched to OpenDNS primarily for proxy blocking, they've enjoyed another unexpected benefit: OpenDNS has been invaluable for increasing available bandwidth.
"OpenDNS's ability to block access to outside proxy sites will actually save us money as we will not have to purchase additional bandwidth," said Ottow. "The service is flexible and powerful. I'd recommend it to anyone."
About Fort Atkinson School District
Fort Atkinson School District is a K-12, rural school district in southeastern Wisconsin, USA. The District consists of four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school, with more than 2,700 total students. Fort Atkinson School District is committed to delivering the quality opportunities and services each student needs to achieve his or her academic and personal potential. For more information about Fort Atkinson School District, please visit http://www.fortschools.org/
About OpenDNS
OpenDNS makes the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable. Based in San Francisco, the company operates a large distributed network that powers a new kind of recursive DNS (Domain Name System) service that provides all Internet users increased security, reliability and performance. OpenDNS is thoroughly committed to building and operating the best DNS platform in the world and to improving the Internet. For more information about OpenDNS, please visit: http://www.opendns.com
