Australian IT innovator, Netbox Blue, has announced another world first in the battle against cyber bullying with the release of SafeChat. SafeChat is a unique piece of technology which helps schools prevent bullying on the most popular social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, by blocking inappropriate language. SafeChat can be used at school and on school-owned laptops, even when they are used outside the network. It can also be used in a business environment to tackle cyber harassment.

‘SafeChat is a breakthrough in cyber safety,’ Netbox Blue Chairman John Fison says. ‘It’s particularly valuable because it offers schools and businesses control over the one area that has been outside their control in the past – social networking sites, instant messaging, chat sites and webmail.’

‘Social networking, instant messaging and other Web 2.0 type communications are now an integral part of education and business. Yet they have also become the “virtual toilet wall” of the modern world – a place for anyone to get their grievances off their chest, bully other students and even teachers and to criticize colleagues. SafeChat enables administrators to control the language used on popular sites to block bullying and other anti-social communications.’

‘SafeChat also enables administrators to prevent people posting negative comments about their school or business. In this way, SafeChat can help avoid reputational damage.’

‘SafeChat provides a means of ensuring applications like Facebook and Twitter can be used positively, flexibly and securely.’

SafeChat is the result of tens of thousands of hours of development by staff at Brisbane-based Netbox Blue. SafeChat scans the traffic stream on popular Web 2.0 applications against a highly customisable list of keywords to determine if the stream should be blocked and logged or allowed through. Policies can be set to determine what action will be taken if a keyword is used. Offensive material can be blocked and an administrator and parents automatically informed. 

SafeChat allows schools and companies to:

• Control inappropriate language being used across common social media applications
• Prevent Cyber Bullying or harassment online
• Enhance student productivity
• Minimise reputation damage risk from electronic communications
• Prevent personal, confidential or sensitive data from being sent via common Web 2.0 applications

 SafeChat extends the anti-cyber bullying features of the Netbox, which already provides keyword scanning on internal and external email. Netbox solutions include a range of security and internet and email filtering and management features in one easy-to-use appliance. The solutions are widely used by schools to help them deliver their duty of care to students.

One of Queensland’s largest independent schools, John Paul College, is the first make use of the new cutting-edge technology.  SafeChat is deployed on the school network and on the school’s 2000 laptop computers. If a student uses inappropriate language in an email or on a Facebook account, SafeChat detects it, blocks the offending words and alerts the school the instant it occurs.

Kathryn Priol, Director of ICT at John Paul College says Netbox Blue’s technology enables the school to protect students in a way that simply was not possible before. 

“The chances of a cyber bullying incident occurring are now greatly reduced, which is reassuring for students, staff and parents,” Ms Priol says.

SafeChat uses Netbox Blue’s Deep Application Analysis and Enforcement Engine (patent pending). It is unique in the marketplace and represents a huge leap forward in the battle against cyber bullying.  Schools such as John Paul College can now protect their students from this insidious behavior and cyber bullies can no longer hide behind the anonymity of the internet.

John Paul College is recognised as a thought leader in education and enjoys an international reputation for the innovativeness of its technology program and the breadth and depth of K – 12 teaching and learning experiences.

Use of technology is routine at John Paul College. Each student from Years 4 – 12 uses a personal laptop and accesses online student workspaces as an integral part of their day-to-day life as a school student. Therefore developing digital literacy skills and ensuring student safety in a connected world is something the College takes seriously.

The College has adopted a proactive approach to developing cyber safe digital literacy skills in its students with the introduction of Cyber Safety Officer and cyber safe policies to build awareness of cyber safety issues as well as promote responsible use of technology. The SafeChat feature provides a further layer of protection to College students.