School Web Filter
West Side uses Linewize to filter web traffic on all devices within West Side campus and filter all district-owned chromebooks everywhere.
The purpose of web filtering is to protect users from harmful content and stop the use of unproductive web browsing during school hours.
Filtering policies are based on user age and group membership.
Policies are adjusted frequently and websites may move between categories over time.
Family Internet Filtering
It is important to protect your family from vulgar and obscene materials online. A student with a private personal unfiltered smartphone will almost certainly encounter hate, violence and pornography.
Note that West Side chromebooks have incredibly strong filtering and you cannot install any additional software or change settings on school-owned devices.
DNS Filtering
One useful tool is called DNS filtering. This type of filtering works by preventing access to Addresses / URLs / Domains based on huge curated lists of websites.
You can configure these free safe DNS Servers on your home internet router to filter all WiFi internet traffic at your home. You can set these on a smartphone or computer to filter that device on every network it visits.
West Side does not support, endorse or control these services and there are many other options available.
| Public Free DNS Service | DNS Server 1 | DNS Server 2 |
| OpenDNS | 208.67.222.123 | 208.67.220.123 |
| CleanBrowsing | 185.228.168.168 | 185.228.169.168 |
| Quad9 | 9.9.9.9 | 149.112.112.112 |
Web Filtering Apps
Another robust tool is a web-filtering app installed directly on each device. These have a subscription cost, but are very strong options that may include reporting and granular control over what categories are being filtered.
When choosing a web filtering app, consider how many and what types of devices you want to filter. Do you need reporting, category blocking, or time-limits?
West Side does not support, endorse or control these services and there are many other options available.
Carrier Filtering
Your smartphone provider may offer assistance or products that can help you configure parental controls and/or internet filtering.
Device Parental Controls
Your devices may come with parental control settings that include setting a security pin, screen time, allowed-app lists, and keyword filtering.