New Assure Version 5.19

 We are pleased to announce the latest version of Assure, full of features designed to enhance user experience and make it easier for schools to create a safe digital learning environment for their students. 

This includes new versions of the Assure On-Device Web Filter for both Windows and macOS operating systems. 

Assure On-Device Web Filter Version 3 for Windows 10 and 11  

• Transparent web filtering to intercept and analyse all web traffic. 

• SSL Decryption and deep inspection of encrypted traffic and content for increased visibility. 

• School network detection to support seamless switchover from a third-party firewall and/or web filter to the Assure On-Device Web Filter when the device is off campus. This means that students will have seamless filter coverage as they move from one location to another, ensuring they are always protected. 

• Web filter bypass attempt detection. 

• Safe Mode is designed to provide students with an additional level of protection. Safe Mode enforcement turns safe search on for search engines, including Google, Bing and Yahoo, in addition to turning on restricted mode on YouTube. Simply set to Yes if you want to Enforce Safe Search on search engines and Restricted Mode on YouTube. 
• SSO user authentication eliminates the need for users to log in multiple times when accessing different resources.

Assure On-Device Web Filter Version 2 for Mac OS  

• SSL Decryption and deep inspection of encrypted traffic and content for increased visibility. 

• School network detection to support seamless switchover from a third-party firewall and/or web filter to the Assure On-Device Web Filter when the device is off campus. This means that students will have seamless filter coverage as they move from one location to another, ensuring they are always protected. 
• Safe Mode is designed to provide students with an additional level of protection. Safe Mode enforcement enables safe search for search engines, including Google, Bing, and Yahoo, in addition to activating restricted mode on YouTube. Simply set to Yes if you want to Enforce Safe Search on search engines and Restricted Mode on YouTube.
• SSO user authentication eliminates the need for users to log in multiple times when accessing different resources. 

Additional Assure Web Filter Features 

Both Windows and macOS versions of the Assure On-Device Web Filter will benefit from the following key functionalities. 

Coexistence with Third Party Firewalls 

The Assure On-Device Web Filter can now coexist with third-party firewalls and filters. The Assure web app now shows different tabs for the various firewall and filter rules and rule types, allowing users to create and maintain both on-campus and off-campus filtering rules through a single pane of glass. 

This makes managing various rules quicker and easier, as users simply need to click through the tabs to see all the rules in one place.  

New Device Status Page

This page lists all devices with the Assure On-Device Web Filter installed, including the version number, device name, users, and last seen status. This provides school IT with increased visibility, making it easier to see the status of each device in one easy-to-read view. 

User-Friendly Decrypt Rules 

The Assure On-Device and On-Premises Web Filters now provide the ability to create decrypt rules in both basic and advanced modes. 

Basic mode: makes it easier to decrypt web content for increased visibility into and analysis of the students’ online activity, including decryption of search engines, YouTube, Vimeo and URLs. 

Advanced mode: allows users to perform all actions in basic mode, with the addition of enabling decryption for specific web categories, URLs, and IP addresses. 

With the above changes, we are providing schools with the tools they need to more clearly observe and manage their students' online activity, while also enabling them to make adjustments quickly as needed. 

To learn more about some of the other changes that have been made for Assure version 5.19, you can read the full technical release notes below.