I work in IT at a school, and we're currently using Go Guardian to monitor and block students' activities on their computers. However, the students have discovered a site called Utopia, which bypasses our filters and masks the websites they're visiting. I've tried looking up solutions, but the only info I can find is scattered on GitHub, and there's no specific address I can block. When I catch a student using it, their browser history shows only 'about:blank', making it tough to track. Can anyone help me understand how Utopia works and suggest effective ways to block it? Thanks in advance!
3 Answers
You might want to start by blocking the actual Utopia site mentioned on GitHub. But if students are self-hosting it, your options are limited. Consider switching to a whitelist approach, allowing only approved URLs through. This could be more effective than trying to block everything.
While I get that you're trying to monitor students, I think they should have some freedom to explore online. Utopia is impressive tech, and it's crafted by fellow students. It’s not just one website; there are many reverse proxies designed to circumvent monitoring, so blocking is tough. I believe that if students are being overly surveilled, they might create even more robust solutions to bypass restrictions. As for blocking, I can’t say how to stop it unless you're willing to invest in some serious filtering tools.
I understand your point, but as a school IT worker, I feel they're already on devices too much. They need breaks away from screens, and the admins enforce strict controls for privacy and security reasons. We want to prevent bullying and self-harm, which can sometimes be addressed by monitoring. Blocking Utopia seems more manageable compared to just punishing kids caught using it.
There are tons of sites hosting the Utopia proxy, and blocking them all without a good filter that does dynamic content analysis is a real challenge. Tools like Smoothwall are better suited for this, but if you can't install a standard cert on your devices, it becomes even trickier. You might want to check nirbytes.com for bad URLs to block. Just be aware that kids often use lists found in YouTube comments too, so keep that in mind if YouTube is unblocked in your network.
I’ve blocked the site on GitHub, but I don’t have access to any higher-level web filters, since that’s managed by the admins. They’re aware of it but seem indifferent. I'm just trying to make do with what I have in Go Guardian.