Australian IT innovator Netbox Blue is through to the National finals of the Australian ICT industry awards, the iAwards. Netbox Blue won a Queensland iAward for its unique SafeChat feature, which allows schools and businesses to block inappropriate language on common social networking sites.

Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) runs the iAwards to encourage, nurture and recognize innovation in the Australian ICT industry. 

Netbox Blue Chairman, John Fison, described Netbox Blue’s win as a tremendous honour for the company and recognition of the relevance and uniqueness of the company’s technology.

“SafeChat represents a breakthrough in control over social networking,” Mr Fison says. “It 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 and prevent damage to a company’s reputation.”

“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, 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,” Mr Fison says.

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 customizable 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 and staff 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.

One of Queensland’s largest independent schools, John Paul College, is making use of the 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 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.

For more information about the awards, please click here.

For more information on Netbox Blue's unique product offering, email sales [at] netboxblue [dot] com or call 1300 737 060.