Understanding keyword scanning with Securly

Overview

Securly Filter scans keywords on Google, Bing, Yahoo, YouTube, and Wikipedia to ensure students are protected from inappropriate or malicious content. Admins can enable or disable the keyword scanning option as needed for specific policies.

Policy Setup

1. Login to Your Securly Account

   • Navigate to the Securly login page and sign in.

2. Navigate to the Policy Editor

   • Select ‘Policy Editor’ from the dashboard.

3. Choose the Policy

   • Identify the policy for which you want to adjust the keyword scanning settings.

4. Enable or Disable Keyword Scanning

   • Toggle the switch in front of ‘Keyword Scanning’ to enable or disable this feature.

5. Built-in and Custom Keywords

   • Securly includes a comprehensive list of keywords associated with blocked categories. Enabling a blocked category will add the associated words from that category to keyword scanning.
   • Admins can also add custom keywords to the policy-level or global-level denial list using the format *keyword*. Example: *unblockedgames*.

User Experience

• Blocked Searches:
  When a user searches for content related to any blocked category, they will see a blocked page.
• Safe Searches:
  If safe search is enabled and a user searches for content from unblocked categories, they will see filtered, safe search results.

Notification Settings for Keyword Scanning

Admins can receive notifications when a blocked keyword search is attempted. If you are not receiving these alerts, follow these steps:

1. Verify Keyword Scanning is Enabled

• Go to the Policy Editor and confirm that Keyword Scanning is toggled on for the relevant policy and that the notification bell icon is green for enabled.

2. Check Notification Settings

• Access the ‘Accounts’ page in the Securly dashboard.
• Navigate to the ‘Notifications’ tab.
• Ensure that notifications for Keyword Scanning Events are enabled.

Additional Features

Keyword scanning works alongside other search safety tools in Securly, such as:

• Safe Search Mode: Filters search results to ensure they are appropriate.
• Restricted Image Search for Creative Commons: Limits the display of images to safe and appropriate ones.