I am a third grade teacher, and I need help getting around my school's firewall, which is the dreaded "Bess" site blocker.
Let me clear one thing up first: I am NOT attempting to look at Facebook, MySpace, BrittanySpears.com, or HotNakedChickoftheDay.com while at work. Our IT folks have in place the same blocker for teachers and students, and they do not allow us any way to get around it. For that matter, they will not even let me have the password to use the wireless internet with my personal Mac. This is just the way they operate.
This firewall makes my life difficult on a routine basis. Along with the regular sites that everyone blocks, I am unable to access sites that provide free e-books for teachers; Voki; and today I could not access a site called "resizemyimage.com" to change the dimensions of a classroom photo. It is driving me crazy!
I have tried setting up a proxy through the system preferences>network>advanced etc. method with no luck. I get a message saying something like "the server does not recognize the proxy"; I have tried using MacProxy--no luck. I have tried setting up the proxy through the Firefox settings--no luck. I have tried the web-based proxies; only one out of MANY has worked, and it does not work very well (not well enough to be of any use to me). I assume there are some things I must not understand and/or am doing wrong--there is no way that this Bess program is THAT strong! Is it?
BTW--I know the problems/dangers/immorality/trouble-I-could-get-into-if-caught inherit with trying to subvert the firewall. If you can help me, I would greatly appreciate it!! However, if you simply want to tell me why I should not try this, you need not waste your time (or, more to the point, mine!) My thanks to anyone who can help!
Let me clear one thing up first: I am NOT attempting to look at Facebook, MySpace, BrittanySpears.com, or HotNakedChickoftheDay.com while at work. Our IT folks have in place the same blocker for teachers and students, and they do not allow us any way to get around it. For that matter, they will not even let me have the password to use the wireless internet with my personal Mac. This is just the way they operate.
This firewall makes my life difficult on a routine basis. Along with the regular sites that everyone blocks, I am unable to access sites that provide free e-books for teachers; Voki; and today I could not access a site called "resizemyimage.com" to change the dimensions of a classroom photo. It is driving me crazy!
I have tried setting up a proxy through the system preferences>network>advanced etc. method with no luck. I get a message saying something like "the server does not recognize the proxy"; I have tried using MacProxy--no luck. I have tried setting up the proxy through the Firefox settings--no luck. I have tried the web-based proxies; only one out of MANY has worked, and it does not work very well (not well enough to be of any use to me). I assume there are some things I must not understand and/or am doing wrong--there is no way that this Bess program is THAT strong! Is it?
BTW--I know the problems/dangers/immorality/trouble-I-could-get-into-if-caught inherit with trying to subvert the firewall. If you can help me, I would greatly appreciate it!! However, if you simply want to tell me why I should not try this, you need not waste your time (or, more to the point, mine!) My thanks to anyone who can help!