Organizations of all types have some need to track and secure the computers they own. Of course, the reasons for monitoring range from improving internet safety to analyzing employee productivity. For the nonprofit military youth organization, The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAF), the aim was to ensure all youths under their supervision are protected and cared for at all times.
Concerns about Internet Safety for Students
The Royal Air Force Air Cadets are a Military-disciplined youth organization, with cadets ranging from ages 12-20. Leadership at the RAF reached out to ActivTrak with concerns about the cadets accessing harmful websites and applications. They knew it was their responsibility to protect the youths as they used their computers under the care of The Royal Air Force Cadets. Some issues that required addressing were visits to unsafe websites, unsecured internet access, malware, too much time playing games, viruses, and malicious websites. It was essential that these problems could be identified, investigated, and ultimately resolved. Many monitoring tools exist, but not just any internet monitoring software would work for the RAF Air Cadets.The Search for the Best Internet Monitoring Software
In addition to the ability to monitor and control access to unsafe websites, Deputy IT Officer C&E Yorks ATC, Sergeant James Lowe (ATC) required that others within his organization would not only need to have access, but they must be able to easily navigate through the program. The software must make it easy for any administrator to understand who’s doing what, when, and for how long. Also, being a non-profit organization, cost, security, and ease of use were primary factors included in the decision-making process. Sergeant Lowe reached out to ActivTrak after conducting research. He tested the software for one week and immediately fell in love with the product. After kicking the tires, affordability was the only question left to answer. Sergeant Lowe contacted ActivTrak to discuss deploying the software across his squadrons. After a short back and forth, the two sides came to a mutual agreement on cost and began the process of deployment. Setup was painless, as they were able to integrate and deploy ActivTrak in only a few seconds per computer. After toying around with some alarms and blocking unsafe websites, the RAF was set.Unsafe Websites Blocked and Computer Usage Monitored: Success!
James soon realized ActivTrak was about to make his life a lot easier, as he grew to love the real-time data he could view in the realtime report. That and the activity log feature gave clarity and visibility into his cadets' online activities. The sergeant expressed relief knowing that he had improved internet safety for the young individuals for whom they were liable."The information provided has been useful to provide feedback to the project sponsors and provide direction for continued development of our system, including investment decision making."Since implementation, the use of ActivTrak has given the Royal Air Force Air Cadets the confidence to proceed with developing technology-based learning with the cadets. ActivTrak has provided this historic organization with the tools needed to modify and adapt to the changing times, needs, and skills of the 21st century. To top it all off, ActivTrak has allowed the organization to get ahead of some potential child protection issues, and utilize their skill sets and training to ensure all youths under their supervision are protected and cared for at all times.- Deputy IT Officer C&E Yorks ATC, Sergeant James Lowe (ATC)
