Schools try to block cyberbullies

Several prominent Sydney private schools are requesting further ways to lock down students email to prevent cyber bullying.

Several prominent Sydney private schools are requesting further ways to lock down students email to prevent cyber bullying.

John Fison, Chairman of NetBox Blue a software firm that currently supplies services to many private schools said there had been a recent increase in cyber bullying.

“A lot of the schools were saying to us they needed to lock down the use of email, for the students, trying to prevent them from receiving inappropriate content and anything related to bullying,” said Fison.

Fison’s Netbox Blue software works by utilising a dictionary of words that are frequently used by bullies – the list of words can be customised by the school. It searches the email for these words and intercepts and rejects the email if it finds it to contain the offensive the material.

“The program can quarantine it, it can reject it, forward a copy to administrators, it depends on how the schools are setting it up.”

Meanwhile, teachers are suggesting that bullying by text message is also in the rise.