zScaler
What is zScaler
zScaler is CEDP's web security and content filtering solution for the network. Hosted by CENet, it is a service used by multiple Catholic Dioceses across eastern Australia.
The content filtering provided by zScaler actively restricts access to inappropriate web material on school devices. This assists schools in confirming that devices are used only for educational purposes, and ultimately saves schools' the bandwidth that would be wasted on non-educational and non-professional material.
zScaler also enforces web authentication, requiring that users sign in with their username and password in order to access the Internet. This provides a range of benefits to schools in the form of useful data and analytics. For example, it is possible for a school to see how much bandwidth per day is being used by students on specific gaming sites.
What is required for a device to work with zScaler?
All users devices (Apple devices, PC's, Chromebooks) which require access to the CEDP network must have a zScaler issued certificate installed. The certificate ensures devices connecting to the CEDP network are trusted devices.
zScaler certificates are automatically pushed to devices as part of enterprise device enrolment. The zScaler certificates can be manually downloaded from the below link.
How do I use it?
Interaction with zScaler for schools is focused on a few key areas:
Web Authentication
Users are required to sign on with their CEDP username and password to access the Internet. The login screen for web authentication should appear once the user opens a web browser and attempts to navigate to an Internet web page. This looks like the below:
Once the user has signed in they will be able to browse the web.
Blocking/Unblocking Websites
Content filtering within zScaler is accomplished using a complex algorithm, and on occasion schools may find blocked websites that they would like to have unblocked, or vice versa.
Website block/unblock requests can be made using the Requestor Portal in Service Now, please note: Principal Approval may be required.
What if I'm experiencing issues?
Unable to login to zScaler
If a user is unable to authenticate successfully through zScaler, firstly please ensure that the correct login is being used. In particular, check that the password is correct (i.e. test it on other CEDP services) and ensure the user is inputting only their username and not their full email address.
If the issue is not an incorrect login, please take a screenshot of the error message received and send to the Enterprise Service desk along with the following user details:
- Username:
- Full Name:
- School Name:
All websites showing as being blocked
The first point of troubleshooting is to determine if the device has correctly authenticated to zScaler. This can be checked by opening a browser and navigating to ip.zscaler.com. The authentication status can be seen midway down the page, and will look similar to one of the below:
If the status is showing the session as un-authenticated (i.e. saying you have not logged in) then the device is not detecting that a user has logged on through zScaler. In these cases, if the user is in fact logging on, or if the user is not being prompted with the login screen, the recommendation is to clear the cache and reset the browser settings on the device.
'Untrusted Connection/ not secure' Error
First check that the Date and Time settings are correct. Verify that the zScaler certificates have been installed for the affected browser - these can also be manually downloaded at zscaler.parra.catholic.edu.au for each specific device type and browser.
If the above does not resolve the issue, please contact the Enterprise Service Desk to have an incident raised.
Resources: