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SDLA Quick Fix

Web Filtering: Game Sites Disguised as Legitimate Resources

Some sites look like real student resources but hide a games portal behind a code word. Here's how to shut them down on the IT side without blocking the legitimate resources students need.

IT Director

Why are students getting to game sites that our web filter shows as an ordinary resource site? One site looked like an LGBTQ resource, but when a student typed a code word on the homepage, it opened a games portal and hid where the games were coming from. Our filter labeled it a community site, and teachers walking by saw nothing unusual. What should we configure to stop this?

Quick Fix

Block the domain, not the category. These sites spread by word of mouth and get replaced with new domains quickly, so layer your defenses: confirm the problem, block it in more than one place, catch the replacements, and tighten the browser settings these tricks rely on.

  1. Confirm the Behavior

    Sign in with a test student account, open the site, and try the reported trigger.

    Check your web filter's logs to see how the domain is categorized and how many students are visiting it.

    Start here
  2. Block It in Your Web Filter

    Add the specific domain to the block list for student policy groups in Securly, GoGuardian, Lightspeed or whichever filter you use.

    Web filter
  3. Add a Second Layer in Google Admin

    Go to Devices → Chrome → Settings → Users & browsers → URL blocking and add the domain for student organizational units.

    If your firewall or DNS filter supports domain blocking, add it there too.

    Google Admin
  4. Catch the Replacements

    Most web filters can block "newly registered" and "uncategorized" domains for students.

    This stops copycat sites before anyone reports them.

    Web filter
  5. Tighten Chrome Settings

    Lock down the browser features these tricks rely on. The four settings are listed below.

    Chrome policy
  6. Keep Watching

    Set a filter alert for the domain and review the most-visited uncategorized domains each week.

    Report the site to your filter vendor so it gets recategorized for every district.

    Ongoing
Block narrowly: Block the specific domain, not the content category. Students need access to legitimate LGBTQ and other community resources, and blocking whole categories can create equity and civil-rights problems. Write down why each domain was blocked.

Chrome settings to tighten

Apply these in the Google Admin console to student organizational units only. Most are under Devices → Chrome → Settings → Users & browsers.

Incognito mode

  • Set to disallow Incognito mode.
  • Keeps all browsing visible to your filter and its logs.

Developer tools

  • Set to never allow the built-in developer tools.
  • Stops students from inspecting or rewriting pages to get around blocks.

Extensions

  • Under Apps & extensions, block all extensions by default and allow only approved ones.
  • Prevents extensions that disguise or proxy sites.

Local files

  • Consider adding file://* to the URL blocklist.
  • Stops students from opening saved HTML files that load games offline.

Tell teachers to watch for…

  • A tab that looks like a resource or information site but shows game activity.
  • A student typing a short code or number into a homepage.
  • Students quickly switching tabs when an adult walks by.
  • The same unfamiliar site name spreading through a class.

Ask teachers to report the site name to IT rather than trying to block it themselves, and pass new finds on to neighboring districts.