Cloud Filter Extension Release Notes

Version 3.1.6

Release date: 15th April 2025

Performance improvements

  • Minor performance improvements for Content Modifications.
  • Improved the performance of YouTube when you use Video filtering.
  • We check when the device last communicated with Cloud Filter using the Secret Knock, so we can apply Mode 2 filtering soon after devices are woken up from sleep.

Content Modification

Filtering

  • Improved how our IWF List lookup checks user activity, including better matching against query parameters and only checking web-accessible URLs in the IWF list.
  • Fixed an issue where items added to Domain/URL filtering with capital letters would not be filtered as expected. Domain/URL filtering is no longer case-sensitive, so blocking EXAMPLE.COM will now match example.com.
  • Changed how we look up data to better match URLs to the right Category.

Version 3.1.5

Release date: 27th February 2025

Performance improvements

We’ve significantly improved blocklist patching so it doesn’t stall the browser, including speeding up the time taken to download the new blocklist if it fails. This update fixes most instances of slow browsing you may have experienced.

Real Time Filtering Log Viewer

  • We fixed an issue for Chromebooks provisioned using Google Admin, which showed empty or out-of-date information for the public IP address and log upload time.
  • Fixed the Last Sent Logs field within Diagnostic Information for devices provisioned in Native mode. It now matches the main Diagnostics page and shows the timestamp rather than ‘Never’.

Other updates

  • Content Modifications that modify content based on URLs now work with the extension.
  • We fixed an issue with non-instant Safeguarding Alerts about themes other than Suicide, which were duplicated within the email.

Version 3.1.4.2

Release date: 10th January 2025

Resolved an issue where access to PDFs was blocked because they were incorrectly classified as IWF violations.

Version 3.1.4

Release date: 9th January 2025

Performance improvements

  • Improved browsing performance by optimising IWF List lookup and splitting up blocklist loading so you can load pages quicker during startup.
  • We also boosted the speed of content analysis by introducing caching for child phrase lookups and reducing unnecessary tab re-scanning.

Using YouTube with the Extension

  • You no longer see a ‘Blocked by Smoothwall’ message and need to refresh to access an allowed video when the rest of YouTube is blocked.
  • We’ve fixed the YouTube - Remove Adverts Content Modification, and selecting ‘Skip’ takes you to the start of the video rather than the end.

Version 3.1.3

Release date: 2nd December 2024

Enhancements to make browsing faster and smoother.

Version 3.1.2

Release date: 27th November 2024

  • Improved handling of blocklist changes.
  • YouTube content is now scanned every 500ms instead of instantly, reducing system load and improving page load speed.
  • Improved performance for Logs, System and browsers, especially for lower specification devices.

Version 3.1.1

Release date: 14th October 2024

The extension now scans tabs during startup rather than when the policy or blocklist is fully loaded. This ensures sites are blocked as expected, even on slower machines or internet connections.

Version 3.1.0

Release date: September 23rd 2024

  • You can now manage access to video platform content using Cloud Filter! Add the URLs or IDs of the videos you want to block or allow in the Videos tab of a Custom Category, then use this category in a Web Filter Policy.
  • If a blocklist download fails, we now try to download the new blocklist again rather than download the old blocklist from the cache. We’ve also optimised the bandwidth usage.

Version 3.0.2

Release date: 20th July 2024

Made improvements to stability following the Manifest V3 (MV3) release.

Version 3.0.1

Release date: 10th July 2024

Resolved an issue that caused some browsers to stop responding and fail to load pages.

Version 3.0.0

Release date: 29th May 2024

Updated the extension to Manifest V3 (MV3).

Version 2.3.1

Release date: 8th April 2024

Using the YouTube - Remove sidebar Content Modification no longer prevents videos from being played in full-screen or cinema mode.

Version 2.3.0

Release date: 20th March 2024

You can now map Directory Groups to the Banned Users Group like other User Groups.

Version 2.2.1

Release date: 22nd January 2024

Fixed an issue with excessive data logging in the backend, which may have impacted device performance and network bandwidth.

Version 2.2.0

Release date: 19th January 2024

  • The Realtime Log Viewer in Cloud Portal now works with Edge and runs more quickly.
  • The option to disable filtering on unmanaged devices is working correctly.