Blocking Psiphon

Psiphon is a VPN that can be used to bypass the Smoothwall Filter and allow users to have unfiltered access. To prevent this you need to configure the Smoothwall Filter to block Psiphon.

Procedure

  1. Create either a decrypt and inspect or validate certificate only HTTPS inspection policy with these settings:
    • Who: "Everyone, or the relevant user or groups to apply this policy to."
    • What: "Everything, or the relevant categories."
    • Where: "Everywhere, or the relevant location to apply this policy to."
    • When: "Always, or the relevant time slot to apply this policy to."
    • Action: "Decrypt and inspect" OR "Validate certificate only"
  2. Create a block web filter policy with these settings:
    • Who: "Everyone, or the relevant user or groups to apply this policy to."
    • What: "All URLs containing an IP"
    • Where: "Everywhere, or the relevant location to apply this policy to."
    • When: "Always, or the relevant time slot to apply this policy to."
    • Action: "Block"
  3. Check that your Firewall uses Firewall Rules to block Psiphon ports, such as 22 and 53.