Tech Forum Archive

Filter check failed in audit

20 postsstarted by terrellthomas 5,942 viewsoriginal topic

terrellthomas
New Member
#1
http://filter.lds.org What does it check for we did not get a check mark we got a "X" So we got exception on our audit! What do we need to fix?
jdlessley
Community Moderators
#2
The check is to ensure the administrative computer is being filtered. The filtering can only be done if the administrative computer is connected throught the Church provided firewall. If the administrative computer is connected to the Internet throught the firewall then there may be some other issues. Contact your STS to resolve those issues.

[Moderator note: This thread was split from the When will Lufas be " Open " for new audit? thread because the topics are different. Please follow the Code of Conduct which states, "Do not start a new topic in an existing thread; instead start a new thread."]
JD Lessley
Have you tried finding your answer on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org Help Center or Tech Wiki?
russellhltn
Community Administrator
#3
There are two possible causes:

1) Most likely, the firewall is malfunctioning. You can try power cycling it (preferably when the building is mostly empty of users as it causes IP conflicts.) If that doesn't work, then the STS will need to call into GSD to get it fixed.

2) The computer is not connected via the firewall. Someone, somewhere has recabled things so that it's been bypassed. Probably to get to a needed site that was being blocked by the filter.
Have you searched the Help Center? Try doing a Google search and adding "site:churchofjesuschrist.org/help" to the search criteria.

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sergiobentim
New Member
#4
What is a STS? How can I possibly contact one?
aebrown
Community Administrator
#5
sergiobentim wrote:What is a STS? How can I possibly contact one?
STS means "Stake Technology Specialist." That is an assistant stake clerk who is assigned to handle technology issues in your stake. You can find out who that is by doing the following:
  1. Go to the Directory on LDS.org (you'll need to sign in with your LDS Account)
  2. Select "Stake Information" from the units dropdown
  3. Click on Stake Leaders and Organizations
  4. In the list of Stake Presidency leaders that appears, look for Stake Assistant Clerk--Technology Specialist.
  5. If no one has that calling, contact your stake clerk
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
sergiobentim
New Member
#6
In my stake, all wards have their connection to the internet and they are not connected to any Church firewall, so I understand in all those computers there will be an audit exception, and there is nothing we can do about it, is that right?
All chapels have an independent ADSL internet connection with no hardware or software firewall to filter any internet access, so I think all computers will generate an exception when accessing this site, and we can't correct it.
If any of you had an answer or comment for this please let me know. If you intend to tel me to contact a STS, please tell also what that is and how I could contact one.
Thanks in advance for any help provided.
aebrown
Community Administrator
#7
sergiobentim wrote:In my stake, all wards have their connection to the internet and they are not connected to any Church firewall, so I understand in all those computers there will be an audit exception, and there is nothing we can do about it, is that right?
It's Church policy that all Internet connections are to be filtered via the standard firewall. There's nothing you personally can do about it except contact your STS. Your STS can work with your stake's Physical Facilities Representative and your local Facilities Management Group to obtain and install the firewall.
sergiobentim wrote:If any of you had an answer or comment for this please let me know. If you intend to tel me to contact a STS, please tell also what that is and how I could contact one.
I did explain in this post what the STS is and how to contact your stake's STS.
Questions that can benefit the larger community should be asked in a public forum, not a private message.
russellhltn
Community Administrator
#8
sergiobentim wrote:In my stake, all wards have their connection to the internet and they are not connected to any Church firewall,
The firewall is a Cisco router, usually a 881W, but it might be another model. It should be located between the ADSL modem and the rest of the network. If the ADSL modem has a built-in switch or wireless, it should not be used.
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rknelson
Member
#9
We have experienced filter check failures in audits when computers are properly connected through a correctly functioning firewall. This can happen when the number of users connected worldwide exceeds the number of websense filter licenses which the church has available. This typically happens on a Sunday afternoon USA time when the usage is highest.

The first time it happened, I went to the building and verified that the computer was connected through the firewall. Interestingly, my personal laptop was connected through the a church supplied 1041N access point (which is configured to ONLY work through the firewall) and my laptop failed the filter check.

We had another filtercheck audit failure today. I went to the building and confirmed that the connections were correct, and that the DHCP address was from the 881W firewall.

I understand from the support line that this is a known problem and that they are trying to get it fixed. In the mean time, users who connect when all websense licenses are consumed have completely unfiltered internet.
rolandc
Member
#10
Avoid the audit on Sunday afternoons.
Roland
Gary_Miller
Senior Member
#11
I've just never worried much about this. Mostly because its just a check of the system being done during the audit and has no effect on the unit fiances portion of the audit. If it doesn't work it gets an audit exception in which the STS will fix and the exception goes away.

Of course I make sure the audit is done on a weekday evening usually on YM/YW night so the Bishop is already in the building. I never let an auditor talk me into Sunday.
rknelson
Member
#12
Audit exceptions, including the protection or information, is a serious issue. The exception report is reviewed as part of a stake conference visit with the Stake Presidency each time a visiting authority is assigned. I've been in a meeting with a visiting member of the Quorum of the Twelve when audit results were reviewed. No doubt the purpose is to emphasize the importance of complying with policies.

I'm sure these "false exceptions" are temporary problems that will be fixed, but I don't like to see our stake showing a bunch of undeserved exceptions.
Gary_Miller
Senior Member
#13
rknelson wrote:Audit exceptions,............, is a serious issue.
Audit exceptions only show that there is a problem on that one document, something is not right and needs fixed. They also give you an idea of areas where one may need to pay closer attention. As far as seriousness that would depend on the exception.

I have always looked as audits as just being a check to make sure I'm doing things the correct way, and to help me fix things that I may have overlooked. I always welcome an audit with open arms.
sberon
New Member
#14
Our addit was today we did the filter test and it failed / our sts had me look at settings / everything was fine last week so why is it not working? Is your site having problems?
russellhltn
Community Administrator
#15
sberon wrote:Our addit was today we did the filter test and it failed / our sts had me look at settings / everything was fine last week so why is it not working? Is your site having problems?
It's working for me. Sounds like something the STS needs to look into.
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Biggles
Senior Member
#16
sberon wrote:Our addit was today we did the filter test and it failed / our sts had me look at settings / everything was fine last week so why is it not working? Is your site having problems?
In the past I have known the test to fail, especially under heavy server loads, especially on a Sunday. Any other day the test is fine.

Try another day, without altering any equipment/settings etc.
sbradshaw
Community Moderators
#17
Are you plugged into the correct internet line (for example, you're not plugged into family history center internet, or connected via wifi, are you)?
Our audits always fail this test because most of the wards in our stake meet in a BYU building – everything is connected through BYU's internet instead of the standard meetinghouse internet.
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
bitnerdp
New Member
#18
This happened to a Ward in our building . I rebooted the firewall but the problem is still there. Are there any other troubleshooting items we should do? Is there something new that could have created this audit failure?
russellhltn
Community Administrator
#19
bitnerdp wrote:This happened to a Ward in our building . I rebooted the firewall but the problem is still there. Are there any other troubleshooting items we should do? Is there something new that could have created this audit failure?
I've been told it can fail if the system is really busy. (Like on Sundays.) You might want to check the firewall in TM, under "Usage satistics" you should see a green checkmark. Verify that you really are connected to the firewall and someone hasn't bypassed it. Otherwise, that's a problem for GSD.
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Mikerowaved
Community Moderators
#20
bitnerdp wrote:This happened to a Ward in our building . I rebooted the firewall but the problem is still there. Are there any other troubleshooting items we should do? Is there something new that could have created this audit failure?
This happened to one of the new Meraki firewalls that were installed in our stake. It would pass anything you threw at it. The others in the stake worked fine. I tried resetting it and finally called the GSC folks and they fixed it. Here's what my log looked like afterwards: (Names omitted and most recent entry is on top.)

Code: 

Filter Change     Jul 12, 2017 10:18:33 AM     Filter was changed from Managed to Standard
Filter Change     Jul 12, 2017 10:18:08 AM     Filter was changed from Standard to Managed
Update Config     Jul 02, 2017 11:28:17 AM     Firewall's configuration was updated
Replacement	    Jun 20, 2017 03:53:43 PM     Meraki firewall: Q2KN-xxxx-xxxx has successfully replaced: FTXxxxxxxxx
It looked like they switched it to a different filter class, then switched it back, but that might have been part of several things they tried to get it filtering. In the end, it's working now and I'm happy.
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