A policy per block, and a duty of care to each resident
Your residents bring laptops, consoles and smart speakers, and you run the network they all share. Shield checks each DNS lookup before a connection starts, blocking malware, phishing and C2 callbacks from infected devices. Each block or floor can carry its own policy, so halls with under-18 residents get safeguarding while postgraduate blocks keep a lighter touch.
- OpenStrict, family-safeGuest WiFi through a captive portalOpen network tiersFree WiFiAd blocking on, streaming limited at busy timesPaid WiFiIts own rules, separate from the free tier
- SecureThreat defense firstPasspoint and OpenRoaming, staff on EAP-TLS with MDM
- xPSKSafeguarding per groupThings, communities and concessions
Schedule, per venue
What is at stake
Hundreds of unmanaged devices on your network
Infected resident devices
A laptop or console calling its C2 server shares the network with other residents and with your building systems.Under-18s in some halls
First-year halls can house 17-year-olds, which brings a safeguarding duty that adult blocks do not carry.Your operator network
Door access, CCTV, laundry and lift systems share the building. They need protecting from what residents bring in.
How Shield fits
A policy for each block and each network
- Resident WiFiThreat defense with ad and tracker blocking, so pages load faster and use less data on a shared connection.
- Under-18 hallsSafeguarding categories and Safe Search on Google, Bing and YouTube, on that block's own VLAN.
- Building systemsDoor access, CCTV and laundry on their own VLAN, with a relay showing each device's internal IP.
- Site and operations staffThreat-first policy for staff and back-office systems, with per-site rules across your portfolio.
See everything Shield stopsStudent accommodation WiFi on Purple Access
- Staff and head officeThreat defense firstOffice LAN and staff WiFi, by directory group
- Guest WiFiStrict, family-safeVisitors and customers, nothing to installGuest network tiersFree WiFiAd blocking on, streaming limited at busy timesPaid WiFiIts own rules, separate from the free tier
- IoT and branchesLocked downTills, cameras and sensors behind a relay
Schedule, per site
Proof
Standards and figures behind your duty of care
- 44%
- less data used with ads and trackers blocked, in Purple's own measurements
- 80,000+
- venues run on the Purple platform across 90 countries
- Friendly WiFistandard met for family-safe filtering in halls with under-18 residents
- IWFfiltering meets the bar set by the Internet Watch Foundation
FAQ
Questions we hear from teams like yours
Do residents need to install anything?
No. Shield runs on the network at the DNS layer, so a resident's laptop, phone or console is covered as soon as it joins. Nothing needs installing on guest or unmanaged devices, and residents connect as they do today.
Can each block have its own policy?
Yes. Shield applies a policy per network, SSID, VLAN or site. If each block or floor sits on its own VLAN, it gets its own rules, and you can run separate policies for each building in your portfolio.
Will residents notice it slowing the WiFi?
Usually the opposite. With ads and trackers blocked, Purple's own measurements show pages loading up to 500% faster and up to 44% less data used. Shield answers the DNS lookup only, so it never sits in the path of a stream or a game.
Can residents bypass it with a VPN?
You choose. Block VPN and proxy apps with one click on under-18 halls, and leave them open on adult blocks, where residents may work from home over a company VPN.
Does it help with our duty of care?
It gives you evidence for it. Reports show threats blocked and categories filtered by block and by time, and scheduled PDF reports can go to your welfare lead each month. Shield fails closed, so an outage never leaves residents unfiltered.
Other industries
Schools
Filtering that helps you meet KCSIE, the DfE standards or CIPA, on pupil, staff and visitor networks.Colleges
Filtering that helps you meet KCSIE for learners, threat-first policy for staff, and BYOD with nothing to install.Higher education
Threat defense for staff, research and student networks, with a policy per VLAN, per group and per halls block.
Decide what your network reaches, free for 30 days
Tell us which networks and sites you run and who is on them. We map a policy to each one: staff, guests, students, residents and IoT. Then point one network at Shield and see what it stops for 30 days, before you pay anything. Running change control? We plan a pilot on one site with your team instead. No hardware to install.
- We map your networksA Purple expert maps your networks, your venues and the people on each, and answers your questions on bypass, outages, data handling and integrations.
- You get a policy for each oneStaff, guests, students, residents, IoT and paid tiers, each with the policy it needs.
- You prove it, then get your tailored quote30 days free on one network, or a pilot on one site planned with your team, then Shield priced standalone or as an add-on to your Access plan.
Your policy map
Tell us your networks. We map a policy to each one.
A Purple expert comes back with a policy for every network and group you run, from the team that has run content filtering since 2012 and runs WiFi for 80,000+ venues in 90 countries.