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Campbell, Calif. (Jan. 18, 2012) – Barracuda Networks Inc., a leading provider of security, networking and data protection solutions, today announced its integration with YouTube for Schools, a new education-specific portal that provides comment-free access to only approved videos. Educational institutions using the award-winning Barracuda Web Filter and Barracuda Web Security Flex solutions now have a seamless way to provide safe access and searching capabilities for students, faculty and staff.

Barracuda Networks’ integration with YouTube for Schools provides a better approach for administrators to manage access to YouTube, which is critical as more and more valuable educational content comes online. Administrators benefit from:

• Seamless access. IT administrators can enable “YouTube for Schools” with a simple click of the button within the solutions’ management portals.
• Automatic policy enforcement. All requests to YouTube can be automatically redirected to the educational portal, bypassing unsavory content and comments and providing safe, regulated access and searching capabilities. 
• Teacher accounts. IT administrators can specify “teacher accounts” without the restrictions placed on student accounts or anonymous users.
• Direct access. Students are able to directly connect with the educational portal’s content which is provided by teachers.

"The YouTube for Schools portal provides access to valuable educational content for our staff and students without the concern of inappropriate content or comments,” said Karen Palmer, director of technology at Billings Public Schools. “When the portal was announced, our teachers begged us to implement it immediately. We contacted our filtering vendor, Barracuda Networks, and once again, Barracuda was ahead of the curve with a simple, ready-to-use solution that was easily implemented on equipment that we already own. We appreciate Barracuda Networks' commitment to the educational community and the company’s continued dedication to anticipating our needs."

“With the number of valuable educational videos available and the growing use of streaming media in the classroom, blocking access to YouTube completely is not a viable long-term solution,” said Steve Pao, vice president of product management for Barracuda Networks. “This integration provides administrators some editorial control to allow access to valuable educational videos without exposing students to malicious or inappropriate content.”