Staying Ahead with Smarter Web Filtering

Across every industry and network environment, content filtering isn’t just a matter of productivity, it’s a front line of defense. From malware and phishing to compliance risks and productivity drains, the threats are real, and the stakes are high.

That’s why choosing the best content filtering software for your environment is such an important decision. The right tool helps protect your users without slowing them down, and it should work seamlessly across all your networks, from remote offices to school campuses to distributed client environments.

More organizations are turning to DNS-level filtering for its unique blend of speed, simplicity, and scalability. Unlike traditional firewall or endpoint-based solutions, DNS filtering blocks unwanted content before the connection even happens.

What is Content Filtering & Why DNS-Level is Superior

Content filtering is the practice of blocking access to dangerous, inappropriate, or non-compliant content on the internet. Whether you’re protecting students, employees, or guest Wi-Fi users, the goal is to reduce exposure to risk while maintaining a productive online environment.

Common targets for filtering include:

• Malware and ransomware
• Adult or explicit content
• Hate speech and extremist sites
• Proxy and VPN services
• Bandwidth hogs like video streaming and gaming platforms

There are several ways to implement content filtering:

• Client-based filtering: Installed locally on each device
• Gateway/firewall filtering: Operates at the network edge
• Server-based filtering: Centralized on internal infrastructure
• DNS-level filtering: Works at the DNS resolution layer before a connection is made

So why is DNS filtering becoming the preferred choice?

• It blocks threats before the connection is even established
• It’s lightweight and doesn’t slow down devices or networks
• It can be agentless, meaning no software install is needed
• It’s ideal for remote, hybrid, or distributed environments

What to Look for in the Best Content Filtering Software?

If you’re in the market for a content filtering solution, you probably have no shortage of options. But not all content filtering software is created equal and some may lack the intelligence, speed, or usability you actually need.

Here are the essential features and capabilities that define top-tier content filtering software today:

✔️ Real-Time Threat Detection

Modern threats evolve quickly. Your content filter should detect and block threats using AI and machine learning in real time—even if the domain hasn’t been classified before.

• DNSFilter’s approach to real-time threat detection is rooted in intelligent automation. Our AI is continuously trained to identify deceptive sites before they can cause harm, ensuring that threats are neutralized before they even reach your network.

Learn how AI is transforming modern cybersecurity in our deep dive on artificial intelligence in threat detection.

✔️ Broad and Customizable Category Controls

Effective filtering goes beyond just adult content. You should be able to block categories like social media, cryptocurrency mining, and phishing, and customize policies for your unique risk profile.

• DNSFilter has 50+ threat and content categories with customizable rules.

✔️ Granular Policy Management

Granularity matters. Can you apply different filtering policies to different user groups, departments, or IP ranges?

• DNSFilter gives organizations precise control over what to block and how, informed by evolving best practices and real-world examples shared in our live policy-building webinar.

✔️ Flexible Deployment Options

Whether you want to deploy at the network level, on individual devices, or through a hybrid model, your software should be flexible enough to match your setup.

• DNSFilter offers agentless network protection as well as device and user-level filtering.

✔️ Low Latency Performance

Content filtering shouldn’t slow down your users or affect DNS resolution speed.

• DNSFilter is powered by our global dual anycast network for fast, seamless resolution.

✔️ Auto-Updates and Intelligence Feeds

The threat landscape changes fast. Be sure to choose a platform that stays updated without manual intervention.

• DNSFilter leverages advanced AI and diverse threat intelligence sources to dynamically update its models, delivering real-time protection against constantly evolving threats.

✔️ Support for Multiple Languages

If you operate globally or in multilingual environments, your filtering engine should recognize and block malicious content in many languages.

• DNSFilter supports domain categorization in 20 major world languages, includes localized block pages for end users, and allows management of internationalized domain names (IDNs) using Punycode,  ensuring a consistent and effective filtering experience no matter the language.

✔️ Clear Reporting and Insightful Dashboards

Visibility into filtering activity, block rates, and user behavior is critical.

• DNSFilter offers real-time dashboards and exportable reports for compliance and visibility.

✔️ Industry Compliance Support

If you’re in a regulated industry (like education or healthcare), your filter should help you stay compliant.

• DNSFilter provides tailored solutions for healthcare, education, and MSPs to help them meet regulations such as CIPA compliance and HIPPA regulations.

✔️ White Label Options and Responsive Support

For MSPs or distributed teams, look for flexible branding and access to real-time support.

• DNSFilter goes beyond basic support with a comprehensive MSP Partner Program that includes co-branded marketing resources, multitenant management, custom pricing, and flexible deployment options. Combined with 24/7 technical support and white label functionality, it’s a purpose-built solution for MSPs that want to grow their service offerings without increasing overhead.

Explore these core DNSFilter features and more →

Matching Architecture to Your Needs

Choosing the right content filtering architecture is just as important as choosing the right features, it affects how easily your solution can scale, how much oversight it requires, and how well it fits into your existing infrastructure.

There are different ways to deliver content filtering, and your organization’s size, infrastructure, and technical maturity will help determine the best fit:

• Client-based: Installed locally on endpoints. Great for individual control and for remote organizations.
• Server-based: Centralized, but requires hardware and on-prem management.
• Gateway-based: Hardware-heavy; good for traditional networks.

Cost is About More than Licensing

Pricing is often the first point of comparison, but cost alone rarely tells the full story. When evaluating content filtering solutions, organizations should consider the total cost of ownership (TCO)—a broader picture that accounts for every factor impacting long-term value and efficiency.

TCO includes not only your subscription or licensing fees, but also:

• How long it takes to deploy across your organization
• The level of IT resources needed for ongoing management
• The cost of missed threats or delayed responses
• Hidden expenses tied to updates, training, or hardware maintenance

A solution that looks inexpensive upfront may end up costing more in staff hours or operational overhead. Conversely, software that streamlines setup, automates updates, and offers reliable support can generate savings far beyond the initial quote.

DNSFilter was designed with these efficiencies in mind, offering fast, hardware-free deployment, automatic intelligence updates, and intuitive dashboards that reduce time spent on administration.

Choose Software That Works for You

The best content filtering software doesn’t just block harmful content. It works the way your organization works.

Look for a solution that:

• Blocks threats in real time
  Case Study: Oetker Collection relies on DNSFilter to protect users
• Reduces manual admin overhead
  Case Study: Tech Team Solutions saves time with DNSFilter
• Lets you tailor policies to your environment

• Works at the speed of your network

• Is easy to roll out and manage from day one

DNSFilter was built to be the modern standard for web filtering. Whether you’re protecting ten users or ten thousand, it checks all the boxes.

Want a quick-reference checklist for your buying process? Download our free PDF: The DNS Content Filtering Software Buyer’s Checklist

Austin, TX and Washington, D.C. – June 17, 2025 – Wi-Fi Alliance® extends its sincere congratulations to Olivia Trusty on her confirmation by the United States Senate to serve as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

“Olivia Trusty brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the communications landscape to the FCC at a pivotal time,” said Kevin Robinson, President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “We are confident that her leadership will help advance innovative, spectrum-forward policies that enable technologies like Wi-Fi® to continue delivering essential connectivity for consumers, businesses, and communities across the United States.”

Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to working with Commissioner Trusty and the full Commission to ensure the continued success of the unlicensed ecosystem. Together, we can empower digital inclusion, drive U.S. technology leadership, and unlock new opportunities for connectivity and innovation.

About Wi-Fi Alliance®  |  www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 80,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the Internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Here are three crucial factors that make Wi-Fi 7 essential for a superior guest experience:  1. It’s a mobile-first world, and business travelers are upgrading every 24-30 months; 2. New wearable devices like XR glasses need a snappy and nimble Wi-Fi^® network; and 3. Wi-Fi 7 delivers a real-world 4x performance gain over Wi-Fi 6.

Business travelers are already upgrading to Wi-Fi 7-ready devices

The world is mobile-first, and business travelers are consistently at the forefront of technology adoption. While the general smartphone refresh cycle has slowed, business travelers continue to upgrade their phones every 24-30 months. This is due to:

• Higher discretionary income: They have the means to invest in the latest technology.
• Professional necessity: Sales professionals and others often rely on cutting-edge devices for their work.
• Demanding applications: Business applications and heavy usage necessitate faster, more capable devices.

This rapid refresh cycle means a significant portion of your guests are already carrying Wi-Fi 7 with their mobile devices. While Wi-Fi is backward compatible, newer phones are optimized for the latest Wi-Fi protocol and many traveling executives’ devices already support 6 GHz Wi-Fi, a key component of Wi-Fi 7. Projections indicate that over 50% of hotel guest devices will support Wi-Fi 7 by early 2027. Your network needs to be ready for this shift now.

New wearable devices demand a high-performance Wi-Fi network

The rise of wearable technology, such as XR (extended reality) and spatial computing glasses, is transforming how people interact with digital content. While these devices are often tethered to a smartphone or a compute puck, they require a low-latency and error-resilient Wi-Fi network.

Devices like Ray-Ban Meta glasses are leading a strong trend toward hands-free content creation and AI-assisted interaction with the physical world. Leading tech firms and numerous startups are rapidly developing “what’s next” in wearable technology, and each relies on a constant, reliable network connection that older Wi-Fi standards simply aren’t designed to deliver.

Wi-Fi 7 addresses these demands with advanced technologies like Multi-Link Operation (MLO), preamble puncturing, Multiple Resource Units (MRU), and deterministic Quality of Service (QoS) enhancements. These innovations create an invisible backbone that adapts to changes so that data flows without delay, providing the “snappy and nimble” experience required by these new devices.

Wi-Fi 7 delivers a real-world 4x performance gain over Wi-Fi 6

Previous Wi-Fi generations offered incremental speed increases. Wi-Fi 7, however, represents a generational leap in performance over previous generations. This significant improvement is based on several key advancements:

• Expanded frequency spectrum: Wi-Fi 7 utilizes up to 1200 MHz of expanded frequency, including 480 MHz in Europe, supporting wide channels. The wider channels and clean spectrum allow real-world Wi-Fi 7 network designs to achieve 4x performance gains.
• Seamless channel utilization: It eliminates channel gaps across the entire allocated spectrum and provides consistent power and access rules on every channel.  The channel gaps in Wi-Fi 6 prevent network architects from fully using all the spectrum.  With Wi-Fi 7, every guest room and every meeting room will have the same consistently high performance and experience.
• Optimized for modern protocols: Only 802.11ax and 802.11be protocols are allowed to use the new radio frequency space. This significantly reduces contention and unlocks faster speeds.  With Wi-Fi 7, the network doesn’t have to slow down to let older Wi-Fi merge onto the highway.

To fully utilize these advantages, Wi-Fi 7 adds MLO, MRU, preamble puncturing and deterministic QoS.  Collectively, Wi-Fi 7 delivers faster speed and lower latency.

Partner with RUCKUS to deliver an exceptional guest experience where guests can effortlessly open their door with their phone, instantly stream 4K movies, join crystal-clear video calls with family, and update work files in seconds. This isn’t a futuristic dream; it’s the reality Wi-Fi 7 is poised to deliver for your hotel.

The AI enterprise is here, and it’s demanding more from our wireless networks than ever before. We’re seeing an explosion of AI agents designed to automate operations, an increase in bandwidth-hungry applications like 8K video streaming, and a growing need to protect an expanding attack surface that’s overwhelming IT. At Cisco, we understand these challenges and are committed to providing our customers with the tools needed not just to keep up but thrive in this new era.

That’s why I’m incredibly excited about three new, groundbreaking additions to our wireless portfolio that were just announced at Cisco Live San Diego. We’re expanding our Wi-Fi 7 portfolio with the Cisco Wireless 9179F Access Point for stadiums and large venues, delivering seamless, cloud-managed roaming for large campuses with the Cisco Campus Gateway, and connecting new critical wireless use cases with the integration of Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) together with Wi-Fi technology in a single access point. These aren’t just incremental upgrades; they represent fundamental shifts in how we approach campus networking. These new additions are designed to deliver the scalability, security, and simplicity that the AI enterprise demands.

Cisco Wireless CW9179F: Delivering unmatched wireless performance for high-density venues

This addition to our Wi-Fi 7 portfolio is all about delivering the best possible wireless experiences in the highest-density use cases like stadiums, large public venues, and convention centers.

• Unmatched performance for high-density environments: The CW9179F access point leverages the full potential of Wi-Fi 7, offering blazing-fast speeds, reduced latency, and increased capacity to support the massive number of devices and bandwidth-intensive applications in large venues. Imagine seamless streaming of instant replays, lag-free mobile gaming, and reliable point-of-sale systems—all happening simultaneously.
• Software-controllable beam switching: We’ve built some amazing RF technology into this access point, with software-controllable beam switching that allows you to adjust coverage in three different configurations.
• Seamless management: Whether you’re managing your wireless networks with an on-premises controller or through the cloud, we’re unifying management across Cisco Catalyst Center and the Meraki dashboard to help IT teams scale operations and focus on delivering exceptional user experiences.
• Advanced security: Security is always paramount, especially in high-profile venues. The CW9179F access point delivers on that front with support for the latest security protocols (including WPA3 encryption) and integration with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) for advanced device profiling, microsegmentation, and policy enforcement. This ensures that every connection is secure, and your network is protected from threats.

Cisco Campus Gateway: Simplifying campus wireless with seamless cloud integration

For organizations with complex campus wireless networks, the Cisco Campus Gateway is a game changer. This solution is designed to facilitate a seamless transition to cloud management and deliver high performance and scalability without requiring costly and disruptive infrastructure changes.

• Fast, seamless roaming: Enable seamless client roaming at scale, with up to 1,000 roams per second so clients stay connected across your entire campus.
• Simplified cloud deployment: Transition to cloud management without re-cabling or reconfiguring your wireless architecture. This makes it even easier to take advantage of the benefits of cloud management.
• High scalability: Manage up to 5,000 access points and connect up to 50,000 clients in a single network, making the Campus Gateway an ideal solution for large campus environments. 

Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) with Wi-Fi technology: The foundation for critical applications

AI-enabled applications across smart manufacturing, healthcare, retail warehouse automation, and more depend on predictable, reliable wireless connectivity. Our URWB standalone solution provides a proven, dedicated, high-performance wireless link for critical systems—ensuring seamless operation, even in the face of interference or network congestion.

• Unwavering reliability: URWB utilizes advanced technologies like redundant data paths and automatic failover to ensure that critical applications remain connected, no matter what.
• Predicable low latency: URWB with Cisco-only software innovations boost productivity by meeting the needs of the most demanding process automation or robotic operations with real-time control.
• Secure and dedicated: URWB provides a secure, dedicated wireless link that is isolated from the public Wi-Fi network, protecting sensitive data and ensuring the integrity of critical systems.

Future-proofing your wireless network for the AI enterprise

Wi-Fi 7 is more than a network for connectivity—it’s the foundation you need to build truly smart spaces at every scale. That’s why Cisco Spaces is included as part of every wireless subscription license. Out of the box, you’ll have access to rich AI 3D mapping, dynamic IoT services, precise asset tracking, and more.

Paired with a Cisco Networking Subscription, you get the same seamless experience in one license—whether managing a network from the cloud, on-premises, or through a hybrid model. This enables greater operational simplicity and the freedom to evolve your network management approach as your needs change. We offer a truly smart, unified, and simple licensing model.

Now that the AI enterprise is here, it’s time to future-proof your network—especially in the most-demanding environments. With the Cisco Wireless CW9179F Access Point, Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) technology, and the Cisco Campus Gateway, you’re positioned to unlock the full potential of AI and transform your organization. Cisco wireless technologies empower you to scale, secure, and simplify your operations, so you can deliver exceptional experiences for fans, employees, and customers alike.

Protective DNS firm finds customers are increasingly blocking adult content, gambling sites 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 10, 2025 – Organizations are increasingly using content filtering not just to thwart security threats, but also to increase workplace productivity and enforce compliance. That’s according to new analysis from DNSFilter examining data collected from its DNS content filtering and threat-blocking platform. The findings highlight how web content filtering policies are evolving, as well as which categories organizations block most frequently.

One notable trend is that more companies are currently focused on blocking employees from accessing adult content and illegal torrenting sites on the internet, although corporate policies have evolved over the past year.

Among the findings:

• Blocking adult content is one of the most common goals of organization’s content filtering and blocking policies: An examination of what companies are looking to block (outside of security threats) shows that adult content is present in over 84% of those policies; the P2P (peer-to-peer) and illegal category, which contains things like torrenting sites, followed closely behind with inclusion in 81% of policies. By contrast, the terrorism and hate category is blocked by close to 66% of companies, with gambling present in 51% of companies’ content filtering policies.

• Policy creators are cracking down on access to “Self-harm” content: “Self-harm” sites have become a bigger focus for organizations; in fact, this category showed up in 234% more policies in 2025 than in the prior year.

• Access to terrorism-related content is a growing concern:  While the terrorism and hate category is currently only included in about two-thirds of companies’ blocking policies, that represents more than a 5% increase compared to last year.

• More policies are concerned with dating sites than weapons-related sites: Dating and personal sites are blocked by nearly 37% of policies, while weapons are included in 35%. This could indicate that dating and personal ad sites are seen as a bigger distraction for employees during the workday.
• Certain categories are decreasing in importance: Search engines appeared in almost 19% fewer policies than they did in February 2024, while alcohol and tobacco were in 10% fewer polices.  We’ve also seen that ads are becoming a less frequently blocked category, likely because so many websites today depend on ads and trackers in order to operate.

These findings underscore the growing importance of adaptive content policies to balance security, compliance and workforce efficiency. Organizations can gain insights into shifting web usage patterns to update filtering policies effectively.

TK Keanini, CTO, DNSFilter, said: “Organizations are getting more nuanced in how they manage access to online content, because they understand that not all of the internet should be accessible to their users. Blocking threats is obvious, but these findings reinforce the idea that web filtering is no longer just a security function; it’s becoming a key productivity and compliance tool.”

About the company:

DNSFilter is a cybersecurity company that protects every click, leveraging AI-driven content filtering and threat protection to block threats 10 days earlier than competitors. DNSFilter’s solution secures workers anywhere they are, helping to boost productivity, minimize compliance risk, and protect corporate brands on public Wi-Fi networks. Unlike traditional filtering solutions, DNSFilter deploys in minutes instead of days and is trusted by more than 43,000 organizations worldwide. Learn more about how DNSFilter is the first and last line of defense for corporate and hybrid networks at dnsfilter.com.

Media Contact

Shannon Van Every

Force4 Technology Communications

Shannon@force4.co