SmoothWall provides content filtering and firewall protection for F1 in Schools Ltd

Leeds, UK, 23rd November 2009: Internet security specialist SmoothWall, congratulates World Champion Jenson Button on his move to Mclaren and announces that it is supporting F1 in Schools in its search for a future F1 champion. The manufacturer of CAD/CAM machines and technology will use SmoothWall’s firewall and web-filtering security solutions to secure the e-mail communication and web traffic, protecting the company’s UK workforce.

Leveraging SmoothWall’s Advanced Firewall and SmoothGuardian products, staff at F1 in Schools are now free to concentrate on the engineering based competition rather than worrying about internet and email security. The F1 in Schools project encourages children aged 9-19 from 32 countries to consider engineering as a career through a competition to see who can build the best miniature F1 car. Denford Ltd a founding partner and sponsor of F1 in Schools provide students with access to the latest CAD/CAM software enabling them to design, analyse, manufacture, and then race their scale model F1 cars (which are made from balsa wood and powered by compressed gas canisters) along a 20-metre track.

F1 in Schools is active in over 32 countries so it essential that the company has secure communication channels and the latest firewall protection. The deployment of the Advanced Firewall and SmoothGuardian provides F1 in Schools with a power security solution which offers time-based web filtering, monitoring and reporting with comprehensive firewall protection.

As well as protecting both staff and children involved in the project from malicious internet based attacks, the agreement will allow staff at F1 in Schools to ensure productivity levels remain high by intelligently blocking undesirable or unapproved web sites.

Andrew Denford, Founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools said: “We wanted an organisation that had heritage and experience in both the security and education market sectors; SmoothWall was the obvious choice. The agreement will allow children throughout the world to safely acquire important engineering skills not easily supported in schools, using very latest technologies.

Tom Newton, Product Manager at SmoothWall said: "I remember seeing F1 in Schools at BETT - must be a few years ago now - and even back then, when two consecutive British World Champions was just a pipe dream, I thought it was a fantastic idea. We're proud to be able to help F1 in Schools achieve their security goals, and I'm sure they're pleased to have UK Education's favourite security software on side too."

About SmoothWall

The SmoothWall family of Internet security solutions helps enterprises and schools to prevent misuse, block objectionable content and protect against web related threats. Delivered and supported via a global network of partners in over 60 countries, SmoothWall’s commercial and open source solutions safeguard more than a million networks worldwide.

About F1 in Schools

The competition challenges students to design, construct and race a race car of the future, made from a block of balsa wood, and powered by a compressed air canister. The car is raced over a 20 metre track and the fastest time is recorded. Aside from the on-track action, teams also produce supporting evidence of their design, develop a sponsorship and marketing campaign and produce team merchandise, with all these elements presented with their race car at a regional final where the winners win a place to compete at the National Final with the chance to win a place through to represent their country at the F1 in Schools World Championships.

F1 in Schools is regarded by the Formula One fraternity as a platform for introducing Formula One to a global teen demographic. The student challenge is also helping Formula One shed its image as an elitist sport accessible only to multi-million pound budgets; on the contrary, F1 in Schools is open to any school with access to a simple computer.

For further information about F1 in Schools please visit our website www.f1inschools.co.uk