If students want to use Pierce College’s internet access to buy camera equipment, they may be disappointed, but if it’s for viewing anal sex or beastiality, they’re good to go.

Robert Johnson, a faculty member at Pierce, was looking for camera equipment at sicvisuals.com, only to find that the website was blocked.

The message on the screen stated, “The site was blocked because our IT [Information Technology] security systems indicate that site is categorized as presenting a security risk to you and/or Pierce College.”

Several employees and students attempted to reach the website after hearing what had happened to Johnson, only to have their searches blocked as well. Once or twice the website popped up, but was replaced by a block screen almost immediately.

“Sometimes, websites are blocked when they shouldn’t have been,” Mike Stocke, IT’s Chief Information Officer, said. “This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

IT uses WebPulse Malware Defense to monitor potentially harmful sites.“It’s a cloud service,” Mike Hoelscher, IT Security Administrator said. “It updates itself multiple times a day.”

WebPulse identifies potentially malicious websites, and also recognizes when websites are no longer malicious. “It updates PacketShaper with the malicious categories, and then we block those malicious categories,” Hoelscher said, adding that IT will unblock categories that are no longer considered malicious.

If students or employees believe that a website is being unnecessarily blocked, they can request a review by emailing the URL link of the blocked website, their contact information, and the reason for their request to the IT HelpDesk. However, “We’re very hesitant to unblock any websites,” Hoelscher said.

Although the list is not available to students, employees are able to access a document that lists all banned categories.

Although benign sites such as sicvisuals.com are blocked, websites like playboy.com and hustler.com, as well as more explicit sites such as pornhub.com, analpenetration.com, and animalflix.com are not blocked.

Blocked categories include child pornography, scam/questionable/illegal, including sites that sell “legally questionable educational materials such as term papers,” and phishing sites.

Sites that provide information or technology for cracking or pirating software are also supposed to be block, yet thepiratebay.se, a very popular (and illegal) download site, is not blocked.

Any questions or concerns students have about websites being blocked can be directed to the Help Desk.