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Bloomington Public Schools Selects Plixer NetFlow Analyzer
[December 18, 2012]

Bloomington Public Schools Selects Plixer NetFlow Analyzer


Dec 18, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Plixer International, Inc., a provider of NetFlow-based network traffic reporting, announced that Bloomington Public Schools deployed its Scrutinizer network analyzer.

In a release, the Company noted that the schools' IT infrastructure is comprised of a central data center with Metro TLS Ethernet links connecting each school via a Cisco backbone as well as the Cisco Unified Computing System Server.



"Our network is like the Wild West, with traffic coming from every direction," said Jason Radford, System Administrator at Bloomington Public Schools. "This makes it very difficult for our team to effectively monitor and trace network activity." The IT team found that a virus had manifested itself within the network, and begun reaching out to specific BOTNET Websites as well as sending e-mails to further propagate itself into other PCs and devices.

"Our antivirus software just didn't catch it," said Radford. "It had already infected more than 100 machines. We turned to Plixer and their Scrutinizer solution for help." Scrutinizer reports on which hosts, applications, and protocols are consuming network bandwidth and provides custom NetFlow reports to instantly sort data into useful information.


Working with Plixer, the Bloomington IT team installed Scrutinizer and created filters for SMTP and specific subnets attempting to hit known BOTNET sites. By using a Scrutinizer saved report as a threat detection algorithm, in less than one hour, the team at Bloomington identified every single infected machine and stopped the virus.

"Scrutinizer permits us to drill-down into any type of traffic -- anywhere on the network -- so we can provide fast answers to potential problems. It has completely changed the way we monitor network traffic," Radford said.

Scrutinizer is a web-based tool that provides detailed network utilization Reports.

"As computer viruses and malware such as Advanced Persistent Threats become more elusive and damaging, companies need to make careful decisions regarding soft security solutions," said Michael Patterson, CEO, Plixer International Inc. "Our Scrutinizer NetFlow Analyzer is capable of amassing a network traffic view that typical firewalls and antivirus tools were not built to provide. We are able to provide a holistic view of the entire enterprise -- regardless of equipment vendor -- to quickly pinpoint the root cause of harmful behavior." Plixer International, Inc. develops and markets network traffic monitoring and analysis tools.

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