Two 20-something entrepreneurs donate monitoring system to block predators and pornography from local school district computers in time for school year and pending DOPA Congressional legislation

Waconia, MN - Students in the Waconia School District will head back to class this fall with extra protection from the perils of the Internet. BHI Advanced Internet, a Twin Cities Internet provider has donated and installed a system throughout the district to protect students from online predators, pornography, viruses, spyware, hackers and other risks associated with the internet. According to recent statistics, one of every five 10 to 17-year-old online last year received unwanted sexual solicitations.* As well, one out of four children on the Internet inadvertently found pornography.*

With the on-line threat against children increasing, the government felt the obligation to step in and take action.  In an effort to protect young Internet users from sexual predators online, a House subcommittee held hearings this summer on whether to withhold e-rate funding from schools and libraries that fail to keep minors from logging on to social-networking websites like MySpace.  The measure would require schools and libraries that get federal funds to limit or bar young people from visiting social-networking sites that may harbor adult sexual predators.  The measure must pass the full House and Senate and be signed by the President before it can become law.

“By nature, K-12 students are in a discovery mode and have grown up with technology,” says Roger Lobitz, Director of IT at Waconia Public Schools. “The students are not always aware of what potential danger may be posed when accessing certain web sites. The District strives to provide a safe, quality internet experience for our students and staff. In order to do this, we need to incorporate the latest technology tools to allow us to manage what is accessible and what needs to be restricted.” Lobitz explains.

Lobitz and the Waconia School District were able to access the latest Internet protection tools and technology because of help from Dave Perrill, 27, and his longtime friend, Nate Hubert, 26. Together the two co-founded BHI Advanced Internet Solutions of Eden Prairie which uses state-of-the-art technology to protect companies and corporations from hackers, viruses, spyware, online predators and other online criminals. Dave also grew up in Waconia which made his decision to install SecureConnect free of charge into his former school a no-brainer.

“Being a skeptic, I wondered what the catch was, but after meeting with BHI and visiting their
facility, we were impressed with the solution – SecureConnect,” says Lobitz. “It provides more
than just a physical firewall but monitoring and assistance as well. Being a relatively small
district with a small IT staff, this is a great benefit.” Lobitz adds.

“One of the most talked about problems with the Internet, especially with kids, is content control,” says Dave Perrill, President of BHI Advanced Internet Solutions. “In fact, the recently proposed DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act) is getting a lot of attention right now by holding schools accountable. If passed, the legislation would withhold funding from schools and libraries that fail to keep minors from logging on to social-networking Web sites like MySpace.” Perrill explains. “Our SecureConnect technology is helping the Waconia school district take that necessary content-control step before it’s too late. SecureConnect utilizes state-of-the-art firewall technology combined with around-the-clock human monitoring to protect students in Waconia from the seedy reality of unmonitored Internet access,” Perrill adds.  “We’re concerned that school districts aren’t proactively taking the steps needed to protect these kids.” 

About BHI Advanced Internet:
BHI was founded in 1994 with the basic idea that providing excellent service and support is the foundation for a great company. This enduring focus on providing Internet services that provide customers' with performance, reliability, and security has built BHI a reputation for service excellence.  Today, BHI serves a wide variety of businesses across the United States with a spectrum of Internet services included managed hosting, Internet security, and a wide array of Internet communication technologies.  The company relentlessly seeks to innovate and improve their infrastructure, people, systems, processes, and company with the goal of repeatedly exceeding customers' expectations and providing customers with only the best in Internet services.

For interview opportunities please contact Michael Deering at 952-944-1319. To learn more about BHI Advanced Internet go to: www.bhi.com