Blocked files

Why can't I download my file?

It is usually straightforward to download a file to save and take home with you. However, what does it mean when this sort of message appears?

It means that our filtering system is blocking the download. It thinks the file you are trying to download has the potential to be 'dangerous'. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a malicious file, but Websense has to be sure that files don’t carry viruses before they are saved to our network. If the file is, for example, a Zipped file, this means that Websense can’t look at it before extracted to the computer’s hard drive. The file might be something as innocuous as a font or a few holiday snaps, but because it is zipped -for instance in a virtual wallet which is closed until it is opened on our PC could contain a virus.

Our apologies if this causes any problems, but we have to ensure the safety of our network for all our customers.

Report a blocked site in the People's Network computers in libraries

Please only use the website access in libraries form to report a website that you have tried to use that is blocked by the Smoothwall filtering on our library computers. We can’t guarantee that it will be unblocked, but we will do our best to ensure full access to websites where they are safe to visit.