How do I block Windows Applications?

Securly has released a new update for the Classroom Windows Agent, version 1.1.8.18. This update introduces a limited version of Application Blocking.

Pre-UI Application Blocking System

Although initially planned for release in version 9.4, the full Application Blocking feature has been delayed to ensure a high-quality user interface (UI). As an interim solution, Securly has collaborated with Dyknow to identify the top 20 most allowed and blocked applications. A list of applications has been created that can be managed through the Block List and Site Lock features by using specially defined, non-existent URLs. When these URLs are detected by the Securly Classroom Windows Agent, they trigger application blocking or allowance as if an access plan were in place. This is a temporary measure until the complete UI is released in version 9.5.

Example Use Case

If a teacher finds Minecraft distracting, they can add "cr-minecraft.securly.com" to the block list to block all known versions of Minecraft. Conversely, if a lesson plan requires Minecraft EDU, adding the same URL to the Site Lock will allow only that application, blocking all others.

List of temporary application URLs

The full list of temporary applications we are supporting in this version can be found below. (Note that the final version will include hundreds more in our full list of applications).

URL	Description
cr-calculator.securly.com	Default Calculator apps included with Windows
cr-camera.securly.com	Default Camera app included with Windows
cr-chrome.securly.com	Google Chrome browser
cr-explorer.securly.com	Windows Explorer, used for browsing the file system
cr-firefox.securly.com	Firefox browser
cr-goforyoutube.securly.com	An off-task video game popular enough to make it to this list.
cr-minecraft.securly.com	Minecraft EDU and various other versions
cr-msedge.securly.com	Microsoft Edge browser
cr-msexcel.securly.com	Excel
cr-msonenote.securly.com	OneNote
cr-msoutlook.securly.com	Outlook
cr-mspowerpoint.securly.com	PowerPoint
cr-mssolitaire.securly.com	Default Solitaire game included with Windows
cr-msteams.securly.com	Microsoft Teams
cr-msword.securly.com	Word
cr-roblox.securly.com	Roblox
cr-slitheriomultiplayer.securly.com	Slither.io, a video game popular enough to make it to this list.
cr-spotify.securly.com	Spotify (app only)
cr-startmenu.securly.com	Windows Start Menu (with its various widgets)
cr-stickynotes.securly.com	Sticky Notes app included with Windows
cr-webbrowsers.securly.com	Application Collection of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all in one
cr-zoom.securly.com	Zoom

A subtle but important note is that if you start a Site Lock to a collection with "youtube.com" and "cr-msteams.securly.com" but don’t include "cr-webbrowsers.securly.com", students will not be able to get to access the URLs because no web browsers are allowed. As administrators, it is probably in everyone’s best interest to create collections and block lists with these special URLs and promote use that way until we have a more reasonable user experience.