FoxTalk

NetFox has, this week, released the 3.10 series of its Internet reporting, billing and filtering software. This release has been a long time in the making and incorporates many enhancements and fixes.

• Greatly improved performance: An order of magnitude performance increase has been achieved in logging web usage. This translates directly to a zippier product for all users.
• Better multi-processor support: NetFox now better leverages newer multi-core machines for greatly improved performance.
• New system management console: Getting your NetFox box configured to work on your local network is now easier than ever before.
• User accounts may have two credit balances: One balance represents the balance supplied by your school or company while the other handles credit where the user has paid for access with real cash. This greatly simplifies management of cash-backed accounts.
• Supervisors now have the ability to block or allow content, without logging in as a system administrator.
• Improved online help in the Scope interface
• Streamlined integration with LDAP or Active Directory services
• New web and/or email-based support system: allows customers and NetFox support team to better manage and resolve issues. This system includes a knowledge base which allows users to identify and resolve common matters.

Several common bugs have been fixed in this release, and a number of obscure bugs have been found and exterminated by our new testing regime.

The most recent of the NetFox 3.9 series introduced individual customer subscriptions for updates and support. Existing customers should have been provided with their username and password by now. New customers will receive their details when they complete the subscription process. If you are a current NetFox customer and have not received your login details then please contact support AT netfox.com to arrange to receive them. Your unique customer login will enable you to receive the 3.10.0 update to your existing NetFox 3.9 product and continue to receive updates for the 3.10 series.

This release is available on the NetFox update servers as of 9am on October 15th. Current update subscribers should see a two stage update over two days. On the first day the NetFox operating system is updated to the 3.10 version and on the second day the NetFox core components are updated to the 3.10 version. Users of multi-core CPUs will need to reboot in order to properly leverage enhanced multi-CPU support.

This release is not suitable for users of the Monitor coin loading system, as the revised API is not compatible with Monitor. We have addressed the issue and a fix is being trialled. In order to install the fix a NetFox support technician will visit your site and install a supplementary NetFox DLL on your Monitor system. This visit will be provided at no charge.

In addition to the major feature enhancements and bug fixes, there have been major improvements to internal architecture which will allow NetFox to achieve a faster time to market for features and improvements to meet customer needs. All of these enhancements have paved the way for a number of very interesting NetFox developments. Stay tuned to the blog in the coming weeks and months to find out more.