Barracuda Web Filter free 30-day trial
July 7, 2011
Current research indicates that 30-40% of Internet usage in the workplace is not related to business. For the business owner, that means that as much as one month out of each year is lost by distractions such as shopping (such as eBay), social networking (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.), sports, and even “adult entertainment” sites. Many of these sites are are hosts to spyware, viruses, and other threats to your business network, making unauthorized personal Web browsing not only a threat to productivity but to the security of the your business network.
The answer is the Barracuda Web Filter, a full-featured content filtering solution designed to enforce acceptable Internet usage policies by blocking access to objectionable content. The Barracuda Web Filter also includes award-winning protection against Internet threats. Among the advantages of the Barracuda Web Filter are:
- URL filtering by category. You can restrict or allow Web sites based on their categorization. The Barracuda Web Filter includes definitions for more than 50 content categories, including pornography, violence, hacking, sports, news, dating, and chat sites.
- Image Safe Search integration. The Web Filter can take advantage of the “safe search” content filtering capabilities built into image search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. When enabled, the Image Safe Search feature forces images search results to restrict display of objectionable content in image search results.
- Instant Messaging (IM) Blocking. This flexible appliance enables you to restrict or prevent usage of public IM clients, including AIM, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN Messenger, and ICQ. Public IM services not only provide means for unmonitored communications, they are often the target of hackers. Blocking public IM communications can help secure information flow and increase network security.
- Application Blocking. In addition to IM, the Barracuda Web Filter includes policies for popular applications that access the Internet, including music applications, software updaters, and popular browser toolbars.
- Flexibility. The Web filter can be configured to block specific sites, to block sites based on pattern recognition, or even block specific IP addresses. You can also define separate policies for teachers and students at a school, or for different classes of workers at a business, and restrict personal Web browsing to non-working hours.
- Auditing. The Web Filter provides access to customized reports to monitor user activity to provide evidence of misuse.
Your business network represents a substantial investment; abuse of your network and your Internet connection cost you money in productivity and security threats. The Barracuda Web Filter can help you govern Internet usage to increase productivity, reduce exposure to offensive material, and to prevent visits to sites that could compromise security. You can try out the Barracuda Web Filter for 30 days free without obligation – Contact SPINEN today to see how you can take advantage of this powerful tool.
