1. Security:

Internet monitoring software can be a powerful tool in your security arsenal. Good solutions will scan filed downloaded off the internet for viruses, ensuring that infected files are stopped before causing any damage.

This class of software will help to prevent users from visiting malicious sites and exposing the network to malicious attacks. Protecting users from malicious attacks is never that easy. Even blocking access to all but a few reputable sites, might not be enough because the sites can be compromised and infected with malware. Not for the first time has a reputable site been subverted to push drive-by downloads. Internet monitoring software will mitigate these risks by protecting the user on the basis of the threat itself, rather than on where the threat is expected to reside.

2. Information:

Information is a valuable resource to any administrator. If a network is experiencing degraded performance, manually locating the cause can be time-consuming for a busy administrator.

A good Internet monitoring software package will allow you to generate reports that give a detailed view of those machines that are consuming a lot of bandwidth and at what time. Reporting can be drilled down to individual user level as well. By comparing reports over a period of time, the administrator will be able to tell whether there is a need for additional bandwidth or excessive consumption is due to user abuse or a malware infection or botnet.

3. Control:

Having an Internet Usage Policy is essential for effective network management, but the policy itself is only the first step. The policy will also need to be enforced.

With Internet monitoring software the administrator can set rules that block / allow sites based on pre-configured categories, as well as on how reputable those sites are. The administrator can also set usage time and download quotas for specific sites, allowing for efficient bandwidth usage management and preventing excessive bandwidth use by employees.

An admin can still provide network security, gather information and control users’ access without employing any Internet monitoring software, but to do so s/he would need various tools and then still need a lot of time to analyze the information and understand what’s going on.

This guest post was provided by Emmanuel Carabott on behalf of GFI Software Ltd. GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. Learn more about why you need Internet monitoring software.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

1.     Protect users from malware

Web security software can scan downloads and webpages for malware, protecting your users from malicious content. Using multiple scan engines from different antivirus vendors boosts your protections to the next level.

2.     Block access to phishing sites

Web security software can block access to phishing sites, protecting your users and your company from data loss that could result if a user enters confidential information into a site they believe is legitimate.  This enhances the protection provided by your email filtering software and also protects users from legitimate seeming search results.

3.     Block access to compromised websites

Legitimate websites are compromised every day, and web security software can protect your users by blocking access to those sites. Web security software uses lists that are updated multiple times per day, ensuring that your users are protected even before you read about the latest compromise on your favorite news site.

4.     Prevent accidental access to inappropriate material

There are sites on the Internet that just aren’t going to meet your acceptable usage policy. Web security software can block access to these inappropriate and offensive websites, stopping things before policies are violated. You can also enforce the “safe search” options in popular search engines, further protecting your users from accidental policy violations.

5.     Mitigate legal liability

Web security can help mitigate legal liability in several ways, which ultimately contributes to your web security by ensuring availability.

a.      Logging

Web security software can log all access, making anonymous or restricting access to personally identifiable information while still enabling you to prove whether another web site was accessed or not. When necessary, or as permitted by law, individual access can be attributed to a user, but log aggregation also protects users’ privacy.

b.     Media

Web security software can also restrict access to media files that can contain copyrighted material, and block access to the sites that are sources for pirated material, preventing users from downloading content that could expose the company to legal liability.

Taking advantage of some or all of these five ways to improve your web security is a great way to improve the overall security posture of your network, protect your users, reduce lost productivity, and ensure that you can continue to provide Internet access for your users. None of these requires you to play the “Internet police” role or to do anything users might consider as a violation of their privacy, which is good for employee morale as well as security.

This guest post was provided by Casper Manes on behalf of GFI Software Ltd. GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. Learn more on what to include in your web security strategy.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This guest post was provided by Lee Munson on behalf of GFI Software Ltd. GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. More information: GFI vulnerability scanning software.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Nowadays many companies will scan their corporate networks in order to identify security issues. A vulnerability scanner may be employed once per year or, preferably, more often, and can be run either in-house or by a third party.

Typically, the results that come back from the vulnerability scan are used to identify and rectify any security concerns, as well as to remain compliant with the company’s own internal policies and procedures.

The Regulations

There is a whole raft of regulations that either do, or could, have a significant effect on information processing and security. The key regulations for the USA, Europe and the United Kingdom –include:

• Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
• Health Insurance Portability Act 1996 (HIPAA)
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act 2002 (SOX)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act 1999 (GLBA)
• Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act (FERPA)
• The EU Data Protection Directive
• The EU Directive On Privacy And Electronic Communications
• The Computer Misuse Act 1990
• UK Data Protection Act 1998

Many of the above regulations either require, or at the least imply the need for, regular vulnerability scanning across the organisation’s network.

The Consequences Of Non-Compliance

There are, of course, many possible penalties associated with non-compliance of the regulations listed above. The first such penalties that you would likely think of would be immediate, legal and financial in nature but there would also be a longer-term concern as well.

In business, reputation is everything, and a company that is not compliant with the regulations will suffer as a result, either through that knowledge becoming known to prospective partners and customers, or as a direct consequence of a breach occurring.

Vulnerability Scanning and Compliance

By using a vulnerability scanner – that also includes the ability to patch vulnerabilities and provide audits – on a frequent basis, a company can detect security threats before they can affect the network. This is especially important in an environment where hardware and users are changing regularly.

Network security is a fluid process that changes all the time with new threats emerging on a regular basis. A vulnerability scanner is an essential tool for combating these new threats as these would be updated regularly by their vendors in pretty much the same way that antivirus programs are updated with new virus definition files.

Another benefit to running regular vulnerability scans is that it helps with security audits and, therefore, helps you meet compliance with the regulations mentioned above.

In the future, the need for compliance is only going to grow due to the fact that there will undoubtedly be a raft of new regulations being released and, also, because the existing regulations will almost certainly begin to encompass more and more companies, regardless of their size.

A vulnerability scanner is your virtual security consultant and can aid your organisation to pass all the appropriate legal audits as well as your company’s own internal policies, protecting all your customers’, partners’ and employees’ data and privacy in the process.

This afternoon I got a short and sweet email from a mail ID asking me to write product review for one of their product and they provided me a link to the software. In return to my review they offered me a free license for the software on which I have to write the product review. Well, everything looks fine so far and I gave a confirmation in email that I will check it a bit later in day. I opened the link they provided me in email and it’s like a company which is selling their products online. As I haven’t received any confirmation from other side about the license part they promised me, I just did a brief search over internet with the email ID and landed in Sara’s blog. I have seen a professional way of spreading virus after reading the blog entry where sara also got email like me but luckily came out of that crap because of her good antivirus (that’s what she says in her blog!).

The actual story is that, few people over internet are targeting bloggers and asking them to write review for their products and offering % or free licenses in return. The links they are providing in emails are downloading virus into your computer which in turn suffer your system in many ways if you don’t have proper Antivirus software. I know, there are many companies which ask people to write review for their products to increase their sales, but for the first time I have seen people misusing this channel to spread virus. Now I am in dilemma whether to respond to such emails or not. If I skip, I might miss some good chances and if I accept I will waste my time in fixing AV issues.

I will find-out the precautions to be taken against these scams and come up with another blog post pretty soon.

Happy Learning…,
Sitaram Pamarthi