SnapGear URL Filtering FAQ Enterprise-class networking techology in small business platforms Secure Computing® offers and add-on URL filtering module for SnapGear® appliances that enables organizations to control how employees use their Web access. The FAQ below provides answers to frequently asked questions on this URL filtering module. Basic features 1. What filtering application does SnapGear use? 2. How does the SnapGear URL filtering module work? 3. What filtering categories are available with SnapGear? 4. Can I get reports on my Internet traffic, including reports by user? Additional configuration requirements and options 5. How do I enable URL filtering? 6. How many filtering policies can I create on a single SnapGear appliance? 7. Can I override the Webwasher block/allow policy? 8. If a site is not rated by Webwasher, can it still be blocked? 9. What if access to the Webwasher Rating Server is unavailable - will the appliance continue to filter Web access? Basic features 1. What filtering application does SnapGear use? SnapGear offers a version of Secure Computing's leading Webwasher® URL filtering solution. SnapGear Webwasher filtering uses the same URL database/filtering engine found in the Webwasher enterprise SCM solution. The SnapGear filtering module provides basic filtering functionality that is targeted for smaller businesses. Not all of the Webwasher advanced/enterprise filtering features are included.  << Top >>2. How does the SnapGear URL filtering module work? SnapGear administrators create a filtering policy for their organization that resides locally on each SnapGear appliance. SnapGear administrators determine the types of URLs they want to allow or block and create their policy from a set of predetermined categories. The URL filtering engine runs as an Internet service on Webwasher Rating Servers around the world. The SnapGear appliance intercepts HTTP URL requests submitted by internal users and relays them to the Webwasher Rating Server. The Server quickly returns URL category data to the SnapGear appliance which then either blocks or allows user access to the requested Web site according to the local policy. << Top >>3. What filtering categories are available with SnapGear?
<< Top >>4. Can I get reports on my Internet traffic, including reports by user? All of the SnapGear appliances can be purchased with URL Filtering and each one also includes a license to the security event monitoring system called SecurityReporter. SecurityReporter contains a pre-defined set of reports provide organizations a better understanding of their Internet traffic. Some reports can be viewed by user IP address or by user name. To report by user name, user authentication is required. This feature is enabled on the firewall Access Control Main Tab. On this tab, Require User Authentication determines if users are asked for a username and password when attempting to access the Internet. Additionally, SnapGear administrators must select the Identify user by account option in the Content Filtering area of the Webwasher tab. Note: Internet Explorer users must configure the SnapGear unit as their default Web proxy for password-based access to operate correctly. << Top >>Additional configuration requirements and options 5. How do I enable URL filtering? The URL filtering functionality is an add-on module to SnapGear that must be purchased separately (see below for a free 3 month trial offer). Once you have activated the free 3 month trial or once you have purchased the URL filtering option, a few simple steps need to be followed to enable filtering. First, navigate to the Webwasher tab of the firewall Access Control configuration area. The Enable Content Filtering checkbox specifies whether Webwasher content filtering will be used or not. 3 Month Free URL Filtering Trial - The following SnapGear models can now participate in a 3 month free Web filtering evaluation: << Top >>6. How many filtering policies can I create on a single SnapGear appliance? Only one global Webwasher filtering policy can be assigned per SnapGear appliance. There are many options for customizing this policy to best meet an organizations’ unique need. Additional details are included on this topic in the next section of the FAQ. Business models that require multiple policies and HTTPS or FTP filtering should upgrade to a local Webwasher Server with a complete set of robust Secure Content Management engines including URL Filtering, Anti-Spam, Anti-Virus, SSL Scanning and more. << Top >>7. Can I override the Webwasher block/allow policy? Custom URL and IP Whitelist (allow) and Blacklist (block) entries can be implemented on the SnapGear appliances that override the Webwasher block/allow policy. A number of options are listed below:
<< Top >>8. If a site is not rated by Webwasher, can it still be blocked? SnapGear administrators can determine if they want all sites not yet rated by Webwasher to be allowed or blocked. << Top >>9. What if access to the Webwasher Rating Server is unavailable - will the appliance continue to filter Web access? The Cache option in the SnapGear appliance enables the caching of content rating results. It allows continued Web filtering operation with the cached rating results in the event that access to the Webwasher Rating Servers is unavailable. The Cache option on the SnapGear appliance will also improve performance and will require approximately 2 megabytes of memory. << Top >> |
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