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Web Filtering

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“We use a lot of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom and have realized that the malware associated with these resources doesn’t make it past the Network Composer and into our network."
Director of Technology and Media; Lakeview Academy

Web Filtering

 

See more on these topics>  Application Visibility> Filter Avoidance> Bandwidth Shaping> Granular Reporting> Network Security> 

 

Inappropriate sites, questionable sites, approved sites-they're all out there and every organization must create rules governing which sites go where and what to do with them.  Filters are there to enforce these rules, when they can.  But most of the usual filtering solutions have two problems. 

 

First, many other filtering solutions rely heavily on lists of URLs of known sites categorized by the appliance vendor.  The problem with using this method as the primary method is that sites change on a daily or even hourly basis.  A static defense against a dynamic opponent is doomed to fail if that’s all you have.  Though a database is excellent at defending against known threats, it’s only as good as the last point-in-time snapshot.

The second problem is that other filters do not sit in-line with the connection. This means that cannot see all of the traffic flowing in and out of the organization.  Therefore, a user who wants to get access to a blocked site can easily bypass the filter a variety of techniques.


 

How we do it better

 

Unlike traditional filtering solutions, Cymphonix uses three tools to do a complete job.  First, Network Composer uses a URL database to isolate the most obvious sites.   Next, we use the URL database in conjunction with two powerful tools: a Keyword Analysis Engine and a Real-Time Analysis Engine.  Our keyword analysis engine scans the URL for text strings that suggest a blacklisted site. 

 

These database and analysis tools provide checks and balances to minimize false positives as well as false negatives.  Because no single solution, or even the best-engineered trio of solutions, can be a hundred percent perfect a hundred percent of the time, we also provide an easy way to add or delete sites from the blacklist.  And because we know building and maintaining such a list is a lot of work, XLi keeps that list intact when you upgrade or change appliances.

 

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