White Papers for Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)

Internet Filtering Alternatives

St. Bernard Software

In today’s increasingly Internet-dependent world, it is difficult to imagine a workplace without access to the Web. Yet, much of the information available to employees on the Internet is not job related. What started as a productivity boon has gradually turned into a bandwidth and productivity drain with huge potential legal liabilities associated with inappropriate use of the Internet at the office.

In response, organizations have sought ways to proactively control Web access, driving the development of a variety of Web-filtering methodologies. However, the emergence and growth of new Internet content, combined with the need for simple network installation and straightforward ways to effectively manage large user communities, has made most of these alternatives too cumbersome to employ in a corporate environment.

This paper details the most prevalent Internet filtering technologies, with a focus on a new generation of appliance-based products that specifically address management, reliability and performance issues. These appliances are scalable, easy to install and administrate, and offer customizable user profiles and filtering mechanisms of all Internet content types. As a result, the appliance approach empowers organizations to take more control of their Internet access issues and enforce customized Internet Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs).

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