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Vol. 13, #26 - Jun 26, 2008 - Issue #680
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Webfilters: Hardware vs. Software
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- Editor's Corner
- Webfilters: Hardware vs. Software
- The Future Of Web Filtering
- Quote of the Week
- Tech Briefing
- Why A Multi-Layered Anonymizer Defense Is Best
- IM Filtering - A Hybrid Approach
- How iPrism Authenticates Open Directory
- Windows Server News
- New Intellectual Property Legislation Makes P2P Blocking Critical
- Why Reporting Is Crucial For Any Organization
- See Appliance-Based Web Filtering In Action
- WServer Third Party News
- How Healthy Is Your Data?
- Channel: The Next Wave
- WServerNews - Product of the Week
- Watch a Demo and Get a Cool Free T-Shirt
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Watch a Demo and Get a Cool Free T-Shirt
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iPrism Web Filter leads the pack in stopping Web-based threats
like spyware, malware, anonymizers and inappropriate content.
Now, when you watch the iPrism in action, you get a cool
t-shirt and a chance to win a 50" plasma TV. Better than software-
only solutions, iPrism’s powerful appliance-based technology
protects at the perimeter and can be installed and working within
minutes. And iPrism got 5-stars from SC magazine and has renewal
rates of over 98%. Find out why! See the leader of the pack
in action and get a cool t-shirt while supplies last!
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Product-Demo
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Editor's Corner |
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Hi All,
This is a rare 'special edition' that we created because we wanted to
highlight a particular web filtering solution that a lot of our readers
like and use. We have tried to get as much ammo as possible to help you
get approval for one of these.
Webfilters: Hardware vs. Software
Comparing Hardware-based Web Filtering to Software-based Solutions
Both hardware and software based solutions for Web filtering have been
available for some time. Vendors for these solutions extol the virtues of
each approach and it's often difficult for customers to make an informed
decision. However, there are some advantages to appliance-based filtering
that you should consider before committing your budget. Here are some
points to consider when comparing solutions:
Provide easy installation and configuration
Single-purpose, ready-to-go appliances often deploy with a simple wireline
plug-in. Unlike software deployments, appliances eliminate many time-consuming
separate installation and operating system version synchronization processes.
Offer low learning curves and a good user interface
Appliances do not require IT staff to learn arcane manual commands and
protocols in order to configure and monitor network security or maintain
the product itself.
Simplify administration
Products that enable central management of multiple remote configurations
simplify administration. Moreover, the ability to handle administration tasks
conveniently from a Web-based system administration console that IT staff
can access from any location is extremely productive and cost effective.
Offer less operator interaction
Users have a tendency to "experiment" with things, and the black-box
approach limits the damage caused by curious users. Appliances not only
improve security, they also reduce trouble calls to the help desk.
The Future Of Web Filtering
Having a choice among software-based, SaaS and appliance-based Web filters
may sound like an advantage but it can involve some tough decisions if you
are looking for a more comprehensive secure content management solution.
Software-based Web filters like Websense, are often complex and difficult
to configure and manage, leading many customers to lean towards an appliance
or managed service. The ease-of-use, inherent interoperability and low TCO
make either approach a good bet but it may be difficult to decide which is
the right for you. St. Bernard has introduced a Hybrid platform that blends
the best of appliance-based and managed services giving customers the best
of both worlds. This pioneering approach has been initially rolled out by
adding "in-the-cloud" IM filtering to the iPrism Web Filter. This gives
customers a combination of iPrism's control and protocol analysis and the
flexible policy management and malware filtering of a SaaS solution. It
also assures an IM filtering solution with appliance-based security and
policy enforcement plus infinite scalability. Learn more about the iPrism
Hybrid platform.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Future-of-Web-Filtering
Quote of the Week
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an action, but
a habit." -- Aristotle
Thank you for being a WServerNews subscriber. Please
tell your friends about us. They can subscribe here:
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Subscribe
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Tech Briefing |
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Why A Multi-Layered Anonymizer Defense Is Best
Many customers, particularly schools and libraries may be asking about
anonymizer defense. Anonymizers are web-based proxy servers that forward
client requests to other servers. Schools hate them because they allow
students to remove identifying information before taking them to a
forbidden site. This can cause all kinds of problems with CIPA compliance,
which schools need to receive e-Rate technology funding. Some Internet
filters boast that they have anonymizer defense but, in many cases,
their approach is inadequate, blocking anonymizers using one technique
but letting others through because they aren't comprehensive enough.
A solution that offers multi-layered protection from anonymizer abuse,
is probably your best choice.
Some Web filters offer URL blocking that includes anonymizer sites.
In these cases, the vendor is using heuristics or human-review or a
combination of both. With this technique, anonymizer sites are added to
the URL database as they are detected. Typically, databases are updated
periodically and if this is the only technique a Web filter employs,
you are vulnerable to any undetected anonymizer sites accessed before
an update can occur. Studies tell us these sites are cropping up
continuously so employing URL blocking alone is not enough protection.
Another approach that provides real-time defense is deep packet
inspection. This approach uses artificial intelligence agents to analyze
patterns in the requested URL. When data forensics detects a suspicious
pattern, it dynamically blocks access to the site. This can be combined
with human review to actively identify unique and consistent patterns,
giving you dynamic real-time classification.
A multi-layered approach that combines both human-reviewed URL
classification and deep packet inspection is the best way to deliver
comprehensive anonymizer protection. Recently, the iPrism Web Filter,
which employs this multi-layered approach, enhanced its anonymizer
defense tactics to further protect customers from these sites. These
enhanced features include:
- HTTPS (SSL) traffic on Port 443 is now strictly enforced by default
giving iPrism the ability to detect and block anonymizer traffic that
tries to spoof secure traffic.
- HTTPS traffic is reported using domain names, instead of IP addresses
so that administrators know where users are going on the web.
- iPrism's on-the-fly proxy detection further secures Web traffic.
Administrators can run reports to show what anonymizers were blocked
including proxy blocking of:
- UltraSurf domain
- The Google-web-accelerator domain
- The http-proxy domain
- Proxy URLs are collected and message groups are monitored daily for
new anonymizers. These results are distributed via iGuard URL database
updates as prequalified websites.
- Manual searches for anonymizers are conducted using top search engines
and a keyword list.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Multi-Layered-Anonymizer
IM Filtering - A Hybrid Approach
From its initial use as a social networking tool, instant messaging has
now become a part of corporate cultures where it enables collaboration
and serves as a real-time communications tool. However, IM carries threats
such as worms, trojans and malware that can jeopardize network security.
Other problems such as file sharing and SPIM, the IM equivalent of SPAM,
can interfere with productivity and degrade network performance. That's
why IM filtering is emerging as the best way to take advantage of the
benefits IM can offer businesses while mitigating the threats it carries.
Although both software-based and appliance-based solutions for IM filtering
exist, a hybrid approach may be the most effective way to manage corporate
IM use. By combining the control of an appliance with the infinite scalability
and ease of a managed service, a solution such as the iPrism IM Filter, can
deliver effective protection in a new way.
With its easy deployment and management from the iPrism Central Management
Console, users are only a few mouse clicks away from controlling their
company's IM use. It offers support of major IM protocols and logs all
of the IM conversations occurring within your organization. Customers
have the ability to customize the IM filter to fit specific corporate
requirements, which makes any IM filter more relevant for enforcing AUP
and regulatory compliance. Logging and saving conversations is helpful
if confronting e-discovery issues. To find out more about this hybrid
approach to IM management, click here.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-IM-Filtering
How iPrism Authenticates Open Directory
St. Bernard's award-winning iPrism Web Filter offers better integration
with Open Directory than any other solution on the market. This is invaluable
to customers who need a more convenient and accurate way to monitor and block
URL traffic regardless of their OS.
iPrism supports LDAPv2; the newer versions of Open Directory (LDAP) are
an LDAPv3 implementation, but you can force Open Directory to honor LDAPv2
requests from iPrism by including the following line in your slap2.conf file:
allow bind_v2
If this binding is not in place, iPrism may return "non-descript protocol"
errors when iPrism tries to authenticate Open Directory to the LDAP server.
Once the above line has been included in your slap2.conf file, you must
map iPrism filtering policies to an LDAP attribute. You must add a new
attribute to your schema or use an existing attribute to map to your
iPrism policies, as Open Directory has no "MemberOf" User attribute and
thus each user's Group Membership cannot be used to determine filtering.
For example, if you use dsAttrType:apple-keyword, when a user authenticates,
iPrism looks to Open Directory to determine which Keywords are assigned to
that user. The keyword corresponds to an iPrism filtering policy of the
same name.
Keywords are maintained in the Advanced tab of the Work Group Manager
(WGM), or using an LDAP import tool such as Passenger. This solution
allows filtering and reporting by user, rather than filtering only by
IP address.
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Windows Server News |
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New Intellectual Property Legislation Makes P2P Blocking Critical
Recent legislation giving federal law enforcement agents more power in
enforcing intellectual property (IP) laws puts new pressure on organizations
to audit their users and protect against illegal file downloads. The
Prioritizing Resources & Organization for Intellectual Property Act
(H.R. 4279), which was passed by an overwhelming majority of the Congress,
increases the criminal and civil penalties for piracy and counterfeiting.
In addition, it creates an IP enforcement division within the Department
of Justice headed by an IP "Czar" responsible for coordinating enforcement
efforts among various federal law enforcement agencies. This legislation
governs U.S.-owned IP including pharmaceuticals and manufactured goods,
and artistic works such as MP3 and video files or other content transmitted
electronically as well as on hard media.
Organizations that are lax in securing their networks from illegal downloads
will face stiff penalties including criminal charges and having their computer
equipment confiscated. Now more than ever, having a secure content management
solution that monitors and blocks P2P and IM file sharing needs to be part
of any organization's overall security strategy. As this law, which was
passed on May 8, 2008, becomes more established with more agents working on
cases, we are sure to see a huge increase in indictments. Organizations will
not be let off the hook simply because they weren't aware that illegal
activity was occurring on their networks. They will be as culpable to legal
action as the street vendor selling bootlegged movies and CDs.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-P2P-Blocking
Why Reporting Is Crucial For Any Organization
As the recent passage of legislation toughening intellectual property laws
demonstrates, the regulatory landscape does not look like it will be clearing
anytime soon. In fact, your customers can expect to be subjected to new
regulations as doing business in the 21st century gets even more complex.
Of major concern to all organizations are mandates such as protecting
client/customer/patient data where failure to comply can lead to lawsuits
and financial loss. Employee Internet abuse is another problem that can
have adverse consequences ranging from loss of productivity to legal
liability. Fulfilling regulatory requirements such as CIPA, HIPAA, SOX and
GBLA are critical to your organization because lack of compliance can result
in serious fines or legal action. Internal issues such as enforcing your
acceptable use policy or securing your networks and systems are important
considerations that can directly affect your bottom line. The ability to
secure Web access is only part of the solution. Regulatory and internal
policy enforcement are only valuable when you can prove your compliance.
That's why comprehensive reporting has to be part of any effective Internet
security strategy. Ideally, reporting should be flexible and easy-to-use
with drill-down capabilities and real-time monitoring, giving you visibility
into the big picture of your organization's Web use and the ability to
drill-down to individual users in real time. Considering the number of
regulatory requirments to which an organization might be subject, it's
also important that Web filtering reporting be flexible enough to cover
all the parameters you need in the format you need it. And securing your
data is another factor. An appliance-based Web filter can provide a secure
platform on which to retain the data you need to generate these critical
reports.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Comprehensive-Reporting
See Appliance-Based Web Filtering In Action
The St. Bernard's iPrism Web Filter was recently upgraded with the powerful
new h-Series Appliances. This has increased performance, particularly
throughput, which now ranges from 10 to 100+ Mbps. No other appliance-based
Web filter offers that range of speed making iPrism ideal for all types of
applications particularly where big pipelines require hardware that can keep
up. Since introducing their new appliances, they've also upgraded the iPrism
software adding antivirus and other features that are enhanced by the new
boxes. You can view an online live product demo and see the iPrism Web
Filter in action - a great prelude for customers who often end up getting
an evaluation unit after see the iPrism in action. St. Bernard's customer
renewal rates exceed 95% -- a solid testament to the quality of their Web
filtering solution. To register for the demo, click here.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-iPrism-Web-Filter-Demo
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WServer Third Party News |
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How Healthy Is Your Data?
Recent medical data breaches at UCLA, Wellpoint, Tenet Healthcare and New
York Presbyterian Hospital have highlighted a growing problem with the
security of patient data. As organizations move to make patient records
available electronically and share data with outside third parties, this
information is increasingly at risk of being hacked or stolen.
According to Phoenix Health System's HIPAAtech, the top security
vulnerabilities include the following internet-based threats: firewall
and system probing; Network File Systems (NFS) application attacks,
computer viruses, phishing, Instant Messaging, Peer-to-Peer programs,
e-mail attacks, and spoofing, sniffing, fragmentation and splicing
attacks.
Securing confidential patient data against Internet-based threats is a
critical concern for IT professionals in the Healthcare Industry.
Compliance with HIPAA mandates, preventing data from leaving the network
and employing a strong, layered, security strategy can help enforce
acceptable use and security policies while protecting at-risk patient data.
Full article:
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Healthy-Data
Channel: The Next Wave
How pioneering VARs are staying ahead of the curve with a fresh approach
to business. When it comes to partnerships with vendors, some programs are
more successful than others. Many solution providers are re-thinking the
traditional delivery model and employing innovative strategies that produce
results.
- Choose Flexible Solutions
One approach that has proven successful for a number of solution providers
is offering a mix of products from both large and small vendors. Alternative
vendors can often provide access to long-term strategy and customized programs
that larger vendors don't offer. Choose vendors with a focus on partnership,
who will share product roadmaps and take a team approach.
- Focus on IT and Product Knowledge
VARs find that developing their bank of IT knowledge and acquiring
certifications proves more valuable in interactions with enterprise-level
customers than a focus on sales. Partner with vendors that provide technical
training programs designed to be accessible and easy to use.
- Recurring Revenue
Other next-generation solution providers focus on services or solutions
which provide a recurring revenue stream, and can open the door for additional
offerings. Seek partners that offer products and programs to help you sustain
and grow your business with recurring revenue sources.
- Provide Added Value
For some integrators, a consultative selling approach, featuring top-tier
service, training and design helps them retain customers and improve the
dismal state of IT customer satisfaction. By targeting local underserved
retail businesses, and offering services that help them compete with large
discounters, solution provides can build a loyal customer base. By focusing
on customer service rather than reacting to the latest market trend, VARs
can achieve steady and consistent growth in their business.
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-Pioneering-VARs
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WServerNews - Product of the Week |
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Watch a Demo and Get a Cool Free T-Shirt
iPrism Web Filter leads the pack in stopping Web-based threats
like spyware, malware, anonymizers and inappropriate content.
Now, when you watch the iPrism in action, you get a cool
t-shirt and a chance to win a 50" plasma TV. Better than software-
only solutions, iPrism’s powerful appliance-based technology
protects at the perimeter and can be installed and working within
minutes. And iPrism got 5-stars from SC magazine and has renewal
rates of over 98%. Find out why! See the leader of the pack
in action and get a cool t-shirt while supplies last!
http://www.wservernews.com/080626-iPrism-Product-Demo
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