For many companies, content control software is primarily used to as part of their cybersecurity defenses. Content control filtering software can prevent employees and customers from visiting phishing websites and protect against the accidental installation of malware. Malware and ransomware infections can prove incredibly costly to resolve, while data loss or the theft of data can be catastrophic for a company. By using content control filtering software, organizations can mitigate risk levels and keep their networks protected from the ever increasing range of Internet threats.
Another important reason for using content control filtering software is to restrict access to inappropriate website content. Internet access is necessary for a company to remain competitive, but it can also be a major drain on productivity if it is not controlled. Employees can waste an extraordinary amount of time playing games, updating their social media profiles, shopping online, and visiting novelty websites to while away the day. By using content control software and restricting access to productivity-draining websites, employers can ensure their employees achieve more each day.
Internet controls can also be implemented to ensure inappropriate website content is not accessed. Many organizations use content control software to prevent pornography from being viewed in the workplace and choose to block websites containing extreme violence, racial and religious hatred, and other morally objectionable website content. Content control filtering software can also be configured to prevent employees visiting P2P file-sharing sites and illegally downloading copyrighted material.
How Internet Content Control Software Protects Your Organization
Malware and ransomware infections can have serious implications for an organization, so it is important to defend against them. Content control software mitigates the risk of network users inadvertently downloading malware and ransomware by comparing each request to visit a web site against lists of websites known to harbor malware, websites who hide their true identity behind the whois privacy feature and websites whose IP addresses have been used to send spam emails – as more than 90% of spam emails are now related to phishing attacks.
Secondary defenses are provided by category and keyword filters that can be configured to block access to any online source that has a high risk of infection or that contravene the organization´s acceptable use policy. These filtering mechanisms can be used to block downloads with file extensions commonly associated with malware (.exe, .bat, .scr, etc.), and anonymizer sites that would enable network users to bypass the filtering mechanisms.
The best content control software should also have SSL inspection. SSL inspection is a process that decrypts, reads and re-encrypts the content of encrypted websites (those starting with an https:// prefix) to ensure it is free from malware and that the content does not contravene an acceptable use policy. With more and more companies choosing to encrypt their websites, SSL inspection is a vital process to eliminate the possibility of a network user downloading an infected file from an apparently safe site.
What is the Best Internet Content Control Software for Your Organization?
A search on Google for content control software will produce many results, but what is the best content control software to use?
The best content control filtering software should have a web-based interface that can be used to configure web filtering settings for the entire organization. This is particularly beneficial for organizations with offices in multiple locations.
The best content control software should have highly granular settings to allow accessible Internet content to be carefully controlled. This will help to reduce over-blocking of website content. It will also ensure that when your organization’s acceptable usage policies are updated, changes can be easily applied.
Content control software may appear to be cost effective to implement, yet may have a high management overhead which will make it less cost effective over time. The best content control software solutions are easy to manage and will not need to be maintained by your most highly skilled employees.
Creating reports can be labor-intensive; but organizations need to be aware of the websites and webpages that are being accessed via their networks and the searches that users are performing. If bandwidth issues are experienced, it is important to be able to see how bandwidth is being used. Many organizations also want to see who is trying to access restricted content. A full suite of reporting options, the ability to schedule reports and set up instant email alerts is a big plus.
Most organizations will need to set up different web filtering settings for each department. The marketing department will need access to a different range of websites than the IT, sales, and accounts departments. Applying different settings for user groups and individuals can take a considerable amount of time. Some software solutions make this easier by linking to Active Directory, LDAP, or eDirectory. Not all software solutions have this functionality.
- Defend against malware and ransomware infections.
- Protect network users against phishing and BEC scams.
- Restrict access to inappropriate website content.
- Prevent illegal activity such as copyright infringement.
- The best content control software has granular settings.
- It is also important to have a full suite of reporting options.
What is the Cost of Content Control Filtering Software?
The cost of content control software may seem high, but it is important to put that cost into perspective. The cost of web filtering solutions is likely to be considerably lower than cost of resolving a malware attack, ransomware infection, or mitigating risk after a data breach has occurred following a phishing attack.
Malware is now being released at a rate of around 1 million samples per day according to figures from Symantec. Ransomware is also being increasingly used to attack organizations. Recently Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center had to pay $17,000 to unencrypt its data.
In 2015, the Ponemon Institute calculated the average cost of resolving an enterprise phishing attack to be $300,000, while an International Business Machines Corp. study determined the cost per stolen healthcare record to be $154. Data breaches and cyberattacks can be incredible expensive to resolve.
It is not possible to prevent all cyberattacks by filtering the Internet, but using a software solution can greatly reduce risk and prevent some of the most common methods used by hackers to obtain data and gain access to computer networks.
Web Control Content Solutions from TitanHQ
There are many options available to organizations who want to control the content that can be accessed over their networks. However, many solutions require skilled IT staff to implement, configure and manage them. Some require the purchasing of expensive hardware, while others require software to be downloaded onto each device that connects to the network.
WebTitan web filtering software is different. There is no need for any additional hardware with any of our web filtering solutions. All of our web filtering solutions are quick and easy to install and have been designed to be easy to operate and effortless to maintain.
WebTitan Gateway – Your Gateway to a Safer Internet
Our gateway solution is supplied as a software appliance that can be run on your own hardware or in a virtual environment. This powerful web filtering solution is ideal for SMBs that want highly granular control over access to content via their networks and the maximum protection from web-borne threats.
WebTitan Cloud – Effortless Internet Filtering for SMBs
Our 100% cloud based solution is easy to implement, effortless to manage, and provides excellent protection from malware, ransomware, spyware, and adware. WebTitan Cloud requires no on premise IT support and all content filtering settings can be configured from an intuitive central control panel. WebTitan Cloud is the easiest to implement web filtering solution.
WebTitan Cloud for Wi-Fi – A Scalable Web Filtering Solution for Wi-Fi Hotspot Providers
WebTitan Cloud for Wi-Fi is the ideal web filtering solution for providers of Wi-Fi hotspots – from mom and pop stores to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network providers. Our robust Wi-Fi filtering tool can be configured in seconds, offers excellent protection from malware and superb control over the webpages that can be accessed via your network.
For further information on our scalable, cost-effective, content control filtering software solutions and anti spam software solutions, contact the sales team today.
