"The Internet at work is a tool, not a privilege."
Chances are that most employers will agree with this statement. Internet access is quite a hot topic these days considering that the medium is becoming increasingly necessary for conducting business.
If I asked, "do you know where your employees are?" in terms of surfing the web, would you be able to answer or at least confidently say that your employees are not using this tool to visit inappropriate or non-work related sites. Its quite possible that your employees make up some part of the statistic complied in a Vault.com survey done last year that indicates that, "90 % of employees spend time surfing non-work related sites during the average workday".
The Internet can certainly be a very powerful research and communication tool if used properly. Unfortunately, as we all know, it is also used for conveying inappropriate material through sites devoted to adult entertainment or groups involved in hate mongering. Accessing such sites from your company´s computer not only causes lost productivity but can also be the root of serious legal problems.
As you can imagine, its in your company´s best interest to ensure that your employees are not using the Internet to commit crimes such as downloading pirated software or pornography. The first step in curbing misuse of the Internet is to have a tool to monitor such use. In this article, I have investigated a product called SuperScout Web Filter 4.0 by SurfControl. This company also offers a product called SuperScout Email Filter 3.5
What is it?
SurfControl Web Filtering works by "´sniffing´ the LAN for web traffic and resetting connections for traffic destined for banned websites". This program allows you to set up a variety of policies to block or limit access depending on the needs of your organization. The Web Filter uses tools such as the Virtual Control Agent (VCA) Option. VCA uses intelligent technology to analyze web site content and context and categorize new sites.
Throughout this application, there are a number of different screens that give you the ability to set-up the program and get feedback on the use of the Internet by your employees.
In the following section, I have outlined some of the major features and functions of SuperScout Web Filter.
1 - SuperScout Rules Administrator: In this screen you will find over 40 categories of policies that provide coverage of the most widely accessed non-work related sites on the Internet. The categories cover topics such as adult/sexually explicit, Hate speech, weapons, gambling, chat, travel, criminal skills, violence, hacking, etc.
This screen is divided into two sections:
A) the top half shows the details of your current policies. In particular, it indicates:
Type:
For each category, you can choose to allow or disallow access or set up a threshold limit according the amount of time spent at a particular site or the total bandwidth.
Who:
Through this setting, you can give access to all your employees or choose to limit access to particular departments or groups like "Sales Reps" or "Financial Analysts". Who has access to what site may depend on the requirements of your employee´s job. For example, the financial analyst who needs to look at various stocks and as such would require access to the relevant sites while the sales rep probably shouldn´t be allowed to visit these sites since they don´t pertain to her job.
Where:
You can choose any of the 40 categories to indicate whether a person does or does not have access to particular sites. You can also create a new category based on your organization´s needs.
When:
This option offers the administrator a lot of flexibility because you can specify when the limitations apply. For example, you can choose the "After hours" option to give employees full access after business hours so they can use the Internet for personal needs without hindering productivity during the day. (You may still block access to inappropriate adult-based material.)
Threshold:
This option allows you to limit access according to the amount of time allowed at a certain category or the amount of bandwidth used.
Notify:
You can indicate who should be contacted in case there is a violation of your company´s Internet use policy. In some cases, the employee may simply get a warning and be directed towards your company´s policy while in other incidences, a manager may have to be notified.
http deny page:
This option will allow you to restrict or fully block access to certain sites.
B) the bottom part of the Rules Administrator screen is where the administrator can set-up the policies based on the six criteria mentioned above. The various options that can be used include: Monitored sites, User defined Where objects, Categories, and Where lists.
2 - SuperScout Monitor: This screen allows you to make use of two ANALYSIS TOOLS - Users and Sites - to get a clear picture of "where your employees are on the Internet".
The Users window provides details about the name of the user, the Workstation Name, IP address, First seen, Last seen, Hits, and Group.
The Sites window shows information concerning the Host site; first and last seen; and the number of Hits. The SuperScout Real-Time Monitor option provides additional details concerning the Url, the category under which it falls, the User and what type of access the user has to the site.
3 - SuperScout Scheduler: This feature allows you to run various reports on a preset time or manual basis. There are over 50 reports that allow you to be informed about Internet use by your employees. A few examples of the available reports include:
Top Categories by Connections
Top Department by Connections
Top Sites by Bandwidth
Top Users by Browse Time
Top Users by Cost
Through the Web Filter, the administrator can both monitor Internet use and get an overview of the pattern of use.
System Requirements
SuperScout Web Filter works with: Microsoft Windows NT 4; Microsoft Windows 2000 Server; Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server; Microsoft Proxy Server; Microsoft ISA Server 2000; Check Point Firewall-1; Cisco Network Security Solutions (PIX Firewall environment)
Target and Scalability
SuperScout Web Filter is designed for companies that need to use the Internet for their business and need to be able to monitor the use. This product is used by government agencies and private companies.
The Web Filter is marketed as being very flexible. It is scalable for companies with 20 to 20,000 employees.
Pricing
$23 per user @ 100 users. (Unit price scales down as number of users increases).
The URL Categories list is free for the first year. After this time, the cost is $1,150 per year.
Support
A customer can: 1) opt for the Support Only option or 2) go for the Maintenance Agreement which is 20% of the purchase price.
The technicians fall into three categories: a) those who initially answer phone/email questions b) those who have been using the product themselves for 3-4 years and c) those who provide ´escalation´ support for unique products or questions. The support technicians are Microsoft Certified.
Overall Evaluation
I found the SuperScout Web Filter to be well developed and user-friendly. Since many the categories are pre-designed, the administrator does not have to do a lot of extra work. Using this software becomes a matter of defining Internet access according to your particular needs.
The threshold option where you can limit access according to the length of time and the amount of bandwidth, allows you to give your employees respect by indicating that you trust them (to a certain extent). I really like this flexibility allowed by the software.
HR.COMmentary
I wish that there were no need for tools like SuperScout Web Filter 4.0. Unfortunately, the degree of lost productivity and the possibility of legal liability due to inappropriate Internet use at work makes these tools necessary.
Using such tools doesn´t have to mean that you don´t trust your employees. In fact, this type of software simply helps you protect the best interests of your company. A good analogy is: if you put a bowl of candies in front of a four year old and ask her not to eat any, chances are you will be disappointed when you actually count the candies left at the end of the day. Similarly, the ´goodies´ found on the internet are like candy for employees, even the most disciplined worker may be inclined to steal a few minutes a day. I am not suggesting that your employees should be treated like children but using your understanding of basic human nature to help your workers is probably the right thing to do.
If you are wondering about how your employees might react to the Web Filtering software, consider the case of the porn-addicted executive who is relieved at having been discovered by the filtering technology because he can now get the appropriate help.
If filtering technology like the SuperScout Web Filter might help your company avoid legal liability, ensure that the Internet doesn´t become a source of lost productivity and possibility help your employees while treating them respectfully, it certainly deserves serious consideration.
About the Company
SurfControl is a Internet filtering company based in Scotts Valley, CA. SurfControl is involved in the global security market. Some of the other software solutions provided by the company include SuperScout Email Filter, Cyber Patrol for Home, Cyber Patrol for Education, and SurfControl for OEM.
SurfControl
100 Enterprise Way
Suite A110
Scotts Valley
California, 95066
USA
