Employee Internet Monitoring & Web Filtering Software Solutions

What is Internet Filtering Software and Why is It Used?
Also known as content-control software, web-filtering software is used to control the content that a user is permitted to see as they browse the Web. Restrictions on types of information that can be viewed can be applied at many different levels. As an example, a government can apply internet filtering software nationwide to censor information. ISPs can filter content that could be harmful to their clients. Employers can restrict information not related to work. Schools can restrict certain types of websites from their students, and parents can restrict what their children are allowed to view.

Objectionable content might be spam, websites that are infected with viruses, game or pornography sites, social media sites, gambling sites, and more. Some internet filtering software also sets time limits for accessing certain types of sites. Web filtering software encompasses antivirus, internet usage monitoring, insider threat detection, and content filtering.

How is Internet Filtering Software Configured?
Internet filtering software blocks Web pages based on classifications of content. Content can be filtered by:

• Contextual word analysis - checking the content in which a word is used
• Flesh tone analysis - looking for images with a high percentage of flesh colors and a higher probability of nudity
• A database of categorized Web sites
• Combination of the above.

Maintaining a database of categorized web addresses is the best approach to internet filtering software. Software programs crawl the Web and categorize content to build these databases.
Content filtering criteria should include:

• Website topic
• Link analysis (both to the website and from the website)
• Domain analysis (based on who owns the site and what other sites are also owned by that person)
• A human site review to make sure the criteria has been met.

How is the database for Internet Filtering Software Maintained?
The internet filtering software provider is responsible for maintaining the database and making periodic updates. This ensures that customers are up to date with their filtering criteria as the web constantly changes.

Custom Rules for Internet Filtering.
Internet filtering software customers can set their own access rules by specifying additional websites to filter. Rules can be assigned for groups of employees, restricting content, sites, and times. Employers may want to grant permission to access anything on the internet (except sites containing spam and viruses) during employee lunch hours. This is possible with internet filtering software.