Introduction
Illegal or inappropriate web sites can easily be accessed by any
network user with a browser. These same sites are often infected with
malware that can be used to steal confidential information and drain
employee productivity,as well as put your organization at risk for
regulatory non-compliance,funding withdrawal and even criminal
liability. An example of these regulatory requirements is that schools
and libraries that receive E-Rate funding are required by law to
install a content filtering solution that complies with the Children's
Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
SonicWall Content Filtering Service (CFS) provides unequaled content
filtering enforcement for businesses,educational institutions,libraries
and government agencies,as well as distributed public Internet
hotspots. Available as a subscription service for all SonicWall
TZ,Network Security Appliance (NSA) and E-Class NSA firewalls or as
part of a Comprehensive Gateway Security Suite or TotalSecure
subscription,SonicWall CFS blocks inappropriate content,reduces
organizational liability and increases productivity for organizations
of any size.
SonicWall CFS utilizes a comprehensive database of millions of URLs,IP
addresses and web sites. Using a high-performance rating and caching
architecture,CFS dynamically updates ratings locally on a SonicWall
firewall for instantaneous comparison. With CFS,administrators can
apply access or denial policies based upon over 59 URL
categories,individual or group identity,or time of day.
Features
Granular content filtering
- It allows the administrator to block or apply bandwidth
management to all pre-defined categories or any combination of
categories. Administrators can apply User Level Authentication (ULA)
and Single Sign-On (SSO) to enforce username and password logon. CFS
can block potentially harmful content such as Java,ActiveX,and
Cookies,as well as schedule filtering by time of day,such as during
school or business hours. CFS also enhances performance by filtering
out IM,MP3s,streaming media,freeware and other files that drain
bandwidth.
Dynamically updated rating architecture
- Cross-references all requested web sites against a highly
accurate database categorizing millions of URLs,IP addresses and
domains. The SonicWall firewall receives ratings in real time,and then
compares that rating to the local policy setting. The appliance will
then either allow or deny the request,based on the administrator's
locally configured policy.
Easy-to-use web-based management
- It enables flexible policy configuration and complete control
over Internet usage. Administrators can enforce multiple custom
policies for individual users,groups or specific category types. Local
URL filtering controls can allow or deny specific domains or hosts. To
block objectionable material more effectively,administrators can also
create or customize filtering databases.
High-performance web caching and rating architecture
- It allows administrators to block sites easily and automatically
by category. URL ratings are cached locally on the SonicWall
firewall,so that response time for subsequent access of frequently
visited sites is only a fraction of a second.
IP-based HTTPS content filtering
- It allows administrators to control user access to web sites over
encrypted HTTPS. HTTPS filtering is based on the categorical rating of
inappropriate web site types,such as gambling,online banking,online
brokerage and trading,shopping and hacking/proxy avoidance.
Scalable,cost-effective solution
- It controls content filtering from the SonicWall
firewall,eliminating the need for additional hardware or deployment
expenditures on a separate dedicated filtering server.