April 08, 2009 Raleigh, NC – Uncontrolled and unmonitored internet access is a real security risk for organizations. To mitigate the risk of virus infections, illegal downloads and inappropriate browsing companies need a web filtering product which gives them comprehensive control over internet usage. The latest version of GFI’s web filtering solution, GFI WebMonitor, ships with a new URL database that provides domain coverage of over 165,000,000 URLs, thereby providing a safer browsing experience for users and organizations alike.
“The huge number of websites that are infected with viruses, spyware and malicious code is growing at a fast pace. This has made internet browsing within a corporate environment an even greater risk to the security of that network. With GFI WebMonitor 2009, we have included a new URL database that boosts coverage of domains to over 165 million URLs; this is a major boost for administrators actively seeking to protect their network from the numerous infected sites that exist,” GFI’s vice-president of Product Engineering, Phil Bousfield explained.
“Companies can ill-afford to permit uncontrolled browsing during office hours. Apart from the high risk of malware and spyware infection, unwarranted visits to inappropriate websites may lead to legal liabilities as illegal material could be downloaded onto company workstations. There are also productivity issues to consider. With GFI WebMonitor 2009, companies will take a big step towards minimizing these risks,” Mr. Bousfield added.
The updated WebGrade database in the GFI WebMonitor WebFilter edition now provides widespread coverage of domains across various countries, including Germany, Italy, Russia, China, Spain and many others. The database is constantly updated with sites browsed by GFI WebMonitor users. The database has been beefed up to increase domain URL coverage to 165m URLs. Due to the ever-changing nature of the internet, GFI WebMonitor now also queries GFI servers for categorization of URLs that are not found in the local cached database. If a URL is found to be uncategorized, this will be processed and added to the database.
GFI WebMonitor 2009 ships with two new reports. The Top Policy Breakers report will allow administrators to easily identify top policy breakers within an organization. Policy breaking includes both browsing against established policies or users attempting to download malware-infected files. Another report gives administrators a snapshot of bandwidth usage by site category.
Other features include a URL category checker tool, the ability to monitor user/site bandwidth, real-time monitoring and GFI WebFilter policy exception. The policy exception feature caters for exceptions within generic policies.
Another new feature in GFI WebMonitor 2009 that is included in the WebSecurity Edition is the ability to monitor and block MSN messaging. This helps the administrator to address the risk of data leakage through IM, the risk of malware being introduced as well as loss of work productivity through Live Messenger (MSN) usage.
For information on GFI’s web filtering and monitoring software, GFI WebMonitor, visit http://www.gfi.com/webmonitor/.
About GFI
GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. With award-winning technology, an aggressive pricing strategy and a strong focus on small-to-medium sized businesses, GFI is able to satisfy the need for business continuity and productivity encountered by organizations on a global scale. GFI has offices in the US, Malta, UK, Hong Kong and Australia which support more than 200,000 installations worldwide. GFI is a channel-focused company with over 10,000 partners worldwide. GFI is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. More information about GFI can be found at http://www.gfi.com.
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