The real gem in this article is the scenario list: employers may want to
block sites for sports, sex, entertainment, or *job searching* :-)
Rohit
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Netscape tool helps IS managers limit Web surfing by company users
By Chris Jones
InfoWorld Electric
Posted at 5:48 PM PT, Nov 1, 1996
In a bid to give corporations more control over Web surfing in their
organizations, Netscape Communications Corp. is adding technology to its
Web server offerings that allows IS managers to limit the external sites
that can be accessed from within an intranet.
Netscape this week will announce that it has integrated access to Secure
Computing Corp.'s Webster Control List in its latest release of Proxy
Server -- Version 2.5 -- via its WebTrack filtering software.
Webster Control List, developed by Secure Computing's Webster Network
Strategies Inc. subsidiary, is a URL-filtering application that lets
administrators control employee access to specific Web site categories such
as sports, sex, job search, and entertainment.
Despite free speech and privacy considerations, this technology is becoming
increasingly important as corporations look to limit any liability they
might incur because of people accessing external sites.
Microsoft Corp. has also endorsed Secure Computing's technology, announcing
last week that Proxy Server customers can receive Webster Control List as
an add-on for a free three-month subscription.
"These [URL filters] will probably evolve, and the control will go from the
self-appointed righteous to the hands of local corporations and who they
choose to be their gatekeepers," said Harry Fenik, an analyst at Zona
Research Inc., in Redwood City, Calif. "Corporations will say, 'These are
the companies we deal with and that's where you can surf, and then these
are the places we don't want you going.'"
The Webster URL-filtering technology is one component of Secure Computing's
integrated Internet and network security application suite to be announced
this week.
The suite includes firewall servers, centralized management, and auditing
tools, as well as identification, authorization, and encryption software.
It is designed to secure electronic commerce applications and employee
access to and from internal networks.
Roseville, Minn.-based Secure Computing tailors its security systems to
individual enterprises, and pricing will vary according to the
configuration.
Analysts said Secure Computing's recent acquisitions, including Enigma
Logic Inc. and Border Network Technologies Inc., put it in a unique
position to offer integrated security.
"Firewalls are only one solution and not a very good one," said Jerry
Michaelski, managing editor of Release 1.0, a New York-based newsletter.
"Companies need a more highly evolved model that incorporates many
different kinds of security layers, and that's where [Secure Computing] is
headed."