Ways to Improve Your Network’s Web Security
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Admins looking to improve on their company’s web security often turn to
software solutions to help assess and automate their security tasks.
Good web security software can make surfing the web safe and secure by
protecting users from potential vulnerabilities in their operating
systems or browsers, as well as helping them to avoid policy violations.
The top web security software packages can help you to improve your
network’s web security in many ways. Here are seven of the major
benefits web security software offers:
1. Automatic blocking of malicious content
Compromised websites can lead to compromised workstations. Whether it’s
a malicious script or a media file, web security software can scan and
block data before displaying it in a browser compromises a machine.
2. Scan downloads for malware
Users frequently go to the Internet to download files, whether those
are programs, music, or screensavers. Web security software can scan
those downloads with multiple anti-malware engines to ensure maximum
protection for your users.
3. Support acceptable use/appropriate content policies
There’s a time and a place for most things; but many of those things
are not appropriate at the workplace. Web security software can
proactively block access to websites containing content that is not
right for access during working hours, which helps users avoid policy
violations or other situations that can impact others.
4. HTTPS inspection
Many times, HTTPS is used to get around filters and proxies because
they cannot inspect encrypted traffic. With all the Certificate
Authorities that have been compromised in the past few months, this
could be a huge risk, but the best web security software can use PKI to
scan even HTTPS traffic while still protecting the confidentiality of
data.
5. Bandwidth controls prevent impact to mission critical apps
Web security software can also enforce bandwidth limits on users’
browsing, so that your ecommerce site, email system, etc., don’t suffer
from slow performance due to Internet access.
6. Block phishing sites
You can read a new story every week about a company that lost data,
money, and customer confidence because an employ fell victim to a
phishing attack. Web security software can stop these kinds of scams
dead in their tracks by blocking access to phishing sites.
7. The exception is the rule
The best web security software should use a combination of lists,
categories, reputation, whitelists and blacklists to control Internet
access, and easily allow admins to create exceptions when a site may be
categorized one way, but is still necessary for a business purpose.
With good web security software, administrators can allow their users
safe and secure access to the Internet, while protecting them, the
company’s data and reputation, and their customers from the worst the
web has to offer. Web security software is the right way to take
advantage of the best that Internet access has to offer, while avoiding
the worst threats that are out there. Web security software is one of
the must-have applications every network admin needs.
