We are all seeing how business operations are continuously becoming more digitally driven. Many operations that were done on a desktop are now cloud- or app-driven. The connection to the Internet is a constant, and since your employees need that access to be productive, managing that connection should be a priority. Small businesses are finding that this access not only centralizes their operations and data but also can save them money. But they are finding that the amount of data being produced makes it impossible to find the relevant information needed. Looking at the employee-Internet relationship should be on the top of your checklist.
There are things that a Web-use management solution should provide, such as allowing a business to easily filter and control access, use white and black lists, and set time limits. But one of the biggest benefits that many times can be overlooked is the ability to access easy-to-use smart analytics and reporting tools. A filtering solution is great, but if it lacks a way to collect and correlate useful, pertinent data, then all that it is doing is restricting employees, causing frustration and potentially reducing productivity. With detailed reporting and analytics, managers can open up the usefulness of the Internet while knowing they still have the control to keep the business running smoothly and safely.
Look for the Web-use management solution that provides:
Drill-Down, Interactive, Forensic-Level Detail – A complete view of every link a user clicks, the exact search terms entered by a user, their search time, and more.
Ad Hoc and Scheduled Reporting – The information you need . . . right when you need it.
Smart Reporting – Intelligent, timely, and cogent reporting on all aspects of employee Web usage.
Hits Versus Visits – Clear, uncluttered detail based on user clicks versus unsolicited traffic.
Manager Access – IT-controlled access for managers and HR allowing them reporting access without the need for IT assistance.
Analytics and reporting tools allow you to take the large amount of Web-use data your employees are producing and make sense of it. This data should tell you who, where, and when about the Web usage. Allowing you to see anomalies, activity peaks, bandwidth usage, and more, this visibility helps you plan and secure your network, data, and employees.
Don’t feel like you’re in need of tarot cards or tea leaves to know what is happening within your business.
CyBlock Web-Use Management Suite makes more sense of all your Web-use data with CyBlock’s comprehensive monitoring and reporting features. CyBlock is available in Cloud and VM deployments to fit any business size or industry.
Cyfin® provides advanced employee Web-use analysis and reporting for a wide variety of gateway devices and log file formats. Comprehensive yet easy to use, its customizable reporting and machine-learning analytics supply audience-specific Web-use information with reliable metrics, easy-to-read reporting dashboards, manager-ready detailed audit reports, and Smart Engine analytics. Cyfin is available in various deployment options: Cyfin VM, Cyfin Cloum and Cyfin Forensic.
About Wavecrest
Wavecrest has over 25 years of proven history of providing reliable, accurate Web-use management and Advanced Log File Analyzer products across various industries. Managed Service Providers, IT specialists, HR professionals, Forensics Investigators, and business managers trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to manage the human factor in business Internet usage — managing cloud services, reducing liability risks, improving productivity, saving bandwidth, and controlling costs.Trusted by large government and commercial organizations. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit https://www.wavecrest.net.
Yes–now is the time. The holidays are right around the corner and definitely require attention now so your business can prepare for the increase in Web usage and the associated risks. There are many reasons for your business to pay close attention to Internet activity at this time of year (and all year). But there is one primary focus that could easily help with all the cyber risks to your business–managing the natural human vulnerability that cyber thieves take advantage of.
Did you know that most breaches are initially caused by employee error? “Ninety-two percent of all incidents are, and 84 percent of all data breaches were, unintentional or inadvertent in nature,” states an article from iapp.org. No matter what kind of data loss or breach it is, human error likely played a very important role.
Shopping season can bring out even more human vulnerabilities than usual. Malicious Web sites can look real and carry what looks like legitimate product offerings, advertising can be more enticing with hard-to-resist discounts, and e-mails can come from legitimate e-mail addresses hacked by these talented criminals. Humans’ emotional nature can make it hard to resist when we are all looking for that special or hard-to-get gift. It is important to make sure your business–and your employees–are protected by an easy-to-setup solution that is comprehensive and proactive.
This is easier than you think. Access to a comprehensive Web management solution will allow you to manage usage in a way that suits your unique business philosophy. This includes whether you want to allow or restrict access to certain Web sites at a particular time of day, monitor usage with reporting features by analyzing trends and tracking usage, or just meet compliance and regulation requirements.
This time of year, it is important to spend some extra time paying attention to your organization’s Web use. But Web-use management should be part of your business process and security all year round. Find a solution that is flexible enough to grow or change with you throughout the year, and for this time of year … let them shop … and know you are still being proactive and secure.
Cyfin® provides advanced User Behavior Analytics and Reporting for a wide variety of gateway devices and log file formats. Comprehensive yet easy to use, its customized reporting capabilities supply audience-specific information with reliable metrics, easy-to-read reporting dashboards, manager-ready detailed audit reports, and Smart Engine analytics. Cyfin is available in various deployment options: Cyfin Virtual Appliance and Cyfin Forensic.
CyBlock® Employee Web Filtering and Monitoring Solutions provide advanced Web filtering, threat protection, comprehensive employee reporting, Smart Engine analytics, easy-to-use admin and manager portals, and more. Customers can easily configure CyBlock to monitor and manage compliance with their usage policies. CyBlock is available in various deployment options: CyBlock Virtual Appliance, CyBlock Cloud, and CyBlock Hybrid.
Wavecrest has over 25 years of proven history of providing reliable, accurate Web-use management and Advanced Log File Analyzer products across various industries. IT specialists, business managers, HR professionals, Managed Service Providers, and Forensics Investigators trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to easily decipher and manage, and report on, real employee Web activity, manage cloud services, reduce liability risks, improve productivity, save bandwidth, and control costs. Trusted by small, medium, and large government and commercial organizations worldwide. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit Wavecrest.
Wavecrest Computing proudly announces the release of Cyfin’s new feature, VPN Usage Reporting. Cyfin is a leading employee Web-use analysis and reporting solution for a wide variety of gateway devices and log file formats.
Wavecrest, a global leader in employee Web-use management, monitoring, and analytics solutions, today announced the release of Cyfin’s newest feature, Virtual Private Network (VPN) Usage Reporting. VPN usage reporting supports today’s increased need to monitor remote employee Web-use while reducing the concern of extending enforcement of Acceptable Use Policies (AUP), managing productivity, and monitoring time online.
The new VPN usage feature adds the capabilities of monitoring the number of active sessions throughout the day, seeing when most people connect and disconnect, determining who has not connected recently, visibility into and responding to unexpected disconnections and excessive invalid login attempts or failures to connect, and more.
“Right now many businesses are in the state of flux, and may remain that way for some time,” notes Dennis McCabe, CEO of Wavecrest. “The remote and distributed workforce has always been part of Wavecrest’s focus, especially with our CyBlock product lines. Now, with VPN usage being an integral part of today’s business environment, we are excited to increase Cyfin’s features to satisfy even more of what customers look for when supporting their workforce. We know that continuing to advance our products allows businesses more freedom and flexibility to operate with any workforce distribution that they require, without having to worry about losing key visibility.”
Comprehensive yet easy to use, Cyfin’s customizable reporting capabilities supply audience-specific Web-use information with reliable metrics, easy-to-read reporting dashboards, manager-ready detailed audit reports, VPN usage reporting, IP segmenting, and more.
About Us With over 20 years of proven history Wavecrest provides reliable, accurate Web-use management, filtering, reporting, and analytics products worldwide across every industry. Managers, C-Suite, IT, HR, MSPs, Auditors, and more trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to easily decipher and manage real employee Web activity, gain visibility into the distributed workforce, reduce liability risks, improve productivity, save bandwidth, and control costs. Trusted by large government and commercial organizations such as US-CERT Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Justice, USPS Office of Inspector General, National Grid, Johns Hopkins, and a growing list of global enterprises and government agencies. We are a proud long-term GSA contract holder. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit Wavecrest at www.wavecrest.net.
Release 9.2.8 consists of improvements for both Cyfin and CyBlock. For Cyfin customers, a filter allows you to log only relevant data into the syslog, keeping the syslog file at the smallest possible size. Cyfin customers also have the ability to delete only raw syslog log files from disk to help reduce the risk of running out of disk space. For CyBlock customers, changes to IP/domain exceptions in your PAC file configuration can be synced with your cloud account in a Hybrid deployment.
For both products, the product disk usage and the available disk space are displayed for your information on the Server Information screen. Also, the calculation of Hits and Visits has been updated to be more precise. These and other enhancements are highlighted below.
Syslog Log File Configurations (Cyfin)
After enabling the syslog server, the Syslog Filter field appears which is prepopulated with the default value format based on your syslog configuration. It is used to log only the pertinent data into the syslog and not all the data that is being sent.
Log File Removal (Cyfin)
The ability to delete only raw syslog log files from disk has been added. You can manually delete or schedule a deletion of the files either at the current time or at the default scheduled time.
Any IP/domain exception changes to the PAC file configuration are now automatically or can now be manually synced with your CyBlock Cloud account in a Hybrid deployment.
Server Information
On the System Status – Server Information screen, the product disk usage and available disk space are now displayed. The available disk space shows the amount of free space remaining out of the total drive space.
Hits and Visits Calculation
The hits and visits calculation has been enhanced by evaluating additional information from the log records.
Java Runtime Environment
The version of JRE was updated to the latest with all security and performance fixes.
System Status Messages
The Event Log and Profiling Log screens have been updated to allow Technical Support to view legacy or new messages.
To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.
For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.
We recently released new versions of CyBlock and Cyfin. In this release, a new user ID will be added in new installations or accounts to compile machine updates that produce Web traffic. Also, for products that are uninstalled, a product-specific uninstall page will be displayed to allow you to submit feedback to Sales. The enhancements are highlighted below.
CyBlock
User ID for Machine Updates. The new *$ user ID with full name “machine updates” will handle machine requests for updates that produce Web traffic. Previously, the traffic was displaying in Dashboard charts with a machine name, and in reports, as an IP address. These URLs are grouped as *$ in the VIP group. Click here for more information on machine names.
CyBlock Directory Agent, CyBlock Software, and Cyfin
Web Site Uninstall Feedback Page. After uninstalling, a product-specific uninstall landing page will be displayed with a feedback section to be completed and submitted as applicable.
There are also corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.
For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.
In Release 9.2.6, we are pleased to provide the ability to pair multiple cloud accounts in Hybrid deployments extending your local CyBlock policies to employees in multiple regions. Multiple cloud accounts can also be paired with your CyBlock Directory Agent instance to update the groups and IDs information for employees across multiple regions.
Also in this release is the ability to set a different time zone in your cloud account based on where your Web activity is occurring versus the time zone of your cloud instance. For MSP Partners, the time zone can be set for each of your customers. For Hybrid deployments, the time zone can be set for each of your cloud accounts. The enhancements are highlighted below.
Multiple CyBlock Hybrid Cloud Accounts
Hybrid Configuration. The ability to pair your local CyBlock installation with multiple CyBlock Cloud accounts is now available on the Hybrid Configuration page. Any configuration changes, including policy changes, in your local CyBlock instance are automatically synced with all paired cloud accounts.
Data Management. The cloud log file name is now in the format cloudproxy_cloudserver+port_date.txt and is truncated. You can hover over it to view the full name.
Real-Time Web Monitor. Your multiple hybrid configurations are displayed in the Data Configuration drop-down field. Monitor the live Web traffic of any cloud account by selecting the associated hybrid configuration.
Reporting. Your multiple hybrid configurations are also available for selection in Dashboard charts and in reports allowing you to view the data for any cloud account.
Multiple CyBlock Directory Agent Cloud Accounts
The ability to pair your CyBlock Directory Agent installation with multiple CyBlock Cloud accounts is now available on the Directory Agent Configuration page. This allows you to synchronize your internal Active Directory with multiple cloud accounts.
Any AD configuration changes in CyBlock Directory Agent are automatically synced with all paired cloud accounts.
Cloud Web Activity Time Zone
Cloud Customers. The time zone in which your organization’s Web activity is occurring can now be set in your CyBlock Cloud account. The default Web activity time zone is the time zone of your cloud instance, but this can be changed. Web activity displayed in the Dashboard charts, reports, and real-time monitors will reflect the time zone that is set for your cloud account.
MSP Customers. For MSP Partners, the time zone can be set for each of your customers. Web activity displayed in the Dashboard charts, reports, and real-time monitors will reflect the time zone that is set for that specific customer.
Hybrid Deployments. For Hybrid deployments, the time zone can be set for each of your CyBlock Cloud accounts. Reporting is based on your local CyBlock instance time.
There are also corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.
For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.
Release 9.2.5 contains many improvements to the Authentication Manager in CyBlock Appliance and CyBlock Software, specifically for Bypass Authentication. These changes should help with troublesome Web applications that fail to authenticate and reduce the number of prompts for authentication. In addition, enhancements were made to the installer interface, Interactive Reporting, and Logon Accounts. The enhancements are highlighted below.
The sections on the Bypass tab have been renamed “Bypass List” and “Bypass Monitor.”
For the Bypass List:
Entries can now be filtered by URL/domain, user-agent, and count.
The way in which entries are loaded into the Bypass List from the Wavecrest URL List has changed.
URLs/domains and user-agents are consolidated when similar entries exist.
For the Bypass Monitor:
Entries can now be filtered by IP address, initial time, URL/domain, and user-agent.
A Tooltip now displays for long URLs/domains and user-agents, which are truncated.
The retention period for entries is now 10 minutes. If a URL is still in the list when the period expires, it is automatically deleted.
An entry is displayed in the Bypass Monitor after a set minimum time, and moved to the Bypass List when the count exceeds a set threshold and the set minimum time is exceeded.
Interactive Reporting has been enhanced to prevent users from inadvertently changing the password for the account for viewing interactive reports. Users need to contact their administrator if they have forgotten the report password.
In User Management – Logon Accounts, the Operator role has been renamed “Manager” to more accurately describe the account user of the product.
Live Support
Chat assistance is now available in the full version of the product where you can talk to Customer Service or Technical Support over live chat. This feature is another way in which you can ask questions about our products.
There are also corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.
For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.
In Release 9.2.4, we are excited to announce the integration of CyBlock Cloud with ConnectWise PSA software providing MSPs with the ability to manage their cloud customers from within ConnectWise. MSPs can easily integrate with ConnectWise and get access to their CyBlock Cloud portal.
For CyBlock Appliance customers, managing your direct HTTPS traffic has been improved allowing you to secure your guest Wi-Fi network. You can now enforce blocking policies on both direct HTTPS traffic as well as direct HTTP traffic.
Two other enhancements help you manage your Dashboard database size and your disk space. The Storage Limit feature for Dashboard databases purges past data beyond a time period that you set. The Log File Removal feature allows you to remove log files that are no longer necessary. Log files can be deleted manually or scheduled for daily deletion.
Another enhancement is the consolidation of the Logon Accounts screens providing a more streamlined way to manage logon accounts and easier navigation of the screens. These and other enhancements are highlighted below.
ConnectWise Integration (CyBlock Cloud)
To use this feature, MSP Partners will need to create an integrator logon in ConnectWise and then configure ConnectWise in CyBlock Cloud. You will be able to access Wavecrest vendor information as well as a menu link to your CyBlock Cloud MSP Partner Portal in ConnectWise.
MSPs can then integrate their customers and will see a license configuration in ConnectWise for each of their customers.
Managing Direct Traffic (CyBlock Appliance)
CyBlock Appliance now monitors and filters direct HTTPS traffic along with direct HTTP traffic. Read the product documentation for information on setting up the DNS server.
The Web Redirects page has been renamed “Direct Traffic” and allows you to enable policy enforcement on direct HTTP/HTTPS traffic, exclude network source IP addresses from redirection, and exclude destination IP addresses/domains from filtering.
Dashboard Data Storage Limit (CyBlock Appliance, CyBlock Software, Cyfin)
The Storage Limit feature allows you to manage the size of your Dashboard database and keep it at optimum performance by purging past data.
After upgrading the product, the storage limit is set to 3 months, and any data older than this will be deleted at the default scheduled time. NOTE: If you wish to retain more than 3 months of data, change this option on the Data Management – Report Database – Configuration – Settings screen after upgrading. Other options available are 6 months and 1 year.
The new Data Management – Log Data Source – Delete screen helps you manage disk space by removing log files that are no longer required.
You can select the time period for the log files you want to retain. You can also select to either delete log files manually at the current time or schedule a daily deletion to occur.
Logon Accounts Consolidated
In the User Management – Logon Accounts menu, the menu items Add, Modify (if applicable), and Delete have been consolidated for easier navigation of the screens. These functions can now be performed from the User Management – Logon Accounts screen.
Your list of accounts is displayed where you may add, view, edit, and delete a logon account as well as change the account password as applicable.
You can hover over an account to display available icons for changing the account password, and editing (if applicable) and deleting the account.
Live Chat
In product evaluations, assistance is available where you can talk to Sales or Technical Support over live chat. This feature is another way in which you can ask questions about our products. Just click Chat With Us at the bottom of the window.
Live chat is also available on our Web site, blog, and knowledge base. Chat online with Sales or Technical Support in real time.
There are also corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.
For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.
In Release 9.2.3, you will find several enhancements in the new version of CyBlock and Cyfin. In CyBlock Appliance, logon accounts can now be created for additional administrators as well as managers, allowing managers to generate their own reports. With the Logon Account feature, new account users will receive an e-mail with logon information. They can then log on with their logon name or e-mail address. This applies to CyBlock Software and Cyfin as well.
In Cyfin, many improvements have been made to log file configurations, such as adding new log file configurations, removing log file configurations that are no longer shipped with the product, improving the performance of log database configurations, and attempting to match all existing configurations when analyzing log files.
Other enhancements include updates to the Dashboard trend charts, Time Online metric, Visit Filter, memory settings, and Wavecrest root certificate. The enhancements are highlighted below.
Logon Accounts in CyBlock Appliance. The following features have been added:
You now have the ability to add, modify, and delete logon accounts for administrators and managers (operator accounts) for reporting purposes.
Go to User Management – Logon Accounts – Add to create a logon account.
You may create an account using Active Directory authentication if an Active Directory configuration exists in the product.
An e-mail is sent to the account user indicating that the account was created and providing logon information.
If the logon account was not created with Active Directory, a temporary password is provided which needs to be changed after the initial logon, before the product can be used.
Users can log on with their assigned logon name or e-mail address, or network credentials if you are using Active Directory.
Go to User Management – Logon Accounts – Modify to modify previously established logon accounts.
If the Generate New Password option is selected, a Password Reset e-mail is sent to the user with a temporary password. The user will also receive a Password Changed e-mail after changing the password.
If the e-mail address is changed in the logon account, the user will receive the Account Created e-mail with new logon information.
Go to User Management – Logon Accounts – Delete to delete previously established logon accounts.
Log File Configurations in Cyfin. The following features have been added:
On the Data Management – Log Data Source – Setup screen, in the Type of Log File drop-down box, the following log file configurations have been added:
In the Type of Log File drop-down box, log file configurations have been removed as they are no longer shipped with the product. However, existing configurations will continue to work. If the removed log file configurations are needed, contact Technical Support.
Dashboard Trend Chart Comparisons. The following features have been added:
In the trend charts, you can now compare the Web traffic for a predefined date range with a previous period to detect any anomalies in Web activity.
The predefined date range is shown as a line series, and the equivalent previous period is shown as a filled series.
A Tooltip shows activity by metric, such as Visits, as well as the percentage change in activity from the previous to the current period.
Dashboard Time Online Metric. The Time Online metric has been added to the Top Users and Trend Users Dashboard charts. Time Online is an approximation of the time that a user spends on the Internet, based on the time stamps from Internet requests made as the user browses Web sites, the average number of minutes for reading a specific Web site, and the time spent reading the last Web site before the end of the browse session.
Visit Filter. The Visit Filter is now enabled by default when upgrading the product or installing a new version. The default time period is set to 3 seconds.
Memory Settings. For new installations, the default memory setting is now 512 MB. For optimal performance, it is recommended that you choose the setting that is approximately half of your available memory (RAM).
Wavecrest Root Certificate. The root certificate has been updated to be more secure and to reduce errors or warning prompts. Existing customers will need to install the new certificate. For installation instructions, see Wavecrest Certificate Installation Guide.
There are also a number of corrections in this release. To see the full release notes for your product, visit our Web site or knowledge base. You can upgrade to the latest release by going to the Help – Check for Updates screen in your product.
For additional assistance, please feel free to contact us.
It seems the newly named Forcepoint has finally settled into the company they planned since the Raytheon acquisition of Websense. As a Websense customer before the acquisition, are you feeling a bit neglected now? In this new corporate culture, are you finding it difficult to get a hold of technical support or that customer service is not there when you need them? Could it be that their focus is more on the larger Raytheon cyber security customer base than on their Websense customers? Whichever the case, your business is the one that suffers. Stop spending your precious time on working through multiple levels of bureaucracy to get what you need.
Wavecrest has comprehensive, agile, and reliable solutions for your employee Web-use security and analytics needs, ranging from software and hardware deployments to cloud and hybrid deployments. No matter your business size, industry, or distributed workforce, Wavecrest has a solution for you.
Retaining a positive SMB mentality, the Wavecrest team believes strongly in one-on-one communication with prospects, customers, and partners. When you reach out to us, we have a human being on the other end of the line that knows the product well, communicates well, and will take the extra step to get your enterprise and employees secure. You don’t have to go through automated calls, ticketing, or several levels of technical support to reach the person with the knowledge you need.
Leave the government contractor-level pricing, contractual terms, and confusion behind. Don’t remain just a ticket number. Let Wavecrest focus on your business and your specific requirements. Talk to us today.
About Wavecrest Computing
Celebrating 20 years in business, Wavecrest Computing, headquartered in historic downtown Melbourne, FL, has provided commercial business and government clients with reliable, accurate Web-use management and Cloud Access Security Broker products since 1996. Managed Service Providers, IT specialists, HR professionals, and business managers trust Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products to manage employee Internet usage — managing cloud services, reducing liability risks, improving productivity, saving bandwidth, and controlling costs. Wavecrest has clients worldwide, including General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Florida Department of Health, Siemens, Department of Homeland Security, and a growing list of global enterprises and government agencies. We are a proud long-term GSA contract holder. For more information on the company, products, and partners, visit https://www.wavecrest.net.
