“We focus on both the security and forensic features that provide not just an IT solution but a company-wide solution.” Wavecrest Computing CEO Dennis McCabe spends a few minutes with CEOCFO Magazine
A Recognized Leader in Web Security Solutions, Wavecrest Computing Focuses on Maximizing the Benefits of Utilizing the Internet for Greater ROI and Provides Corporations with Essential Tools to Enforce Internet Use Policies and Protection.
Companies that filter and monitor Web traffic by user name do so in order to enforce their Acceptable Use Policy and for reporting purposes. In order to obtain user names for filtering and reporting purposes, they enable the authentication of all Web requests. An issue that arises with authentication is that there are some Web apps that do not respond to authentication requests. This is the case with Windows 8 apps.
In order for the Windows 8 operating system to download apps through CyBlock Software or CyBlock Appliance, entries need to be made in the Authentication Manager. This work-around puts these apps in an authentication “Bypass” list where they are exempt from authentication. CyBlock will not require authentication for any URL/User-Agent combination established in the Bypass list. Any user name cached for this connection will be used. If none is cached, the activity will be logged with the user name of “bypass.” The steps below should be followed.
| URL or Domain | User-Agent |
| *.apps.microsoft.com | * |
| *ws.microsoft.com | * |
| * | MSappsHost/* |
The entries on the screen should look like the following example.
For additional assistance, please contact Technical Support at (321) 953-5351, Ext. 4 or support@wavecrest.net.
During July, August, and September of 2011, Commtouch assessed categories of Web sites most likely to be home to malware, below are the top ranking offenders. The Portals category includes those sites offering free hosting which are often abused to publish malware and phishing content or will redirect to sites with this content.
What were the most-visited categories by your employees during 2011?
Are you currently monitoring and/or blocking the existing Spyware/Malicious, Phishing/Fraud, Public Proxy, and Hacking categories to help protect your network?
In today’s wired workplace, internet security and bandwidth consumption are top concerns for IT professionals while employee productivity and legal liability ail management and HR professionals. As a major contributor to the Web-use management effort, IT typically becomes deeply involved in planning, testing, selecting, installing, and administering Internet monitoring software. With the different departments playing a role in deciding on the best product to fit their vast needs, most are left without a solution. Fortunately, Wavecrest’s products have been reviewed by our customers as meeting each role’s needs most effectively, offering manager-ready, easy-to-interpret reports that can be accessed without the IT personnel in addition to providing a robust, truly scalable IT-friendly remedy.
With Wavecrest Computing, customers have the insight needed to proactively monitor / block the notorious malicious sites based on custom categories, the Wavecrest Control List, and a real-time deep packet analysis process. Plus, our 19 comprehensive templates provide a variety of summarized and detailed Web-use activity reports on users, groups, categories, sites, acceptability ratings, and bandwidth consumption. Conveniently import your current Web Use Policy to easily customize or classify categories, implement abuse thresholding, and monitor employee productivity while our Administrator and Operator Accounts allow for non-IT personnel to create and obtain their role-specific reports.
While serving a diverse mixture of commercial businesses, industrial firms, government agencies, military units, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations since 1996, our products continue to present the most up-to-date, proactive coverage in line with the one factor that underlies all Web-use management issues, human online activity. Wavecrest’s managers and developers understand human resource management well and we use that knowledge to develop features that prevent productivity losses, legal liability problems, network issues, and unnecessary costs.
Cyber Monday is no more – in an uncertain economy, post-Thanksgiving online holiday shopping has increased since coined in 2005 and now lasts for one month with more than 50% of all online spending taking place during working hours1. What does this mean for your business? A large decrease in employee productivity, a boost in bandwidth consumption, and one of the most popular times for cybercriminals to attack your secure data.
Lost productivity can mean big bucks for your company, reducing employee output to a mere 60%2. A survey by CareerBuilder states that more than half of the 4,000 respondents polled intend on shopping online while at work with one third of those planning for more than one hour each day, in addition to the two typical hours daily already reported by respondents (time excludes lunch hour and scheduled breaks). If you do not have a Web-use policy or Internet Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) in place, one is necessary to help report, monitor, and prevent employee Internet abuse in addition to protecting your company from legal liability.
Downloading malware is another risk as employees use the Internet for personal reasons. Spyware and malicious code are big threats to company networks as they can consume bandwidth and compromise security. Recent studies show that company networks are being infected with spyware and malicious code most often through employees surfing the Web; with the holidays increasing that risk, these threats make it imperative for companies to enforce an AUP to protect their networks. Wavecrest Computing suggests that companies monitor and/or filter employee Web use in order to better protect themselves from security threats. In addition to the inherent risks associated with hacking your online security – loss of company reputation, destruction of company data, and the downtime employees face while systems are restored – the costs to mitigate attacks are extraordinary and rising each year. This year, U.S. companies are expected to spend more than triple the costs spent in 20063.
To ensure these threats do not happen to your company this holiday season, run through our checklist and remember to check it twice!
CyBlock can be set up to block Web access by categories and by hour so employees can access shopping sites on their lunch break or after hours. This approach can help sustain morale while minimizing the risks associated with online shopping. With Cyfin, you can monitor employees’ Web use to ensure that Web-use policies are followed or that unwanted spyware or malware is not downloaded as a result. Let us guide you to a safer, more reliable, robust security solution with exceptional support at an unbeatable price!
Sources:
1https://blog.comscore.com/2011/11/cyber_monday_work_computers.html
2 https://www.wavecrest.net/editorial/costsavings.html
3https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/technology/1107/gallery.cyber_security_costs/index.html?iid=EL
We’re thrilled to bring you more new features in our latest releases of CyBlock and Cyfin. In CyBlock Version 6.3.3 and Cyfin Version 8.3.3, we are happy to deliver you with the following:
To see the full release notes for your product, visit the Support Forum. You can download the latest release by going to the Administration – Product Update screen in your CyBlock or Cyfin product.
If you are still using Internet Explorer 6, we and Microsoft recommend that you upgrade as soon as possible. One of the main reasons to upgrade is that Wavecrest’s CyBlock versions 6.3.0 and later and Cyfin versions 8.3.0 and later no longer support IE6.
Microsoft also has a big push now to get users to upgrade and stop using IE6. See their new website ie6countdown.com. One of the main reasons they are pushing the upgrade is security. They state, “we recommend that Internet Explorer 6 users upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer for a safer browsing experience.” So if you haven’t done so already, Wavecrest recommends that you take a minute to make sure all of the computers and servers in your network are upgraded to a later version of Internet Explorer.
If you have any questions, please contact Wavecrest’s technical support team by phone at 321-953-5351, ext. 4 or toll-free at 1-877-442-9346, ext. 4.
Sources:
The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown
Microsoft Begs Users to Stop Using IE6
It’s Time to Finally Drop Internet Explorer 6
We’re excited to announce that some new enhancements have been added to the latest versions of CyBlock and Cyfin. You asked and we listened! Included in these enhancements are filtering by thirty-minute increments instead of hourly (CyBlock only), real-time bandwidth monitoring (Proxy and Appliance only), and the ability to email user audit detail reports to individual users. Below is a full list of enhancements added to the latest CyBlock and Cyfin releases.
To see the full release notes for your product, visit the Support Forum. You can download the latest release by going to the Administration – Product Update screen in your CyBlock or Cyfin product.
We want to end this year by wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope you have a wonderful holiday!
In addition, we want to remind you of Wavecrest’s holiday hours. Wavecrest Computing offices are closed from December 25, 2010 – January 2, 2011. Our offices will re-open on Monday, January 3, 2011 at 8am.
Should you need support or customer service during this time, limited email support will be available. You may contact either Sales at sales@wavecrest.net or Support at support@wavecrest.net, and they will get back to you as soon as possible. You may also visit the Wavecrest Support Forum and post your questions there.
Wavecrest Computing, a leading developer of Internet usage management products, has now been in business for fourteen years. Since 1996, from their base in Melbourne, Florida, Wavecrest Computing has developed, marketed and supported a spectrum of innovative Internet monitoring and reporting solutions. Their products help all types of organizations manage employees’ online activities and ensure compliance with acceptable use policies. Starting fourteen years ago with a single customer, their client base has grown to more than 3,000 organizations, many of them Fortune 500 companies and high profile government agencies.
What makes Wavecrest stand out from competitors is their on-going commitment to customer service. When customers call, they talk to a real person from Wavecrest’s Melbourne, Florida location, and they get personalized attention. Their support personnel know that customer satisfaction is key to the company’s (and their own) success. For years these dedicated men and women have listened to Wavecrest customers and made sure that Wavecrest consistently delivers the products and services needed to meet the many dynamic challenges associated with use of the Internet in the workplace.
Those challenges have certainly evolved over the years. Examples include the very real and seriously increasing risks of social networking, video streaming and other Web 2.0 technologies that produce productivity losses, bandwidth drains, legal liability, and network security threats in the workplace.
As the Internet grows and the challenges escalate, Wavecrest has kept pace every step of the way.
Taking a look at Wavecrest’s product history, they started with a basic software application called ProxyReporter. It read and analyzed employers’ outbound Web logs. From that data, it then produced reports that helped management and IT monitor employees’ use of Web access.
As the Internet became more sophisticated, Wavecrest went on to develop a series of increasingly robust Web-use monitoring and filtering products designed to suit a variety of customers and network infrastructures. Their monitoring products now include Cyfin Reporter–a highly sophisticated and scalable logfile analyzer/reporter–and Cyfin Proxy, a standalone Web proxy/monitor/reporter. Their combination filtering/reporting products include CyBlock for ISA/TMG–a combination filter/reporter system for use with Microsoft ISA and TMG products–and CyBlock Proxy, a standalone proxy/filter/reporting solution.
Wavecrest’s latest innovation is CyBlock Appliance, a hardware based Internet-usage management device. Designed to monitor and help control use of all Internet protocols, CyBlock Appliance is a standalone proxy, monitor, filter and reporter.
Through the years, Wavecrest products have been well received and proven to be highly reliable and cost-effective. They are all backed with a 90-day money-back guarantee. Wavecrest frequently incorporates new features to keep up with the ever-changing Internet and marketplace demands. Dennis McCabe, VP of Business Development, states, “Our main goals at Wavecrest are to provide outstanding customer service and a reliable and robust product that stands above the competition.”
About Wavecrest
Founded in 1996, Wavecrest Computing is a recognized B2B leader in policy-based Web-use management solutions. The company’s products are relied on by IT personnel, HR professionals and business managers around the world to proactively address issues of Internet abuse, legal liability, security threats, workforce productivity and misuse of bandwidth. Wavecrest has been profitable since 1997, and sales have increased steadily since then. Among their more than 3,000 clients are Procter & Gamble, British Telecom, US Department of State, Edward Jones, IBM, IKEA, MillerCoors, Siemens, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) and a growing list of global enterprises and government agencies.
We recently came across “Best Practices Regarding Employee Computer Use,” written by Dandford Grant, a partner at Stafford Frey Cooper law firm, and thought it could be a great resource for Wavecrest customers and others thinking about implementing a filtering or monitoring solution. The paper discusses employee privacy rights, monitoring and surveillance of employees, and recommended policies & practices. It also gives examples of past legal cases and their rulings. Below are a few highlights and good points to take away from the paper.