Approximately 20% of personal Internet use at work poses potential threats to the employer. Web access in the workplace can be a valuable business tool, but it also carries significant risks. Check out our presentation that discusses the risks associated with Web use and why monitoring and filtering helps mitigate those risks.
Do you have a good handle on all outbound connections from your network, and how do you know? Many times legitimate programs and applications downloaded are creating outbound connections without your knowledge or approval. This can cause a serious drain on an organization’s network resources. This exact scenario recently happened to a Wavecrest customer, and with the help of Wavecrest’s reports and technical support specialists, they were able to locate a program that was making 1,400+ outbound connections a day without their knowledge.
Many times, a program like this can be running in the background without the organization’s knowledge and is not necessarily identifiable in the process table. It can only be caught if an organization is monitoring outbound Web connections through reports such as the ones in Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products.
In this particular scenario, the customer became knowledgeable of these unauthorized outbound connections because there were a couple of users being locked out of their computers. To troubleshoot the issue, they along with Wavecrest technical support used the Authentication Manager in their CyBlock Proxy product to investigate. They found that the users’ computers were creating some outbound traffic that was not authenticating with the proper credentials, thus eventually locking the users out due to an authentication security setting the organization had on their Active Directory configuration. By using the Authentication Manager, Real-time Web Monitor and other reports, our technical support specialists were able to identify the file that was making these unauthorized outbound connections and remove it from the computers.
This scenario proves that it is important to be aware of what is going on in your network, and Wavecrest’s products can help IT administrators do that. There are several steps you can take to prevent and identify these types of problems in your network.
For more information on how Wavecrest’s products can help keep your network safe, we recommend you read our previous blog post on “Controlling Spyware” and “The Purpose of the IP Address Category.”
Note: The program in question that is addressed in this post is the Akamai NetSession Interface. It was hitting cn1.redswoosh.akadns.net and cn2.redswoosh.akadns.net 1400+ times a day. The program was located at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Akamai\AdminTool.exe. To remove the program with Wavecrest’s help, the customer:
Remember: Our technical support specialists are here to help. If you ever need help with your product configuration or see something unusual in a report or on the real-time monitor that you are unsure about, please feel free to contact Wavecrest technical support, and they will be happy to help you.
Technical Support Contact Information
Direct: 321-953-5351, ext. 4
Toll-Free: 877-442-9346 ext. 4
Email: support@wavecrest.net
The Wavecrest quarterly newsletter is back by popular demand! In the Summer 2010 issue, you’ll find information on:
There is an option to display both the user ID and IP address in reports. To do so, go to the Advanced Settings – Report Settings page in your CyBlock or Cyfin product and open the Advanced Options link. On this screen, you will see an option to “Display Login Name and IP Address.” Simply click the checkbox so that it is enabled and click Submit. Now you will see both login names and IP addresses when running user reports.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup games begin today and will run until July 11. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a research firm that deals with lost workplace productivity, ranks the World Cup as one of the biggest time wasters in the workplace worldwide. And it’s not just time that World Cup viewers will suck up in the workplace. Bandwidth consumption will also increase with the availability of video streaming of the games.
While the World Cup ranks number 4 in the US as a top time waster behind March Madness, the Super Bowl and Fantasy Football, it will still cost American companies about $121.7 million in lost productivity. The British economy, however, is looking to lose about $7.36 billion in productivity, according to the British law firm Brabners Chaffe Street.
Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products and services help all types of organizations manage and control employee Web activity. Cyfin and CyBlock products do this by monitoring and/or filtering employees’ Web use and reporting on the activity by content categories, e.g., sports, social networking, games, and others. Of particular note, with regard to the World Cup, CyBlock products can be set up to block Web access by categories and by hour so employees can access sports sites on their lunch break or after hours. This approach can help sustain morale while minimizing lost productivity and bandwidth associated with the World Cup.
Sources:
https://blogs.reuters.com/shop-talk/2010/06/08/world-cup-is-no-march-madness-in-sapping-productivity/
https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/blog/2010/06/world_cup_promises_some_kick_to_productivity_apps_aim_to_help.html
https://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060608/8worldcup.htm
There are many issues surrounding Web filtering in the workplace today. Among them are whether to filter or not filter, and if you do filter, how strict should your policies be, what’s the best way to implement a Web filter, and what’s the best type of filter for your organization? Wavecrest Computing attempts to answer these questions and more in our latest white paper, “Web Filtering in the Workplace: Finding the Best Solution.” This paper discusses some of the issues surrounding Web filtering today, the different types of Web filters, and how Wavecrest approaches filtering with its RealTimePlus Filtering technology.
White Paper: Web Filtering in the Workplace: Finding the Best Solution
You may notice that the icon below occasionally shows up in the right-hand corner of the browser interface indicating that you have new product news.
This icon will stay in the upper right-hand corner of the browser interface until you click on it to read your product news.
We send product news to let you know general and critical information about your product. Product news items provide you with information on new releases, category changes, updates and more so be sure to check your news when the icon appears.
When viewing a news item, you will notice at the top that we indicate whether or not the news is critical or non-critical. Critical news is identified with a red bar, meaning that it is very important that you read the message and may require some action, while non-critical news is identified with a green bar.
Now is your last chance to take advantage of one of our sales specials on our CyBlock Internet filtering or Cyfin Internet monitoring software. These specials will end on December 31, 2009, so act fast!
Purchase a one-year license and get one extra month free! That’s a 13-month license for the price of 12!
Interested in a multi-year license?
No problem. For purchasing a 2-year license, you’ll get 2 extra months, or get 3 extra months with the purchase of a 3-year license.
New to Wavecrest?
Enjoy the following discounts when you purchase a NEW 2 or 3-year license:
Coming Up For Renewal?
In addition to getting the extra months, if you purchase a multi-year renewal license, you’ll also get to enjoy the following discounts:
To take advantage of these specials, simply state that you would like the “End of Year Sales Special” when you order!
For a quote or to place your order, contact sales.
Phone (Toll-free): 877-442-9346, ext. 3 (U.S. and Canada)
Phone: 321-953-5351, ext. 3
Email: sales@wavecrest.net
Social networking in the workplace is a major dilemma for today’s businesses. Does it help or hurt the organization? While some companies block social networking, some say it helps by enhancing collaboration among employees, partners and customers. Others say it hurts by draining productivity and bandwidth and creating legal liability and network security risks.
A survey conducted by Nucleus Research showed that 77 percent of workers who have a Facebook account use it during work hours. Of those who do use Facebook at work, 87% said they could not define a clear business reason for accessing the site and some reported using it as much as two hours per day.
So, in the face of all the countervailing views, just what is the best approach to the issue? Options include banning it altogether, using it with no restrictions, and employing it for business purposes only.
The short answer is, “It depends.”
That is, for any one organization, the answer really depends on management’s views on a number of issues. Among these are the nature and objectives of the business, organizational culture and managerial style, workforce morale factors, workforce demographics and skills, availability of technological solutions, and the need for external communications.
We are often asked about this issue. So we developed this paper to share our knowledge and views. It explores various aspects of the issue, cites some relevant facts, and provides several recommendations. Our hope is that this information will help organizations that are struggling today with this contemporary and very important issue.
Read the full white paper: Social Networking or Social Not-working?
It’s that time of year again! The big Christmas shopping spree. As in previous years, the online version ‘officially’ starts on Cyber Monday – the day after the big T-Day weekend. And now this year we’ve got Green Monday (December 7) and Brown Monday (December 14). These are days on which, like Cyber Monday, online retailers put on a full court press to draw in ‘surfer-shoppers.’
And the whole circus runs through New Year’s Day.
The volume can be huge and problematical for employers. A survey conducted for ISACA, an association of 86,000 information technology professionals, states in part:
“Employees plan to spend nearly two full working days (14.4 hours) on average shopping online from a work computer this holiday season. One in 10 plans to spend more than 30 hours shopping online at work. Convenience (34%) and boredom (23%) are the biggest motivators.”
“… the second annual “Shopping on the Job: Online Holiday Shopping and Workplace Internet Safety” survey found that half of those surveyed plan to holiday shop online using a work computer.
“Dangers of shopping online include viruses, spam and phishing attacks that invade the workplace, resulting in financial losses due to reduced productivity and destruction or compromise of corporate data.”
In addition to generating network security and performance issues, online holiday shopping is a huge productivity waster for businesses. When workers are shopping, they’re not ‘minding the store.’ Accordingly, this is a good time for all types of organizations to take stock of their Web-use management practices and seek help if needed.
Wavecrest Computing is ready to provide that help.
Wavecrest’s Cyfin and CyBlock products and services help all types of organizations manage and control inappropriate and risky personal surfing of all kinds, including shopping. Cyfin and CyBlock products do this by monitoring and/or filtering employees’ Web use and reporting on the activity by content categories, e.g., shopping, sports, games, and others. Of particular note, with regard to holiday shopping, CyBlock products 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.
For 13 years, Wavecrest Computing has been providing Internet filtering and monitoring solutions to business, government, and educational organizations worldwide. Wavecrest’s customer base includes well-known names such as the HP, Procter and Gamble, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, Bridgestone, Mazda and many others.