Tag Archives: product update

Cyfin Release 8.8.1 and CyBlock Release 6.8.1 Now Available

We recently released new versions of Cyfin, CyBlock Software, and CyBlock Appliance. In this release, you will find several corrections as well as improvements to the Restore/Download feature and to access accounts. With the Restore/Download enhancement, you will be able to transfer all of your current configuration settings to another installation of the product. This will prove to be useful if you are transitioning to production mode or purchasing a new server. With access accounts, you can now confirm a password when creating or modifying an access account. The enhancements are described below.

  • Restore and Download.This includes the following changes:
    • The ability to transfer all configuration settings to another installation of the product has been added.
    • Transfers of configuration settings are only supported for the same product type, for example, CyBlock Software to CyBlock Software. Transfers across products are not allowed.
    • Transfers of configuration settings are only supported from this release and later. Previous restore points before this release are not transferable.
    • On the Administration – Restore – Restorescreen, the Choose Restore Type field has been added with Full and Configuration Only options.
      • The Full option allows you to transfer configuration settings from one product type to the same product type with the same restore point path on the same computer.
      • The Configuration Only option allows you to transfer configuration settings to a different restore point path on the same computer or to a different computer.
    • On the Administration – Restore – Download screen, the following has been added:
      • A Restore Point Settings section to allow you to edit or select the restore point path.
      • An Update button to reload the new restore point path.
      • A Create Restore Point section to allow you to create a new restore point using a Create button.
      • A Restore Point Filename field that displays the name of the .zip file in the format yyyymmdd+hhmmss.zip. Older restore points with file name ##.zip will still be displayed; however, they are not transferable and should not be used.
  • Access Accounts.This includes the following changes:
    • For Cyfin and CyBlock Software, the Enter Password and Confirm Password fields have been added to the following screens to allow you to enter and confirm a new password when creating or modifying an access account:
      • Administration – Access Accounts – Create
      • Administration – Access Accounts – Modify
    • For CyBlock Appliance, the Enter Password and Confirm Password fields have been added to the Administration – Access Accounts – Modify screen to allow you to enter and confirm a new password when modifying an administrator access account.
    • If the new and confirmable passwords do not match, a red x is displayed, and the Submit button is disabled.

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 Cyfin or CyBlock product.

For additional assistance, please contact us.

Cyfin Release 8.8.0 and CyBlock Release 6.8.0 Now Available

We are excited to announce the release of two major enhancements in the new version of Cyfin and CyBlock. The first major enhancement is the new SSL Inspection feature that allows our CyBlock products to decrypt, analyze, and fully inspect all HTTPS traffic. In order to defeat security threats facing companies today, SSL Inspection is essential. The second major enhancement is an innovative technique for protection against automated invasion of malicious scripts and software and/or unauthorized access to internal networks. Enhanced Malware Protection automates the process of identifying large numbers of new malware-spreading sites daily. To facilitate identifying and blocking malware traffic, three security threat categories have been consolidated into a new Malware category.

Other enhancements in this release include the rebranding of our products, new product icons displayed after installation, and new product Help. We also have a number of corrections in this release. The details of the enhancements include the following:

  • Product Rebranding.The Wavecrest products have been rebranded as follows:
    • The products offered are CyBlock and Cyfin (formerly Cyfin Reporter).
    • Three deployment options are available for CyBlock:
      • CyBlock Software (formerly CyBlock Proxy)
      • CyBlock Appliance
      • CyBlock ISA/TMG
    • These changes are reflected on the Wavecrest Web site and the Forum. They will eventually transition to the products and associated documentation.
  • SSL Inspection.This includes the following changes:
    • Ability to view the full URL including path, embedded URLs, and parameters.
    • Domain, path, and parameter matching.
    • Ability to filter detailed HTTPS traffic by Web categories and Web content types and display blocking messages for both.
    • Safe Search blocking (where applicable).
    • Ability to view full URLs in the Real-Time Web Monitor.
    • Ability to view full URLs in the following reports (where applicable), not just domains:
      • Category Audit Detail
      • Category Audit Summary
      • Site Audit Detail
      • User Audit Detail
      • User Audit Summary
    • A new SSL Inspection screen that allows you to select groups and/or IDs and standard and custom categories to be inspected. To access this screen, go to Advanced Settings – Proxy Settings – SSL Inspection. For inspection to occur, you must select a group and/or an ID, and set a category to Inspected. The Financial category is set to Tunneled by default for privacy reasons, but this can be changed to Inspected.

Note:  Before using SSL Inspection, the Wavecrest Certificate must be installed. Refer to the Wavecrest Certificate Installation Guide for instructions on how to install/distribute the certificate. For more information on this enhancement, see the SSL Inspection Tech Brief.

  • Enhanced Malware Protection in URL List.This includes the following changes:
    • Extensive malware site additions were made to the URL List. You will receive the enhanced protection when the list is downloaded manually or automatically.
    • The Hacking, Phishing/Fraud, and Spyware/Malicious categories were consolidated into a new Malware category.
    • Custom URL entries categorized as Hacking, Phishing/Fraud, and Spyware/Malicious are now categorized as Malware.
    • The Hacking, Phishing/Fraud, and Spyware/Malicious categories were replaced by the new Malware category on appropriate screens and in all category drop-down boxes.
    • For CyBlock, on the Block Web Categories screen, the Malware category is set to “Block” in the Default policy in new installations by default. In existing installations, previous settings will not change when the product is upgraded, that is, the Malware category will be set to the previous Spyware/Malicious category setting.
    • The Malware category is displayed on the Help – Reporting – Check URL screen under URL Category Match when there is a category match.
    • Scheduled reports now report on the Malware category if they were set up to report on the Hacking, Phishing/Fraud, and Spyware/Malicious categories.
  • Product Icons. The Wavecrest product icon has been replaced with new CyBlock and Cyfin product icons on the Start menu and on the browser tab (favicon).
  • Product Help. The QR pages in the product have been replaced by a new searchable Help system. The Help system has a similar TOC as the product manual, but also includes an Index and a Search box. If a search result indicates “Web site,” you can right-click the entry to open the page in a new tab or window. You can also print a displayed Help topic by clicking the Print button.

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 Cyfin or CyBlock product.

For additional assistance, please contact us.

Cyfin Release 8.7.2 and CyBlock Release 6.7.2 Now Available

Upgrade today with the latest release of Cyfin and CyBlock. In this release, you will find new user guides, significant changes to the Dashboard charts, new pages to display errors, screen communication with the ISA plug-in as well as several corrections. The list of enhancements for CyBlock Proxy, CyBlock ISA, CyBlock Appliance, Cyfin Reporter, and Cyfin Proxy includes the following:

  • User Guides. The user guides were enhanced to add a hyperlinked table of contents and additional hyperlinks in the chapters for ease of navigation when reading as electronic documents. The chapter and section headings, notes, cautions, and important information are color-coded for improved readability. With the improved layout, the user guides can be easily printed double-sided if you prefer to read in hard copy.
  • Dashboard Charts. The charts and screens were modified to remove the need for Adobe Flash Player, add the ability to zoom in the chart, add a legend to toggle options on and off, and update other sections of the screens.
  • Import From Active Directory. After creating or modifying an Active Directory configuration, you can now click an import link on the Configuration Completed screen. You will be directed to the Import – Active Directory – Manual screen to import groups and IDs.
  • Error Pages. Error pages were added to display more detailed error information and allow information to be sent via e-mail to the administrator if the administrator e-mail is set up. The administrator can then submit the error and additional information to Wavecrest Technical Support.
  • New Job Queue Section. For CyBlock, a Job Queue section was added to the Block Web Categories and Block Web Content screens to inform the user that jobs are running in the queue. If jobs are in the queue, this new section is displayed when the page is accessed or after submitting changes. The page is refreshed when the Job Queue is empty.
  • Speed Up ISA Communication. The communication between the ISA plug-in and the CyBlock service was enhanced so that on the Edit URLs screen, only custom categories are loaded and not the entire URL List decreasing the load time. In addition, messages are now queued.
  • Add Screen Communication for ISA.Changes were made to indicate that the ISA plug-in is communicating with specific screens while the communication messages are being queued. Messages will be displayed on the following screens:
    • Login – Results
    • Administration – System Information – Filter Status
    • Advanced Settings – Filter Settings – Block Web Categories
    • Advanced Settings – Filter Settings – Block Web Content

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 Cyfin or CyBlock product.

For additional assistance, please contact us.

Managing Bandwidth to Cut Unnecessary Costs

save bandwidth, save money

Inappropriate Web use resulting in excessive bandwidth consumption is often the primary culprit behind network issues. Typically, the worst offenders are social networking, video and music streaming, gaming sites, and browser-based file sharing. These are all widely accepted applications for use on corporate networks but the majority of them are often operating unchecked, opening your entire network up to bandwidth hogs, productivity-draining activity, and security risks.

There are multiple policies you can implement to monitor your bandwidth, so which one is right for your business? Pay attention to patterns: How much of your company’s bandwidth is being consumed by non-productive Web use? Who were the top users of bandwidth on your company’s network? Both questions seem easy enough to answer, but this data is oftentimes scattered around your network, especially if you have multiple data centers. Without easy access to these insights, many companies are simply unaware of possible lost revenue due to bandwidth congestion. Fortunately, Wavecrest Computing’s CyBlock Proxy solution now offers bandwidth management in addition to the Web filtering and reporting tools favored by many.

From within our solution, you can easily create multiple ‘category-control’ or ‘group-control’ policies that can be activated when usage reaches specified thresholds of consumption. Typically, customers set these thresholds at points that reflect how closely they want actual consumption to approach total available bandwidth before imposing restrictions. Once a policy is activated, policy-specified traffic is throttled one or more degrees of restriction on lower priority Web applications, allowing business-critical applications (VoIP, CRM, etc) to continue operating as needed.

While most other solutions base their throttling process on overall traffic volume rather than on the contents of the Internet packets, CyBlock Proxy breaks the traffic down into content categories and bases its controls on those categories rather than just volume. Alternatively, throttling can be imposed on selected users or groups, regardless of the content they’re seeking. The general concept is to synergistically combine your organization’s particular Internet and bandwidth usage policies with CyBlock Proxy’s customizable bandwidth throttling technology. Before you consider paying for more bandwidth, first leverage CyBlock Proxy’s built-in bandwidth management functionality (at no additional cost) by throttling the top non-critical bandwidth users. This feature has already provided businesses with the insight needed to most efficiently manage and utilize their Web traffic.

New Releases CyBlock and Cyfin Internet Monitoring Software

We recently released newer versions of our CyBlock Proxy, Cyfin Reporter, CyBlock ISA and Cyfin Proxy software.  CyBlock Version 6.5.0 and Cyfin Version 8.5.0 are now available and include the following new features:

  • Dashboard Traffic Chart. A new trend chart to track allowed and denied hits traffic has been added to the Dashboard. This chart is available by going to the Dashboard and selecting Trend – Traffic.
  • Dashboard Metrics: Denied Visits and Denied Hits. Two new metric options have been added to the Dashboard Top and Trend charts. They are Denied Visits and Denied Hits. Denied Visits are failed attempts to access a Web site. For the most part this occurs because the user is not authorized to access the site, i.e., his access has been “blocked.” However, a “denied” indication can also be caused by technical anomalies, e.g., “page not found by server”, etc. Denied Hits are any type of viewable or usable data transmission that is triggered by a visit to a Web site and is denied or blocked. Denied hits can be in the form of a denied or blocked file, message, object, graphic, link, banner, ad, or push item.
  • New Option for Scheduled Deletion of Import Data. An option to delete data “older than 4 months” has been added to the Data Manager – Import Data – Delete – Schedule screen.
  • Pause/Restart Button on the Real-Time Web Monitor (CyBlock Proxy and Cyfin Proxy Only). A Pause/Restart button was added to the top of the real-time Web monitor screen. Clicking Pause will stop new results from being displayed. A new IP address column has also been added to the Web monitor. Now the Web monitor displays the ID, IP, Date/Time, Category Name and Web Page. Note: When Authentication is disabled, the ID column will not be displayed.

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.

New Release – CyBlock 6.3.2 and Cyfin 8.3.2

We have been busy and working hard to add features that you have been asking for into CyBlock and Cyfin. In this latest release, here are some new features we have added:

  • Custom Reports – This allows you to use Wavecrest’s existing standard reports and customize them by selecting which sections of the report to display.  You can create, name and save these reports to be run manually or scheduled to run automatically.
  • PDF Option in Reports – You now have the option to choose whether you want your report in PDF or HTML format. This option is available in manual, scheduled and custom reports.
  • Ability to Add Full URLs to Categories and Custom Categories – Full or partial URLs, not just the domain, can now be added to a category or custom category on the Advanced Settings – Category Setup – Edit URLs screen. This means that you can add bbc.com/sports to the Sports category, and all other pages on bbc.com that are not sports will still be categorized as News.

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.

New Half-Hour Filtering In CyBlock

If you haven’t seen it yet, in the latest version of CyBlock 6.3.1, scheduled filtering has changed from hourly to half hour. This means that you can select to allow a category from 12:00 – 12:30pm instead of the full hour 12:00 – 1:00pm.

You can make these changes at Advanced Settings – Filter Settings – Block Web Categories. Simply click on the clock icon that appears when you select the “block” radio button and select the times you want to block and allow the category.

If you have not upgraded your product to the latest version of CyBlock, you may do so by going to Administration – Product Update screen.