Employee internet access: Business tool or business risk?

New York, December 9, 2004 — Comodo, the Risk Alignment specialists launch Trustix Xserver Content Filtering Gateway, their web content filtering and productivity appliance. The appliance enables businesses to easily set filters to control who can access web pages and when. The powerful online semantic content analyzer uses advanced heuristic algorithms to provide intelligent, real time analysis of target web pages and of the URL itself. This is integrated with a database-driven, list-based blocking service, enabling administrators to allow or deny access according to 24 predefined categories – with the freedom to create their own custom categories. Filtering policies are centrally managed from an intuitive and friendly web-based interface, allowing remote deployment and configuration of settings from any internet capable machine.

“Personal surfing during work hours is the thief of productivity“, commented Steve Roylance, Vice President Marketing, Comodo UK, “Just 20 minutes ‘harmless’ surfing per day will cost over $8000 per week in lost productivity for a company with 100 employees. In the light of such statistics, the cost-effectiveness of content filtering becomes apparent. A company of the size mentioned above would recoup the annual ownership cost of the appliance in just 3 days. By using our online calculation service, company owners can easily discover just how much money ‘leisure surfing’ is costing their company- and how quick the ROI is on an Xserver deployment.”

The problems of unfettered internet access are not restricted to productivity issues either: Bandwidth can be eaten up by irresponsible downloading of large files – hampering the flow of legitimate business traffic. Worse still is the threat of browser-based attacks, whereby Malicious Viruses or trojans are hidden inside innocuous looking web pages. If you also consider that the employer is liable to lawsuits should a member of their staff be exposed to illegal material, it becomes clear that an effective web content filter is fast becoming an indispensable element of any layered security solution.

A principal flaw in many filtering solutions is that the rigidity of the filtering infrastructure can lead to the disruption of normal working life. Sites that are essential to a companies business can inadvertently be blocked and unblocking can be a lengthy process. By clicking a link in the customizable block window, the Trustix 24/7 customer service department can unblock mis-filtered sites on a global level in less than 15 minutes. At the local level, company specific black and white lists can be quickly created and modified ‘on the fly’ using the intuitive web based administration interface. Instead of presenting a ‘one size fits all’ filtering dictum, Trustix works alongside companies to help them develop an effective and practical web access strategy for their workplace.

“4.7 million new domains were registered last quarter. This translates to over 50,000 unique domains and literally hundreds of thousands of new web-pages per day. That is an insurmountable quantity with which businesses have neither the time nor the infrastructure to handle.” Mr. Roylance continues

“A managed solution, such as Trustix Content Filtering, enables businesses to outsource the indexing and classification of web sites to an outside body. Our database consists of hundreds of millions of URLs, and our automated URL classification engine works with our revision department to add thousands more daily. The problem of new sites slipping under a filter’s radar is now a thing of the past. Why devote valuable human resources to combating unproductive surfing? Simply plug in Xserver Content Filtering, define your company’s web access policy, and let Trustix do the rest.”

Use the return on investment calculator to find out how much Xserver Content Filtering can save your company: filter.trustix.com/

About Comodo

Comodo is an industry leading provider of information security, management and communication technologies – creating innovative and practical solutions for the SMB, enterprise, home, e-commerce, education, healthcare and governmental markets. Through its Infrastructure Solutions product line, the company endows its customers with a competitive advantage with a superior suite of enterprise security, networking and productivity solutions covering perimeter security, VPN, Mail and LAN. Other core technologies include intrusion detection, SSL Certificate, content filtering, End Point Security and access management – completing a portfolio of solutions that comprise the industry’s best combination of security, performance, intuitive interface and value.

Comodo is the world’s fastest growing provider of critical infrastructure solutions and can be reached at + 1.888.266.6361 or + 1.703.581.6361 Comodo.com