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There can be a fine line between what is acceptable use of the Internet at work and what is not — and sometimes that line gets pushed far enough that it can open your business up to liabilities like harassment lawsuits, breaches of contract, or loss of government funding. Internet access monitoring filtering is a defensive veneer between your business and inappropriate content, wasted hours browsing or chatting, spyware or viruses, and depleted bandwidth and network performance.
Acceptable use policies (AUPs) control employee Internet access by defining allowed and prohibited behaviors. There should be different policies set for each form of Internet use — instant messaging, email, and general Internet use — defining three things that are enforced with Internet access monitoring filtering:
- What behavior is not allowed, such as viewing or sending pornography or racist materials, conducting outside business.
- What behavior is allowed, both what is required professionally and what, if any, is allowed personally.
- Why these policies are in place and how they are going to be applied.
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iPrism enforces AUPs for Internet use through user profiles that conform to those policies. User profiles configure Internet access monitoring filtering. Internet access monitoring filtering rules are set for which categories of sites are blocked or monitored. Profiles also set when those sites are allowed. For example, your AUP may limit personal Internet use to lunch time, so a profile allows shopping, banking, and social network sites, but only from 11am to 2pm. Because iPrism filters all Internet traffic, iPrism performs Internet access monitoring filtering for major IM and P2P protocols, as well.
Additionally, iPrism has tools for Internet access monitoring filtering, and attempted access, through reporting and the Real-Time Monitor. These show the URLs and categories of sites that are visited, as well as actions taken by iPrism Internet access monitoring filtering technology. These can be used to identify employees’ trying to access banned sites such as vice or with excessive personal use, but can also identify where AUPs and profiles are too restrictive, if certain users have to override blocks consistently in order to perform their job functions.
Review AUPs at least every year. The goal of Internet access monitoring filtering is to ensure that your employees have all the communication and research tools that the Internet can provide, while keeping your network secure and your company safe. Use iPrism to back up your AUPs, to spot problem access by employees, and to manage your company’s Internet use to make sure that your policies and profiles reflect your employees’ — and customers’ — needs.
Internet Access Monitoring Filtering Home
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