Bringing roaming users into the fold
Whilst most companies seem to have a pretty solid strategy for filtering computers that don't move around (e.g. your desktop PC), there seems to be an issue emerging with corporate laptops that operate outside the network. These laptops (or indeed computers, if it is a home worker) may or may not be using a VPN and may be using a 3G, Wi-Fi or wired connection to the Internet. The problem comes when you want to reach out and apply the same policy that the employees in the office have to those out and about or working from home.
Our RemoteWorker client is the answer. This is a lightweight piece of software that installs onto Windows 2000, XP, Vista, etc and runs in the background. It cannot be stopped or removed without administrator privileges and there's nothing visible to the user that indicates it is running. The software, which runs as a system service, intercepts port 80 and 443 and tunnels the request to the CensorNet server at your head office (or data centre). It uses whatever Internet connection is available and doesn't require a VPN. The client identifies the user based on their Windows login name and their laptop by IP/MAC address. These tokens of information are used to apply the correct level of filtering for the user based on the group they belong to on the Active Directory server. Armed with this information, CensorNet filters the web request and either denies or or allows it based on the standard rules set up by the business.
This diagram illustrates an example:
Where might this be useful?
- For a business that supplies their teleworkers with laptops or computers they can now control what Web sites are accessible from their equipment and apply the same rules and schedules that they do with employees in the office.
- For companies that have roaming users on 3G connections but are getting stung by huge 3G data bills. You can now filter out bandwidth intensive sites such as iPlayer and YouTube thus reducing the data bill and also reporting on user activity and bandwidth usage.
- For a business with remote offices that aren't part of a VPN back to head office but they still require filtering. Perhaps standalone PC's with USB ADSL connection. The client can bring these remote computers back under control of the central filtering policy.
- For a school that supplies its students with Internet enabled laptops but wants to ensure that they are filtered inline with the schools Internet Access Policy.
I am sure there are many more applications but this should give you a flavour of what is possible.
For further information please contact our pre sales team or our online support desk.
