Content

Websense Enterprise

Websense's Enterprise platform is an impressive portfolio of software that can protect the largest corporate network from the threats of modern, internet-based communication.

The company's pursuit of a complete web security platform is evident when you install the software. It asks whether you wish to run the software as a standalone product, or to integrate it into an existing security framework. As such, it supports an array of firewalls and other security devices.

Having installed the software, we fired up the management interface and were impressed by what we found. You can navigate simply around the huge amount of options and information on screen.

Activity can be permitted, blocked or limited by a time quota. To block IM use, the administrator must add the relevant banned protocols from the protocol set downloaded from the Websense server. These are updated daily on the company's Master Database. P2P networking can also be managed and blocked.

Another excellent inclusion is the dedicated IM Attachment Manager. It is an optional extra well worth considering as it enables you to configure the product to restrict and control the sending of files via messenger protocols.

You can configure it to allow certain IM traffic, for example, while blocking the transfer of files. You can also apply various attachment policies on user, group, network or workstation basis, as well as the time of day.

The reporting tool is also extremely impressive, with a number of Windows-based reports available. Websense Enterprise Reporter is installed as a separate product, but integrates fully with Enterprise. You can schedule the reports to be emailed at certain times or view them in real time.

Websense Enterprise goes far beyond a simple IM security solution. As a standalone product, we feel it would be difficult to beat.

Product title
Websense Enterprise
Product info
Name: Websense Enterprise (IM security tools group test) Description: Price: Websense Enterprise and IM Manager are $15 each for 1,000 users. Discounts available.
Strength
Superb functionality, yet remains intuitive and relatively straightforward to use.
Weakness
Might be overkill for those organizations seeking just an IM solution.
Verdict
Excellent and mature web-based security threat solution.

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