GFI WebMonitor is a plug-in for Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server that provides administrators with a means to view--in real-time--the sites their user's are accessing and the files they are downloading. Formerly available only in a lightweight freeware version, the plug-in is now available in a commercial version with added features including adult site blocking, anti-virus checking, and download file blocking by file type.

Using their own Web browsers, administrators can visit a specially named internal Web address (internal to ISA Server) and view the sites currently or recently visited by their users. The product's configuration and monitoring interface can be protected such that only authorized individuals can access them; such authentication can be configured based on the IP address of allowed machines, or the domain-authenticated username of the client. Various viewing options are available, including the history of a specific URL, the history of individual users, currently active connections, and the 200 most recently requested URLs for all users.

The new virus scanning capabilities of the latest GFI WebMonitor release are courtesy of an included version of the BitDefender virus scanning engine. BitDefender scans both HTTP and FTP downloads and the BitDefender virus definition files are automatically checked and updated by WebMonitor. One year of this update service is included in the initial purchase price of the product. In addition to BitDefender, clients may additionally (and optionally) add the Kaspersky anti-virus engine for further blocking of detected malicious software.

Also new to the latest WebMonitor release is the ability to block user Web activity, both by adult URLs and by the type of file being accessed. Adult URL blocking is provided courtesy of Yahoo! SafeSearch (requested sites are first compared to the Yahoo! SafeSearch classification, and refused if they are determined to be adult sites); while file blocking capabilities leverage the vendor's "Real filetype" technology that scans the downloaded file in an attempt to identify its true file type, as opposed to the type of file that it is labeled as.

Other features of GFI WebMonitor include the ability to block or cancel a user's current activity in real-time; support for specific (administrator defined) Web site blocking (when used in conjunction with ISA Server 2004); and the ability to control what sites are allowed to provide automated application updates via HTTP Tunneling connections.

GFI WebMonitor is available now, both in the original freeware (limited capabilities) version, and the new commercial version. Pricing for the commercial version is $495 for up to 50 users; $695 for up to 100 users; and $1995 for an unlimited user license.

Contact GFI Software for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

E-Mail this page to a colleague
send info about GFI WebMonitor for ISA Server

Suggest a link
for the GFI WebMonitor for ISA Server fact sheet