How does
Websense Enterprise work?
Websense Enterprise works in conjunction with a Master Database of 2.2
million Web sites (comprising 400 million pages) that fall into one of 65+
categories. The user can configure Websense to monitor or block sites in
each category. In Websense Enterprise 4.2, administrators can allow users to
continue surfing or defer access to sites in a particular category until
after work.
How
are sites added to the Master Database?
Sites are first mined through proprietary software techniques and then
classified into categories. Sites not categorized by this method are
evaluated by qualified Internet analysts for proper categorization and
continually checked for accuracy.
How
easy is it to set up and maintain Websense Enterprise?
It is very simple to install and maintain. In fact, most Websense users
report that Websense is very intuitive and that they are easily up and
running within an hour.
No day to day administration is required:
Log files are rotated automatically, and the system automatically downloads
new Master Databases.
Can
I add my own sites to the database?
Yes. You can instantly add sites to the database by using the Add Custom
URL's feature. You can also suggest sites to be added to the Master Database
with the Websense Suggest a URL form.
Can
I view the list of URLs that Websense Enterprise blocks?
The Websense Master Database of URLs is proprietary information belonging to
Websense, Inc., and cannot be released in whole or in part. The README file
that comes with Websense Enterprise lists the sample URLs in the
demonstration database and their category assignments.
If you need to determine the category for
a particular site, visit the Websense Site Lookup page. If you believe a
specific URL is not categorized correctly, you may use the Websense Suggestion
form to recommend changes.
What
is the Websense IP Screening technology?
This technology pre-converts all domain names in the database into IP
addresses. This technology maximizes the performance of your network by
allowing the core Websense Enterprise Engine to perform very fast initial
look ups. It also eliminates the possibility of someone accessing a site
directly via the IP address and bypassing the Websense database.
What
Web browsers can I use with Websense Enterprise?
All versions of Websense support Netscape browsers v2.0 and later, and
Microsoft Internet Explorer v1.5 & later. Most other browsers should
also be compatible.
Do
frames on Web sites affect Websense Enterprise's behavior?
No. Frames are passed through transparently.
How
does Websense Enterprise automatically update its database?
When you install Websense, you select a time range when you want Websense to
update its database (by default, between 1:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m.). Websense
Enterprise will automatically fetch the database during that time by using a
standard HTTP GET transfer from the Websense site over the Internet.
During
an evaluation period, do I get daily database updates?
Yes. The evaluation version of Websense is the same as the full product,
including Premium
Group 1 categories. The only difference is how long your license
key is valid.
What
platforms does Websense run on?
For
a complete listing of the integrations, please refer here.
Can
I restrict access to only certain sites?
It is possible to set Websense Enterprise to block access to all sites
except for those that you explicitly specify. This is sometimes called a
"Yes List" or a "White List" feature.
Does
Websense work with Macintosh or Novell-based networks?
Yes. Websense Enterprise itself must run on an NT or Solaris server. However
your users can be using Macintosh computers or Novell server attached
computers.
What
is a Virtual Host? Does Websense deal with these?
Some Web servers can be configured to host more than one Web site or unique
domains. These Web sites are called virtual hosts and share a single IP
address. That means that each of these virtual hosts resolves via DNS to the
same IP address. For example, www.sex.com, www.shopping.com, and
www.church.com could all be tied into one IP address. Virtual hosts require
special categorization in order to be properly identified and screened.
Otherwise, the system would lump sites that had no commonality into one over
broad category.
The latest version of Websense recognizes
and handles these virtual hosted sites.
Is
Websense Enterprise Year 2000 Compliant?
Yes. The Websense license agreement states the following:
"Websense warrants that the products
will manage and manipulate data and processes involving data of the year
2000 and beyond the year 2000 including single-century formulas and
multi-century formulas, and will not cause an abnormally ending scenario
within the Product or result in the generation of incorrect values involving
such dates; and that all date-related functions will include the indication
of century; and that all date-related user interface functionalities and
data fields include the indication of century."
What
do the different license levels really mean?
Websense Enterprise keeps track of all the IP addresses it sees using the
Websense Enterprise proxy services. It limits the number of different
machines that can use Websense by the license level. Thus only 100 machines
with different IP addresses can use the 100 user version of Websense
Enterprise. The 101st user will either be blocked or unfiltered, depending
on the preferences set in the Websense Manager. The license levels are thus
not a simultaneous use license, but a total number of machines license. The
Websense Enterprise IP address table is cleared when Websense Enterprise is
restarted.
Can
I customize access by workstation?
Yes. You can customize access by workstation and network, and for select
integrations of Websense, by users and groups.
v3.1 of Websense for NT also supports
selection of workstations by NT workstation domain names.
Do
I need to re-configure my Web browser to use Websense for FireWall-1?
If you are running the version of Websense Enterprise for FireWall-1, you do
not need to perform any browser re-configuration to be able to use the
filtering capabilities of Websense Enterprise. When configured correctly on
the firewall, FireWall-1 will redirect appropriate packets to the Websense
Enterprise UFP server completely transparently to the end user.
Can
I customize access through Firewall-1?
Yes. Through the FireWall-1 rules you can define users or even groups of
users who will be allowed full access, or to be blocked to specific categories
or to all categories, all depending on how you define your FireWall-1 rule
base.
What
version of FireWall-1 do I need for Websense Enterprise?
To be able to use Websense Enterprise for FireWall-1, you must be using
FireWall-1 4.0 with Service Pack 6 or greater. To determine the version of
FireWall-1 that you are currently running, from a command prompt or shell
type the following command:
