Version 4.0 of Cyclope Internet Filtering Proxy has just been released. The new version comes both with a new user interface and new reports. One of them is the Overview report added to the statistics section.
At the first run, the overview section will guide the application manager to client configuration, to define the filtering policy and to check statistics. On the normal usage of the application, the overview section aims to provide application’s manger summary statistics like the number of users currently using the product, the total amount of traffic that was recorded for the current day and the breaking rules attempts.
Illegal software and music downloads at work have increased by 55% in the past three months. This is the conclusion of a study conducted by a web security firm that bases on data gathered from more than 100 countries and millions of employees.
This numbers shows us that employees seem not to understand the risks they expose the company to, when they illegally download software and music at work. Employees must understand that they cannot use the company computer and network in the same way they use their home computer. It only takes one person to download an infected file and all the company network is exposed to huge security risks. Not to mention the risk for legal liabilities.
Although the security risks of downloading unlicensed music and software have been discussed many times, the employees’ awareness in this domain still appears to be very low. Considering these statistics, we can conclude that employee education should be a top priority for businesses in 2010.
A few months ago we have discussed about the signs of a workaholic. A list of 10 signs was provided in order for everybody to check and review their work addiction. Now, that we have discovered ourselves and we have learned that being a workaholic is not the greatest method to get the best of our life, it’s time to get to action. Here are some tips that will help everybody to stop being work addicted:
Learn to prioritize tasks. Admit it that not all the tasks have the same importance and not all of them are the most urgent. There are tasks that can be done tomorrow too and nobody will be affected by this.
Schedule your work day and stop working after a certain hour (5 or 6 p.m. for example). Inform everybody you are in contact with at work about this and ask them not to call you after this time. Learn to leave the office once the clock hits this time. You’re done for the day and the rest can wait until tomorrow. Continue reading ‘9 tips to stop being a workaholic’
The latest major release of Cyclope Internet Filter software was in September 2008, but this does not means that there were no improvements made to the product meanwhile. Our developers worked constantly and they provided during this period more build versions improving functionalities and filtering system.
The latest improvements were finished a week ago. The most important aspect was related to system resource usage, providing reasonable memory / CPU usage for complex networks allowing a larger number of users to be monitored. Regarding the filtering option, the Block URL filter has been separated in Black List and White List features providing in this way a better usability.
Other improvements were made for the reporting and registration feature and I will briefly mention them below:
- theaggregated reporting featurehas been enhanced providing new reporting time frames
- the registration feature has been enhanced providing transparent proxy features subsequent to product expiration
There were also other bug fixing activities and now we hope that our application will provide better internet filtering. Although, we encourage you to test the application and let us know your feedback because based on your requirements we can improve new versions.
Businesses that use internet filtering software typically have the option of blocking certain file extensions from being downloaded. This is a smart move for businesses to make because it serves to protect the company’s computers from harm. Employees are often prone to downloading files that may be unsafe because of the fact that the computer isn’t their personal computer and so they don’t give much consideration to the threat that such downloads may cause. The potential threats include computer viruses, compromised security and websites that are not appropriate for work.
A main reason that you may want to block certain file downloads is because of the number of viruses that are put on employee computers when they download things that they weren’t supposed to download. Repairing these computers to get rid of the virus can be expensive whether the repairs are done in-house (and cost the time of your tech team) or out of the office (and cost a lot of money). By blocking downloads of file extensions that commonly have viruses, you can limit the amount of trouble that you have on your computers.
“The mission of Grassroots.org is to serve as a catalyst for positive social change by leveraging modern technologies and best business practices. Grassroots.org provides nonprofit organizations with free valuable technologies and resources to increase their efficiency and productivity.” (GrassRoots.org)
At this moment the GrassRoots has over 1.300 active members all over US and Canada and it’s increasing continuously. Their focus is to provide free technologies and services for nonprofit organizations in order to help them achieve, sustain, and expand a strong web presence.
We have teemed up with them and become “In-kind Supporters”, providing services to their clients, free of charge. We are offering 15 users licenses both for the Internet filtering and for the employee monitoring solutions.
As they said, when we donate to Grassroots.org, we “help invest in over 1,300 organizations that are making change all around the globe“.
It is common for employees today to spend a large portion of their day doing non-work related stuff on the web. They check their personal email and social networking accounts, set up instant messenger accounts for chatting with friends and associates and browse around the web reading the latest headlines or their favorite blogs. Although it’s expected that some time is going to be lost to these activities throughout the day, smart employers will work to minimize the amount of time that employees are wasting on personal Internet use. This should be done through setting up a system that deters such activity and yet doesn’t create resentment among employees.
Causing such resentment is the biggest danger that employers will run in to when trying to deter employees from using the Internet for personal use during working hours. No employee wants to be treated like a child who is told what to do and when to do it. The reality of the working environment is that the boss is doing exactly that; telling the employee what he or she is allowed to do. However, this can be done in such a way that the employee doesn’t feel Continue reading ‘How to Deter Employees From Personal Internet Use At Work’
Employers with companies of all sizes are trying to find ways to increase the productivity of their employees. Recent studies indicate that there are some interesting ways to approach this problem that most businesses haven’t even been considering. Although employers are doing many different things to increase productivity in the office, most of them aren’t paying attention to employee health issues and concerns about mobility in the business. Combined with more traditional methods of improving employee performance, attention to these two key areas could significantly improve the productivity of the entire nation’s work force.
Europe’s influence over technology regulation has led U.S. companies to send lobbyists to try and influence European lawmakers as they debate Internet access policy.
“The U.S. companies see the outcome of the fight in Europe as key,” says Jeremie Zimmermann, a lobbyist for French Internet advocacy group La Quadrature du Net. “Each side is hoping to score points on the issue here so they can take it back to the [United States] to influence the outcome there.”
Net neutrality is supported by free-speech advocates and Internet businesses that want to prevent network operators from filtering Internet traffic, but Internet service providers say that basic traffic management is needed to deal with the soaring demand for bandwidth. The outcome of the debate over net neutrality could affect whether consumers will continue to have access to unlimited bandwidth for downloads on a flat-rate plan, or if they will have to pay higher fees based on the amount of data they download.
I bet there are not few cases when you have tried to access a website from your work computer and you simply couldn’t – and not because of Internet connection problems. Further more, I bet you have also received intimidating messages intended to stop you from trying this anymore.
Corporations that restrict employee Internet access usually do so for a few reasons. Let’s think a little about Internet censorship from the corporate standpoint.
The most common reason claimed by managers from such companies is to increase employee productivity. By restricting the access to some “unwanted” websites in the company, the managers are assured that their employees are not wasting time online and the only thing they are using the computer is for work related activities (research and communication). Continue reading ‘Internet censorship and employee productivity’
Businesses that use internet filtering software typically have the option of blocking certain file extensions from being downloaded. This is a smart move for businesses to make because it serves to protect the company’s computers from harm. Employees are often prone to downloading files that may be unsafe because of the fact that the computer isn’t their personal computer and so they don’t give much consideration to the threat that such downloads may cause. The potential threats include computer viruses, compromised security and websites that are not appropriate for work.
It is common for employees today to spend a large portion of their day doing non-work related stuff on the web. They check their personal email and social networking accounts, set up instant messenger accounts for chatting with friends and associates and browse around the web reading the latest headlines or their favorite blogs. Although it’s expected that some time is going to be lost to these activities throughout the day, smart employers will work to minimize the 
Employers with companies of all sizes are trying to find ways to increase the productivity of their employees. Recent studies indicate that there are some interesting ways to approach this problem that most businesses haven’t even been considering. Although employers are doing many different things to increase productivity in the office, most of them aren’t paying attention to employee health issues and concerns about mobility in the business. Combined with more traditional methods of improving employee performance, attention to these two key areas could significantly improve the productivity of the entire nation’s work force.
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