Comments on: Understanding Website Categorization in GFI WebMonitor

By: David Attard

David Attard — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:01:56 +0000

Thomas,

I would have to agree that many adult sites are in dodgy internet neighborhoods. As a real life example, most websites live in “Red Light districts” where there isn’t just pornography but also other malicious content, scams, frauds and others possible problems.

That means that besides the actual fact that you are watching adult content at the office (something which could also leave your employer liable), you are also introducing other types of risks. You could argue that these risks could be found anywhere, but the probability of them occurring in the “Red Light” zone, is higher.

What I meant to highlight in the article though is that, besides obvious category choices there are several other less obvious WebMonitor categories which can help you achieve

1. Productivity cost savings
2. Comprehensive Security
3. Better control of bandwidth
4. Raise a flag when suspicious behavior is happening …

By: Jason B.

Jason B. — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:10:30 +0000

Website categorization? It sounds like rounding up websites because of their contents, which I think is not fair. We should judge websites not because of what it have, but because of what it can give to users – its usefulness.

People have different reasons of surfing online. Most men visit adult sites often, students to do research, moms to find food recipes, etc.

By: Unknown Man

Unknown Man — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:57:58 +0000

I have to disagree with you Thomas. As a matter of fact, most porn websites have direct / indirect connections to malwares, spywares, scare wares, plotwares, adwares, phishers, and viruses. Most of them are illegitimate websites and are known virus farms.

Because of this adult-themed sites should be blocked no matter who uses it and where it’s being accessed. I’m not against adult sites but they should be controlled / limited.

By: Thomas Edgar

Thomas Edgar — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:03:19 +0000

Singling out only Adult and Pornography websites is out of line. Did you know that in an office environment (and in schools), most employees visit social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter? They don’t visit porn sites. Adult sites are only visited for personal use, which are typically accessed at homes. Therefore, they should not be blocked.

My point is, why block and monitor adult and porn websites? It’s like you’re taking away an individual’s right. If porn sites are controlled, so should cartoon-based websites and those portals often visited by children.

By: Dan Castor

Dan Castor — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:14:12 +0000

Certainly a lot of these websites are a great starting point for what needs to be blocked out. The nice thing about categorization like in GFI WebMonitor is that you don’t have to go hunting around for copycat sites(everyone remembers eBay, but what about up and comers like Beezid?) and can just set your monitoring software up and let it handle the rest. Maintain an eye on network traffic, listen to any complaints about sites that belong on a whitelist, and even with this kind of vigilance, your workload is significantly decreased.