Greetings,

We hope that you are all looking forward to the holiday season . Here at Wavecrest, we look forward to the holidays, as it is a good time to spend with friends and family.

It also means that a new year is right around the corner for us, which is a great time to re-examine our short and long-term goals for our products and review any feedback we received from you, our customers. But before we jump too far ahead, we needed to send you this last newsletter communication for the year.

In this issue, one of our very own technical support team members contributed the feature article on the dangers of public proxies and how to avoid them. Further down, you will find information about the latest minor releases and some tech tips on using a couple of fairly new features in your Wavecrest product.

As always, if you ever have any questions, give us a call at 321-953-5351 or send us an email at support@wavecrest.net.

The Wavecrest Team

The Dangers of Public Proxies

Introduction.
Public proxies are often used by employees or students who want to get around Web filters and/or avoid being identified by Internet logging. In other words, public proxies allow individuals to surf the Web "anonymously."

The way public proxies work is by making the requested Web site appear to be going to a Web address other than the address of the site actually being requested. They act like a “middle man.” When a Web site is requested, the request is sent to the public proxy, which forwards the request to the original destination, and then returns the site that was requested.

Problems with Public Proxies.
The claim that a public proxy hides a user’s identity may sound safe, but the fact is that public proxies that are used to get around filters can be very dangerous to the user and his/her company or school.

Many public proxies promote spyware or malware activity. They are created to gather user information, or even worse, company information on an employee’s computer. They often log an individual’s online browsing, emails, and chat sessions to gather user names, passwords, credit card or banking information. Some of the information gained, e.g., email addresses, is often used to sell to other companies for marketing purposes.

Solutions.
There are a few steps you can take to prevent or identify the use of public proxies. The first is to make sure your acceptable use policy and consequences of breaking policy are clearly communicated.

Secondly, back up your AUP by blocking (CyBlock only) and/or monitoring the Public Proxy and IP address categories closely. Many public proxies use IP addresses to avoid easy detection, so a spike in IP Address visits could be an indication that an employee or student may be using one.

Finally, make sure that your employees or students are aware of the security dangers associated with public proxies. Many are not aware of the security risk associated with public proxies and may be less inclined to use one if they are educated on the dangers they pose to the user and his/her company or school.

Minor Releases – CyBlock Proxy 5.8.1 and Cyfin 7.8.1

If you haven't done so already, get the latest minor releases for CyBlock and Cyfin. The new enhancements include:

Centralized product management. Manage multiple product installations via an array, by managing your settings from a primary console where they will be broadcast out to your secondary installations. (This feature is only available for CyBlock Proxy and Cyfin Proxy.)
Access accounts password authentication. This release allows you to create access accounts that use the operator's pre-existing Active Directory password!
New report timeframe choices. There are new time frames to choose from to run your reports, e.g., Yesterday, Last Week, Last 7 Days, and Last Month. For manual reports, you also have the option of selecting a custom timeframe.
Watchguard Firebox Support for Cyfin Reporter. The new Watchguard XML logfiles are now supported with Cyfin Reporter.

Tech Tips - Using Interactive Reporting and Export Data

Interactive Reporting

Interactive reporting allows you quickly drill-down from a high-level summary report to a more detailed report by simply clicking on a report’s elements. For example, when looking at a high-level summary report click on a user ID to get a User Audit Detail report on that user, or click on a category to get a Category Audit Detail report.

To use interactive reporting follow the steps below.

Step 1: Enable the Data Manager and import your logs. (If you are already using the Data Manager, you can skip this step.) Go to Logfiles – Data Manager on the menu to access the Data Manger’s Setup and Import screens.

Step 2: Configure Interactive report settings and the access password. Interactive reports are password protected, so in order to access the drill-down report, the password configured on this screen must be entered. Go to Advanced Settings – Report Settings on your product’s menu and click on the Interactive Reports link.

Step 3: Select Interactive as the report type when running or scheduling a report.

Export Data

With the Export Data feature, you have the ability to export Web-use data to other applications for further analysis and/or storage. The data can be exported in either xml or .csv format. Export data can also be filtered by date and timeframe, hits and visits, groups and IDs, and categories.

To export data, you must first import the data into the product’s internal database, the Data Manager. Once the logfiles are in the database, they can then be accessed for export. To export data go to Logfiles – Data Manager in the product menu, click on the Export Data link and complete the fields to indicate which data you want to export.

Online Support Forum

Connect with over 3,000 Wavecrest software users worldwide — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — at Wavecrest's online support forum.

Wavecrest's online support forum is a searchable forum of questions and answers related to Wavecrest software. The information is contributed by Wavecrest users and moderated by Wavecrest's technical support staff.

To access the support forum, go to http://forum.wavecrest.net/.

And remember, you can still reach Wavecrest tech support via email at support@wavecrest.net or by phone Monday – Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern Time at 877-442-9346 (toll free in the US and Canada) or 001-321-953-5351(International).

You are receiving this e-mail because you are a Wavecrest customer or have shown an interest in our products. Your relationship with us is important. Please know that the e-mail addresses of our subscribers will never be sold or distributed to other companies or lists.

If you wish to no longer receive the Wavecrest newsletter, please reply to this email with REMOVE as the subject.


IN THIS ISSUE Dangers of Public Proxies New Minor Releases Tech Tip: Interactive Reporting Online Support Forum WAVECREST HOME	Greetings, We hope that you are all looking forward to the holiday season . Here at Wavecrest, we look forward to the holidays, as it is a good time to spend with friends and family. It also means that a new year is right around the corner for us, which is a great time to re-examine our short and long-term goals for our products and review any feedback we received from you, our customers. But before we jump too far ahead, we needed to send you this last newsletter communication for the year. In this issue, one of our very own technical support team members contributed the feature article on the dangers of public proxies and how to avoid them. Further down, you will find information about the latest minor releases and some tech tips on using a couple of fairly new features in your Wavecrest product. As always, if you ever have any questions, give us a call at 321-953-5351 or send us an email at support@wavecrest.net. The Wavecrest Team The Dangers of Public Proxies Introduction. Public proxies are often used by employees or students who want to get around Web filters and/or avoid being identified by Internet logging. In other words, public proxies allow individuals to surf the Web "anonymously." The way public proxies work is by making the requested Web site appear to be going to a Web address other than the address of the site actually being requested. They act like a “middle man.” When a Web site is requested, the request is sent to the public proxy, which forwards the request to the original destination, and then returns the site that was requested. Problems with Public Proxies. The claim that a public proxy hides a user’s identity may sound safe, but the fact is that public proxies that are used to get around filters can be very dangerous to the user and his/her company or school. Many public proxies promote spyware or malware activity. They are created to gather user information, or even worse, company information on an employee’s computer. They often log an individual’s online browsing, emails, and chat sessions to gather user names, passwords, credit card or banking information. Some of the information gained, e.g., email addresses, is often used to sell to other companies for marketing purposes. Solutions. There are a few steps you can take to prevent or identify the use of public proxies. The first is to make sure your acceptable use policy and consequences of breaking policy are clearly communicated. Secondly, back up your AUP by blocking (CyBlock only) and/or monitoring the Public Proxy and IP address categories closely. Many public proxies use IP addresses to avoid easy detection, so a spike in IP Address visits could be an indication that an employee or student may be using one. Finally, make sure that your employees or students are aware of the security dangers associated with public proxies. Many are not aware of the security risk associated with public proxies and may be less inclined to use one if they are educated on the dangers they pose to the user and his/her company or school. Minor Releases – CyBlock Proxy 5.8.1 and Cyfin 7.8.1 If you haven't done so already, get the latest minor releases for CyBlock and Cyfin. The new enhancements include: Centralized product management. Manage multiple product installations via an array, by managing your settings from a primary console where they will be broadcast out to your secondary installations. (This feature is only available for CyBlock Proxy and Cyfin Proxy.) Access accounts password authentication. This release allows you to create access accounts that use the operator's pre-existing Active Directory password! New report timeframe choices. There are new time frames to choose from to run your reports, e.g., Yesterday, Last Week, Last 7 Days, and Last Month. For manual reports, you also have the option of selecting a custom timeframe. Watchguard Firebox Support for Cyfin Reporter. The new Watchguard XML logfiles are now supported with Cyfin Reporter. Tech Tips - Using Interactive Reporting and Export Data Interactive Reporting Interactive reporting allows you quickly drill-down from a high-level summary report to a more detailed report by simply clicking on a report’s elements. For example, when looking at a high-level summary report click on a user ID to get a User Audit Detail report on that user, or click on a category to get a Category Audit Detail report. To use interactive reporting follow the steps below. Step 1: Enable the Data Manager and import your logs. (If you are already using the Data Manager, you can skip this step.) Go to Logfiles – Data Manager on the menu to access the Data Manger’s Setup and Import screens. Step 2: Configure Interactive report settings and the access password. Interactive reports are password protected, so in order to access the drill-down report, the password configured on this screen must be entered. Go to Advanced Settings – Report Settings on your product’s menu and click on the Interactive Reports link. Step 3: Select Interactive as the report type when running or scheduling a report. Export Data With the Export Data feature, you have the ability to export Web-use data to other applications for further analysis and/or storage. The data can be exported in either xml or .csv format. Export data can also be filtered by date and timeframe, hits and visits, groups and IDs, and categories. To export data, you must first import the data into the product’s internal database, the Data Manager. Once the logfiles are in the database, they can then be accessed for export. To export data go to Logfiles – Data Manager in the product menu, click on the Export Data link and complete the fields to indicate which data you want to export. Online Support Forum Connect with over 3,000 Wavecrest software users worldwide — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — at Wavecrest's online support forum. Wavecrest's online support forum is a searchable forum of questions and answers related to Wavecrest software. The information is contributed by Wavecrest users and moderated by Wavecrest's technical support staff. To access the support forum, go to http://forum.wavecrest.net/. And remember, you can still reach Wavecrest tech support via email at support@wavecrest.net or by phone Monday – Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern Time at 877-442-9346 (toll free in the US and Canada) or 001-321-953-5351(International). You are receiving this e-mail because you are a Wavecrest customer or have shown an interest in our products. Your relationship with us is important. Please know that the e-mail addresses of our subscribers will never be sold or distributed to other companies or lists. If you wish to no longer receive the Wavecrest newsletter, please reply to this email with REMOVE as the subject. © Copyright 1996-2008 Wavecrest Computing. All rights reserved.