WHAT IS UTM

A Web filter is a program that can screen an incoming Web page to determine whether some or all of it should not be displayed to the user. The filter checks the origin or content of a Web page against a set of rules provided by company or person who has installed the Web filter. A Web filter allows an enterprise or individual user to block out contents from Websites that are likely to include objectionable advertising, pornographic content, spyware, viruses, and other objectionable content. Web Content filtering will then reduce recreational Internet surfing among employees and secure networks from Web-based threats.

While most of Web filters are often installed as part of a proxy server and firewall, some products can be installed as a transparent “bridge”. That “on the fly” mode can let them control, filter, monitor and analyze the whole company Web surfing.

Some Web filter products also provide reporting so that the installer can see what kind of traffic is being filtered and who has requested it. Some products provide soft blocking (in which a warning page is sent to the user instead of the requested page while still allowing access to the page) and an override capability that allows an administrator to unlock a page.

The SME market has known a new trend with the concept of UTM. Unified threat management refers to a comprehensive security product that includes protection against multiple threats. A UTM product typically includes a firewall, antivirus software, content filtering and a spam filter in a single integrated package. The principal advantages of UTM are simplicity, streamlined installation and use, and the ability to update all the security functions or programs concurrently. As the nature and diversity of Internet threats evolves and grows more complex, UTM products can be tailored to keep up with them all. This eliminates the need for systems administrators to maintain multiple security programs over time. That advantage reveals why this concept is not really appropriated for sophisticated and complex networks of large enterprise and organisation. Nevertheless, in response to this new demand, most of the Firewalls have added UTM functionalities to their platform.