Microsoft have announced that they are no longer going to be supporting Microsoft Threat Management Gateway (TMG) from April 2015. So what should you do if you have been using Microsoft TMG as a firewall, proxy server or web filter?
In reality, TMG’s technology was starting to look a little “old hat” anyway. Filter lists can only ever know about a small percentage of the web sites on the internet, and it can be a hacked business site that can hurt you!
Web security today needs be a little smarter to protect your networks:
Web security today needs be a little smarter to protect your networks:
Blocking Known Hacked Web Sites
If you end up with a Trojan or spyware on your PC, you have a 90+% chance that you got it from a malicious or hacked web site. These days, web security solutions refers to a constantly updated database of known hacked or malicious web sites to which access is blocked.
Control of Web Applications
Love them or hate them, web applications such as YouTube and Skype are here to stay. There is some great training / research material on YouTube, and Skype can be incredibly useful, but it gobbles up your internet connection if you aren’t careful. Today’s web protection products allow you to control the amount of your internet bandwidth that can be used by video and audio, so that you have at least some bandwidth reserved for home workers and email.
Facebook security
Facebook is probably an integral part of your marketing strategy, but it is also a great way to waste time playing games and a playground for malicious code that can infect your PC’s. You need a system that can allow you to update your company’s Facebook page but block downloads of malicious code and stop your users playing games.
Different manufacturers approach web security in different ways. You can secure internet access on your employees’ PC’s, using a web proxy appliance, integrated into your firewall, or as a hosted web security service.
If you are a UK company and need some help in deciding which approach is right for you, please do get in contact so that we can find out a little more about your IT installation and recommend some sensible options.
