Using Internet Filter in Virus Scan

[SuperDaveDCF]

I want to use the Internet Filter section of Virus Scan to block URLs and am finding some very interesting results. Adding the URLs is the easy part. The banned sites are contained in a file called domainx.dat and this can easily be copied to each user in our network upon login.

The problem is that on some PC configurations the user is given a choice to Continue or Deny when trying to access a banned URL. This is not good as most users will hit continue and this bypasses the whole reason we didn't want them there. It doesn't appear to be related to the version of Virus Scan either.

My system with 98 SE, IE 6 and Virus 4.51 sp1 gives me the choice. A coworker with 98 SE, IE 5.5 sp2 and Virus 4.51 sp1 does not get the choice and the page does not display. Another coworker with 98 SE, IE 5.0 and Virus 4.51 gets the choice. Yet another with 98 SE, IE 5.5 and Virus 4.51 upgrade from 4.50 does not get a choice.

Any of you folks have experience/suggestions with this? Thanks.

 

[linney]

Can't help you with virus scan but can't you restrict sites via any firewall you have installed. You can also use IE to restrict sites. It seems that Virus Scan is relating to each individual computer seperately despite you copying the file you mentioned.

 

[SuperDaveDCF]

linney, the firewall is a good suggestion however our enterprise (state agency) is broken down into 15 districts. The firewall resides at the top of the network and is beyond our administration. Another option would be to configure the Cisco routers but in our case the local telco owns them and wants us to pay them for any reconfiguration.

On your second suggestion, I am looking at using IE as well. The nice thing about the mcafee though is that you can enable the security on it to prevent the end user from altering settings or exiting the program. I've also noticed that with IE you have to have the exact url for it to work properly. For example, one of our biggest problems is Webshots. Mcafee will allow me to just input webshots and this will take care of

http://www.webshots.com

as well as daily.webshots.com and files.webshots.com. In IE you have to make the entries separately.

Thanks for the reply though.

 

[linney]

Your a bit out of my leaugue up there but here is one other suggestion. Have you looked at using the Hosts file to block access to sites?

 

[SuperDaveDCF]

I'm game...who/what/where/when is the hosts file you're thinking of.

 

[ChrisHirst]

The internet filter in VScan is useless at blocking access to sites, If the user goes for continue, blocking is ignored regardless of user level, passwords etc. A better option would be to use content filter software on the gateway to each site, Websense for example, Or you can use a proxy server again at each site and route local internet access through it. A local software firewall is another possibility to give local admin the ability to block URL's, you do not need one with masses of features as the main firewall should be blocking outside access.

Chris

 

[linney]

http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/what_is_hosts.html

See if this has possibilities. It is mainly used for ad blocking but will work with general sites also. Do a search of your system to locate the Hosts file and open it. You'll find instructions inside of it. It is similar to a notepad file. You just add banned sites to the list. Check the link for more details.

 

[Guest_imported]

Under the 'Action' tab in the Internet Filter Properties, there is a choice to "Prompt for user action" or to "Deny access to objects." You'll want to change this to "Deny access to objects" and then your users will not get the choice prompt.

 

[SuperDaveDCF]

Bmpe_qa....you da man!! This was exactly what I was looking for. I feel kinda dumb as it was such an obvious solution. Thank you and also thanks to linney and Chris for other excellent replies.