8e6 Technologies ProxyBlocker manual Instant Messaging, Peer-to-Peer Blocking, IM Blocking

INTRODUCTORY SECTION CHAPTER 2: LOGGING AND BLOCKING

Instant Messaging, Peer-to-Peer Blocking

The ProxyBlocker has options for blocking and/or logging the use of Instant Messaging and Peer-to-Peer services, and makes use of Intelligent Footprint Technology (IFT) for greatly increasing management and control of these popular—yet potentially harmful—applications. This section explains how to set up and use IM and P2P.

How IM and P2P Blocking Works

IM Blocking

Instant Messaging (IM) involves direct connections between workstations either locally or across the Internet. Using this feature of the ProxyBlocker, groups and/or individual client machines can be set up to block the use of IM services specified in the library category.

When the IM module is loaded on the server, the Proxy- Blocker compares packets on the network with IM libraries stored on the ProxyBlocker server. If a match is found, the ProxyBlocker checks the user’s profile to see whether the user’s connection to the IM service should be blocked, and then performs the appropriate action.

WARNING: The following items are known issues pertaining to the IM module:

•IM can only block by destination IP address if network traffic is being tunneled, sent through a Virtual Private Network (VPN), or encrypted.

•IM will not be blocked if a client-side VPN is set up to proxy traffic through a remote IP address outside the connection protected by the ProxyBlocker.

•Some versions of the AOL client create a network interface that send a network connection through a UDP proxy server, which prevents blocking IM.

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