St. Bernard iPrism 10h Appliance

Overview:

 

The iPrism Web Filter from St. Bernard combines simplicity, performance and value to deliver unrivalled protection from Internet-based threats such as malware, viruses, spyware, anonymizers, IM, P2P, and inappropriate content. As a self-contained appliance-based solution, iPrism offers universal interoperability on any platform and in any network environment, delivering Internet security at the perimeter, to help enforce your Internet acceptable use and security policies. In addition, iPrism seamlessly integrates with your directory services to automate authentication for fast and easy deployment throughout your organization. Simple to set up and requiring virtually zero maintenance, the iPrism Web Filter allows your organization to mitigate the risks of legal liability, defend against security breaches, and prevent productivity loss.

Highlights

Multi-Layered Protection
iPrism’s robust antivirus combines with the powerful, proprietary iGuard database to give you multi-layered protection from malware/viruses, spyware and phishing — perimeter defense you won’t find in other solutions.

Proprietary Technology
iPrism’s exclusive transparent bridge deployment won’t introduce latency to your network traffic no matter how busy your network gets. Even networks with the largest pipelines are easily managed by iPrism’s combination of seamless in-line deployment and kernel-level filtering technology.

Most Comprehensive and Accurate URL Database
St. Bernard maintains its own URL database, now with 80 categories containing millions of websites. This allows you to easily customize your filtering to fit the exact requirements of your acceptable use policy. Your iPrism subscription includes automatic, daily database updates, with the crucial security category, covering spyware, malware and phishing sites, updated hourly.

Unrivalled Anonymizer Defense
iPrism blocks anonymizer sites by employing an unparalleled multi-layered approach that combines human-reviewed URL classification, deep packet inspection and unique proxy blocking to deliver the most effective anonymizer protection on the market.

Features:

Exclusive Transparent Bridge Mode Deployment
iPrism’s standard Transparent Bridge Mode deployment and proprietary kernel-level filtering combine the accuracy and security of pass-through filters with the speed of a pass-by or sniffer-type solution, giving you the best of both worlds. The benefits are significant:

• Because both pass-through and pass-by traffic is monitored, comprehensive security is assured
• Kernel-level filtering means latency is never introduced into the filtering process
• Flexible transparent deployment assures that the iPrism appliance can still function as a direct proxy when deployed in Transparent Bridge Mode.
• Functioning in both modes simultaneously allows greater flexibility in deployment.
• Proxy functionality is available for remote users who may not use the same gateway to the Internet as on-site users
• iPrism’s flexible deployment works seamlessly in a wide range of network scenarios involving mixed platforms, legacy systems and other variants.

iGuard Database with iPrism Automated Rating Protocol (iARP)
The iPrism 100% human-reviewed iGuard database includes the iARP feature, which further refines Web filtering by sending your most frequently accessed unrated URLs to the iGuard team automatically to be added to your database.

Antivirus
iPrism Web Filter’s antivirus features a unique four-factored system for detecting and blocking Internet-based viruses that includes a massive signature database, advanced heuristics, emulation and neural network detection. This technology adds a critical layer of antivirus protection for your network while minimizing false positives and false negatives.

Remote Filtering
The iPrism Web Filter has the ability to filter mobile users — an important attribute in today’s fluid business environment. Using filtering policies set by the IT administrator, proxied Web traffic from remote or mobile users is easily and accurately monitored and blocked with one-stop reporting and policy management.

New Web-Based User Interface
iPrism has simplified administration and streamlined the user interface by replacing its Java-based UI with a browser-based interface that offers single sign-on (SSO). This gives you comprehensive management capabilities using a single interface via any Web browser. In addition, multiple administrators can now log into the new UI simultaneously for increased efficiency.

New Enhanced Directory Integration
iPrism eases administration duties by integrating seamlessly with all major network directories including Novell Netware Directory Services (NDS), Windows Active Directory, including Window 7 and also Mac clients using AD 2003/2008 and Mac OSX Snow Leopard. In addition, as an LDAP variant, it is possible to integrate iPrism Web Filter with OSX Server Open Directory (LDAP v2/v3).

New iPrism iLearn Center – Embedded Video Tutorials
The iPrism iLearn Center offers exclusive video tutorials that are embedded in the new iPrism user interface. This enhanced user support feature allows you to manage your Web filter configuration and policy settings on-the-fly, shaving hours off the time you spend on IT administration tasks. The iLearn Center houses a series of short video tutorials that walk you through specific iPrism tasks without requiring you to log out and access a manual or knowledgebase. These concise, easy-to-use materials include text as well as videos covering a wide range of iPrism capabilities. The iLearn Center tutorials are conveniently accessible through the new iPrism Web-enabled user interface from a central help page and also via icons located at relevant points throughout the iPrism UI.

Seamless Terminal Server Integration
iPrism’s unique auto-login feature allows terminal server users to maintain their productivity without incessant authentication requests. iPrism’s unique “session based” authentication technology lets you to use Auto-login to simplify the authentication process without installing any software on your terminal or AD servers. This seamless integration is verified by the fact that iPrism is the only Citrix Ready appliance-based Web Filter on the market, assuring consistent policy application whether your users are Web surfing from their desktops or via Citrix or other terminal server systems.

Comprehensive On-Box Reporting
iPrism includes comprehensive on-box reporting that requires no additional hardware or software. A variety of report templates are available and reports can be scheduled by day week or month and can run in the background — freeing you to take care of other projects while your reports are automatically generated. You can assign users the right to run the Reports Manager, too.

If you have multiple iPrisms deployed across your large enterprise and distributed network, the iPrism Enterprise Reporting Server (ERS) delivers comprehensive aggregate reports on all Web activity quickly and easily.

Anonymizer Defense
Employees who try to circumvent the iPrism Web Filter by using anonymizer websites and proxies will have their attempts blocked at every turn. iPrism’s multi-layered approach uses a variety of techniques:

Spoofed SSL: Only iPrism can detect and block anonymizer traffic that tries to spoof secure traffic.

Concealed Surfing: Administrators always know where users are going on the Web because HTTPS traffic is reported using domain names, instead of IP addresses.

Dynamic Proxy Detection including:

• UltraSurf domain
• The Google-web-accelerator domain
• The http-proxy domain

Real-time Updates: Proxy URLs are collected and message groups are monitored daily for new anonymizers.

Active Domain IP Address Mapping: The ability to circumvent iPrism using IP addresses is blocked with this mapping feature.

Multiple Administration Roles
iPrism gives you the flexibility to define roles for policy and other facets of management to any person within the organization (local or authenticated users). This is ideal for situations where policy may not be managed by IT, or for large organizations trying to optimize resources. New iPrism's browser-based interface now allow multiple administrators to sign-on at once, increasing efficiency and streamlining management tasks for your organization.

iPrism h-Series Appliances
iPrism’s powerful line of high-performance hardware offers a full range of appliances designed to deliver optimum performance and Web filtering throughput speeds to organizations of all sizes no matter how big their pipelines. All of the h-Series models share a hardened and optimized OS for complete interoperability and unrivalled power and performance.

Deployment:

The iPrism Web Filter is easily integrated into a wide variety of network configurations. Because it is a completely self-contained solution with its own hardened and optimized operating system, the iPrism is platform agnostic with comprehensive interoperability. Our engineers have been successful in deploying the iPrism Web Filter into complex, legacy networks and will work with customers who have specific or non-standard requirements.

iPrism's Exclusive Transparent Bridge Deployment

iPrism's exclusive transparent bridge deployment delivers powerful Web filtering that won't introduce latency to your network traffic no matter how busy your network gets. Even networks with the largest pipelines are easily managed by iPrism's combination of seamless in-line deployment and kernel-level filtering technology.

Installing an iPrism appliance in its typical Transparent Bridge Mode has several benefits:

• iPrism combines the accuracy and security of pass-through filters with the speed of a pass-by or sniffer-type solution, giving you the best of both worlds:
  • Pass-thru traffic is securely monitored defeating any attempts to circumvent the iPrism filter
  • Pass-by traffic is picked up and pages are blocked according to your organization's policiess
  • Kernel-level filtering means the appliance is not acting in proxy mode and latency is never introduced into the process
• Flexible transparent deployment means the iPrism appliance can still function as a direct proxy when deployed in Transparent Bridge Mode.
  • Functioning in both modes simultaneously allows greater flexibility in deployment.
  • Proxy functionality is available for remote users who may not use the same gateway to the Internet as on-site users
• Because all traffic flows over the iPrism Transparent Bridge, features and functionality that take advantage of this visibility can be easily downloaded to the iPrism Web Filter
• Single Point of Failure issues are eliminated with the Bypass Module on the NIC because any problems with the iPrism will not affect normal network operations or performance
• As a stand alone appliance with no additional software or servers required, the iPrism has greater flexibility in adapting to a wide range of network scenarios involving mixed platforms, legacy systems and other variants

Product Comparison:

 

FAQs:

• What is iPrism?
• What's New in iPrism v6.4?
• Why is iPrism better than software-only solutions?
• Do you block web sites by IP address?
• What happens if someone enters an IP address to access a site?
• Can users circumvent iPrism filtering?
• Are user override privileges supported?
• How do I know what version of iPrism software I'm running?
• How do I receive software updates?
• Does iPrism offer reporting?
• What if I only want to monitor Internet access?
• Does iPrism filter other Internet services?
• How does iPrism connect to my network?
• What does an iPrism filtering subscription include?
• What categories are in the iGuard database?
• What are the differences in the h-Series Appliances?

What is iPrism?

iPrism is a full-featured, dedicated Internet filtering appliance designed for high performance and reliability. As an appliance-based solution with its own hardened and optimized OS, iPrism offers award-winning Internet filtering and antivirus protection in a solution that's completely interoperable and easy to use. With iPrism, organizations can effectively monitor, block and report on their users' Web, IM, and P2P activity.

What's New in iPrism v6.4?

Browser-Based User Interface - Replaces the previous Java-based UI and features:

• Single-Sign-On (SSO)
• Enables multiple simultaneous administrators
• Workflow Enhancements - iPrism saves your work at any point and lets you review it prior to confirmation, so you don't have to restart the UI. You can also generate change reports on demand.
• Full Configuration Report - Retain complete details on your iPrism configuration for your records with this on-demand report

Integrated iLearn Center - Embedded video tutorials allow you to manage iPrism tasks on-the-fly by walking you through specific iPrism tasks without requiring you to log out and access a manual or knowledgebase.

SSL Certificate Enhancement - iPrism now enables users to upload their own SSL certificate

WCCPv2 Support - Enterprise networks using WCCPv2 with multiple routers can now manage their Web security using one iPrism Web Filter.

Enhanced Anti-Virus Performance in Proxy Mode - For iPrism installations in single-interface mode (proxy), the dynamic malware detection function is improved substantially with major improvements to bandwidth usage.

Authentication Enhancements - Integration for Mac clients using AD2003/2008 by allowing them to take advantage of Auto-Login from OSX (Tiger and Leopard) clients.

Why is iPrism better than software-only solutions?

1. There is no additional hardware or software to purchase, install, or manage. iPrism does not require additions to workstations, servers, firewalls or other network components.
2. New h-series appliances offer a wide range of models that are designed to provide blazing throughput speeds ranging from 10 to 100 Mbps, depending on the model you choose. With hardened and optimized OS and designed to integrate managed services scalability with on-premises control, the h-Series prepares you for a comprehensive solution to all your secure content management needs -- both now and in the future.
3. iPrism provides automatic operating system and application software updates. Software solutions force their customers to download and install any patches, upgrades, etc.
4. Since iPrism includes both hardware and software, there is only one vendor to contact for support. Software solutions may require multiple vendor contacts depending on the issue.
5. iPrism is platform-independent and works in virtually any environment. This allows iPrism to easily adapt to changing network equipment. Software vendors may not work on certain platforms or network equipment and do not easily adapt to change.
6. iPrism's ease-of-use and virtually zero maintenance requirements combine with low acquisition and renewal pricing to deliver the lowest total cost of ownership on the market.
7. In an independent total cost of ownership study, iPrism was found to save over 500 hours per year in IT admin time over the leading software-based Web filters. This translates into thousands of dollars in savings.

Do you block web sites by IP address?

No. iPrism filters by full URL names and includes the ability to block top-level directories while allowing subdirectories for maximum flexibility and precision control. URL-based filtering is required to properly handle virtual Web site hosting. Since many ISPs host multiple Web sites on the same server, products that block based only upon IP address will incorrectly block every site on the hosted Web server, even though some sites do not contain inappropriate content.

What happens if someone enters an IP address to access a site?

Prism will automatically detect IP address entry and properly handle them as if the site had been entered by URL name.

Can users circumvent iPrism filtering?

No. In the recommended configuration, iPrism controls all network traffic to and from the Internet. Any attempts to bypass the filter are blocked and logged as an access violation. In addition, Anonymizer defense that includes deep packet inspection also makes circumventing the iPrism virtually impossible.

Are user override privileges supported?

Yes. When a user tries to access a blocked Web site, a message indicating that access was denied is displayed instead of the requested page. This page allows users with override privileges to enter a password for immediate access to the requested Web site.

How do I know what version of iPrism software I'm running?

iPrism's new user interface shows the version number you are currently running at the top of every screen beside "Installed iPrism Versions". In addition, you can find the version number by accessing the "System/Status/About" page under "System Information". From the start menu, select "System Status" and then "About".

How do I receive software updates?

You may select to have software updates automatically downloaded and applied to your iPrism or manually apply software updates when you choose. Automatic software updates are performed without any user intervention.

Does iPrism offer reporting?

Yes. In addition to proactive filtering and blocking of inappropriate Internet access, iPrism provides full monitoring and logging of all successful and unsuccessful Internet accesses, giving your organization a complete profile of user activity. Comprehensive "best-in-class" reporting is built into every iPrism appliance and is included at no extra charge. For large enterprises with multiple iPrism units, centralized aggregated high-performance Enterprise reporting is available using the Enterprise Reporting Server (ERS).

Briefly, pre-defined and user-created iPrism report types include:

• Interactive - for those times when you want an on-screen report, right now
• Background - for those times when you need to multi-task while running reports, with delivery options
• Scheduled - for daily, weekly, and monthly reporting with delivery options
• Real-Time Monitor - for those times when you need to view real-time user traffic for testing or policy verification

Note: key reporting features include multi-level drill-down, column sorting, email/ftp delivery, and PDF/CSV file options. Progress status is provided for scheduled reports, and large reports are delivered in email-friendly chunks.

Multi-unit iPrism reporting options include:

• ERS - Enterprise Reporting Server provides high-performance, aggregated reporting for multiple iPrism units

What if I only want to monitor Internet access?

To access, block access, do both or do neither. When monitoring, reports are available allowing you to show detailed site-by-site access or summary reports showing what content categories are accessed by which users.

Does iPrism filter other Internet services?

Yes. iPrism can control access to a wide variety of other productivity and bandwidth draining services, such as streaming audio, streaming video, FTP, IRC and ICQ chat. Additionally, iPrism filters IM and P2P protocols.

How does iPrism connect to my network?

Depending on the iPrism model, the appliance will have dual 10/100Mbps network interface cards, or dual Gigabit network interface cards, and is typically connected between your router and LAN. Other connection options exist to meet special needs.

What does an iPrism filtering subscription include?

Subscriptions include the following:

• Automatic, daily database updates
• Automatic operating system and minor software upgrades
• Hardware and software support

What does an iPrism filtering subscription include?

Subscriptions include the following:

• Automatic, daily database updates
• Automatic operating system and minor software upgrades
• Hardware and software support

What categories are in the iGuard database?

Detailed category definitions can be found at here.

What are the differences in the h-Series Appliances?

Detailed appliance information can be found at here.

Documentation::

Download the St. Bernard Software iPrism Web Filtering Overview Data Sheet (PDF).

Download the St. Bernard Software iPrism h-Series Appliances Data Sheet (PDF).