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SmoothRule works by creating access rule sets specifying which Internet services can or cannot be used - and then assigning these rule sets to users. A rule set is effectively a list of TCP/IP and UDP ports, such as email, web browsing, file transfer etc. There are two modes of operation. If a rule set is configured to operate in restrictive mode, only those services listed in the rule set will be accessible, all other services will be blocked. Alternatively a rule set can be set to operate in permissive mode, whereby only the services listed in the rule set will be blocked, with unrestricted access being allowed to all other services. Rule sets can be created according to the needs of the organisation. Typically rule set might be created by user group, such as for the departments of a company, each with differing Internet usage requirements. An alternative scenario would be for the rule sets to be created and named according to the functions they allow, such as in the "Web and Email only" example below. This particular rule set would prevent users from doing anything on the Internet other than web browsing plus sending and receiving email. A drop down list box of commonly used Internet services dispenses with the need to know the ports used by those services. For non-standard services a user-defined port or range of ports can be configured. Another important reason for using SmoothRule is to stop users from running Peer to Peer networking software on their PCs, with the inherent risk that outsiders could gain access to the organisation's internal network. Many people think only of Microsoft Workgroups - but be aware there is a large amount of freely downloadable software that turns a PC into a file sharing resource on Internet based Peer to Peer networks. Many music sharing and download systems work like this. Who knows what security vulnerabilities of even covert "back doors" may be present in such software? SmoothRule does not restrict what services can be used on an organisation's internal or VPN network, so for example, access to workgroups, file, database, email or Intranet servers situated on the local network is not affected. SmoothRule controls access to external Internet based services. Rule sets can be applied to whole subnets, to particular groups of user PCs using network addresses, or to individual user IP addresses. The De-Militarised Zone (DMZ) is also subject to the control of SmoothRule. Download a brochure of this product
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