The Internet is an important tool for conducting business. With more companies offering web-based access for ordering goods and services, it is crucial for employees to have Internet access. Unfortunately, the Internet is also a place where employees can lose productivity by browsing news sites or playing online games. It has also become a place where offensive content abounds in the form of pornography, hate, and violence. With the 602LAN SUITE Content Filter, you can block all of these types of sites and more.

Enable the 602LAN SUITE 2004 Content Filter

The 602LAN SUITE Content Filter is available in 602LAN SUITE 2004 build 2004.0.04.1207 or later. To check what build you are using, click Help - About 602LAN SUITE from 602LAN SUITE. If you are using a build earlier than 2004.0.04.1207, you will need to upgrade to this build. Instructions for doing this can be found, here.

Once you have upgraded to the correct build, perform the following steps to enable the Content Filter:

1. Open 602LAN SUITE 2004, click Settings and then Advanced Configuration.
2. Click the Content Filter tab.
3. Click to add a checkmark in the Check HTTP proxy requests with the Content Filter checkbox.

NOTE: The 602LAN SUITE 2004 Content Filter will only work with the HTTP Proxy. Web sites accessed through NAT or SOCKS will not be filtered by the Content Filter.

Configure the Content Filter

Now that the Content Filter is enabled, it is time to set the rule to block sites from being accessed by your network users. The Content Filter provides 22 categories to filter. To define a rule, do the following:

1. From the Content Filter tab, click the Content Filter Rules tab.
2. Click the Add rule button.
3. Select the specific categories you would like to block. If you would like to block all 22 categories, simply click the Check all button.
4. Now we need to define who actually gets blocked from accessing these sites. Click the Add Hosts button, and select the appropriate option. This option allows you to block by all IP addresses, specific address, a specific subnet, or all the IP addresses in a range. For this example, we will use any address which will filter sites for all your network users.
5. Click OK, then Save

Now, when a user accesses a blocked site, an error message will appear, and the access attempt will be logged to the log file.