Introduction To Profiles - EdgeWave iPrism Web Security Administration Manual

iPrism
Besides blocking web, IM, and P2P activity, the administrator also has the ability to simply monitor
the traffic. For websites, you can select which categories are monitored and when this monitoring is
to be done. For IM and P2P traffic, you can monitor based on the protocol used.
Monitoring allows you to see how your network in being used; for example, who visits which sites
and how often. All the power to block or monitor access lies in the hands of the administrator. iPrism
just gives them the means by which to do it.
Since a "one size fits all" approach to filtering is not suitable for most organizations, iPrism resolves
the issue by using filtering profiles. The iPrism uses two different types of profiles – one for web traffic
and another for non-web traffic. A profile tells iPrism which categories of traffic to block or monitor at
a particular moment. You can create as many different profiles as you need and assign them to
different users, or different networks and subnets.
How to create profiles and how to assign them to subnets or an entire network is covered in the
following sections. Details on how to assign these profiles to users is covered in

Introduction to Profiles

Profiles are the elements within iPrism that determine what information is blocked, monitored, or
passed through. There are two types of profiles:
• Web Profiles determine which websites are filtered.
• Application Profiles determine which instant message (IM) and peer to peer (P2P) traffic is
allowed.
Profiles are at the very core of iPrism's functionality. In addition to determining what gets blocked
where, profiles also determine when traffic is blocked. Thus, you don't have to manually change
profiles to accommodate a situation where one group has access to the network for some part of the
day and another group has access to it for another. The active profile can automatically switch the
filtering criteria at a designated time of day, so you can be assured of having the protection you need,
when you need it.
Profiles are flexible and accommodating, as each profile is actually made up of one or more
individual filtering criteria, called an Access Control List (ACL). It is actually the ACL that specifies
which traffic gets blocked or monitored. A profile can consist of a single ACL, which would provide
the same degree of filtering all the time, or it can utilize several ACLs, allowing different degrees of
filtering at specific times. This is how a single profile is able to provide a different level of filtering at
various times of the day.
Chapter 2 Overview
Administration Guide
Profiles & Filters.
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