InterGuard Web Filtering
Blocking inappropriate web surfing is critical not only to ensuring the security of your organization, but also to ensuring that your employees are productive, but web surfing is only a part of how employees spend their time. InterGuard Webfiltering is designed to extend your visibility beyond a simple list of URLs and give you a true understanding of whether or not your employees are acting in a safe and productive manner.

Sonar Employee Monitoring
Sonar records and controls all employee computer activity, increasing staff productivity, decreasing exposure to litigation and meeting compliance requirements related to privacy laws and regulations. Unique in the industry, Sonar does not require you to purchase any hardware.

InterGuard Data Loss Prevention
InterGuard provides Data Loss Prevention for your organization – regardless of where your employees or your critical information reside. It can scan every file on every PC in your organization to uncover where confidential Data At Rest resides as well as prevent confidential Data In Motion from leaking out (via email / attachments, USB devices, web postings, etc.).

What’s New in Version 2.1?

Usability Improvements:
When restarting a group of computers in the ProtectOn Pro Console a progress bar is displayed while agent computers are being restarted and a detailed log is displayed at the bottom with status information for each computer.

This new functionality allows network administrators to monitor overall progress, including seeing the computers that are being restarted as well and the ones that for some reason could not be restarted.This maintenance release also includes fixes to several minor issues.

Version 2.1 release notes

Netop Remote Control 10.01 extends the industry leading security features with System authentication for Linux and Mac, better integration with larger Active Directory environments, improved compatibility with Oracle databases and improved experience when using Mac OS X plus much more.

• Netop Remote Control 10.01 Modification Notes (PDF)
• Netop Remote Control 10 Release Notes (PDF)

Quick Overview: What’s New in Netop Remote Control 10?

1. Expanded support for your diverse enterprise, including the latest Linux and Mac platforms.
2. Cross platform capabilities – control your entire enterprise from a single console.
3. Exceptional performance overall and significantly faster screen transfers.
4. Simple and secure connectivity across the internet to support remote staff and devices.
5. Easier management of roles and permissions and better integration with Active Directory.
6. Improved support for virtualized environments including remote control for your VDI desktops.
7. The latest security enhancements for even the most demanding enterprise environments.

Download a Free Trial of Netop RemoteControl Now

Version 7.1 of Netop Vision7 extends the new Vision7 user interface to include the Vision Shortcut Bar and Pointer, Vision’s on-screen and interactive whiteboard annotation tool, as well as a variety of technical fixes and additional language support. With version 7.1, Netop Vision7 – the next generation of Netop’s popular Vision classroom management software – is now available in Italian and Spanish, as well as English, French and German.

This update is available at no cost to Vision customers with a current Netop Advantage agreement.

License information: This maintenance release is available at no cost to customers currently using version 7.0 of Vision and does not require new license keys. If you are using an older version of Vision and have never upgraded to version 7.0, then you will need new license keys in order to use this release.

If you have questions about your license key, or wish to purchase an upgrade to Vision7, please contact Codework.

Vision 7.1 Modification Notes

Current version: 7.1
Latest build: Build 6858
Shipping from: March 28th 2011

Usability is King!
At Netop we want to build a 21st century classroom management solution that supports teachers in their teaching and learning in IT labs. We also want to be more responsive to teacher needs. So, we undertook a comprehensive survey of schools using Vision, visiting and speaking with teachers to understand what they liked and valued in Vision and what direction they felt Vision should take. It was clear that usability is king for teachers, as this leads to greater teacher confidence in the use of Vision and successful adoption throughout schools IT labs. Based on this conclusion, Netop invested in redesigning the Vision user interface and a number of enhanced usability features that will help teachers, both new to Vision7 or upgrading, to quickly grow their confidence in using Vision7.
Continuing on this theme of enhancing usability, we have extended the new Vision7 user interface design to cover the Vision Shortcut Bar and Netop Pointer, our on-screen and interactive whiteboard annotation tool. This maintenance release also includes a number of issue resolutions.

Enhanced Usability for Teachers
This section describes how the user interface enhancements of Vision7 have been extended to incorporate additional features in version 7.1.

Refresh of the Vision Shortcut Bar
We have extended our new Vision7 icons to cover the Vision Shortcut Bar, making this popular toolbar consistent with the main Vision Dashboard for ease of use.

Further improvements include:
When the Vision Shortcut Bar is in Auto Hide mode and is docked (positioned tight to the edge of the computer screen), there is a delay of 200 milliseconds in reacting to the mouse hovering over it. This delay has been introduced to ensure that teachers can more easily access the Minimize, Restore and Close buttons at the top right of a maximized application, without the toolbar auto-appearing and obscuring these screen elements.

When the Vision Shortcut Bar is in Auto Hide mode and is undocked, free to float over open application windows, the Shortcut Bar becomes gradually more transparent and only returns to being opaque when the mouse cursor is positioned inside the Shortcut Bar. This behavior makes it easier for the teacher to continue to use Vision, or another application, while having quick access to the shortcut toolbar.

The Vision Shortcut Bar is more compact, offering even more working space for teachers to view thumbnails and demonstrations. Additionally, the command labels now wrap neatly and the bar displays with a shadow when docked at the top of the screen, so it is more easily distinguishable from controls of other applications. Although subtle, these enhancements are typical of the many changes we have made to ensure Vision7 continues to be the easiest and most effective classroom management software.

Refresh of Vision’s Pointer tool
We have extended our new Vision7 style to include Pointer, Vision’s on-screen and interactive whiteboard annotation tool. New icons make the individual features more easily distinguished from one another.

These enhancements will help ensure that Vision’s Pointer remains one of the most comprehensive and flexible annotation tools for teachers that can be used across all applications and most interactive whiteboards.

Additional Language Support
Netop Vision7, version 7.1 is being released in the following languages with translated user interfaces and help files:

1. English
2. German
3. French
4. Italian
5. Spanish – this is the first Spanish release for Netop Vision.

To ensure a translation suitable for education, each has been undertaken by native speakers. Furthermore, each User Interface has been reviewed by a native speaker familiar with the education market for the appropriate language.

Download a Free Trial of Netop Vision Now

The new version of Netop Vision 7 introduces a fully redesigned interface, making teaching with computers more effective.

What’s New in Vision7:

Over the past year, Netop’s development team met with teachers and IT administrators at schools across the U.S. and Europe, who almost unanimously agreed that usability is the most important aspect of their classroom management solution, followed closely by features. With that in mind, Vision7 was redesigned to make the most-used features easily accessible. With a modern ribbon interface, educators will find all the features they know grouped into tabs to allow for larger icons with text labels. Frequently used features are at the forefront, so helping students learn is even easier.

Existing Vision users will find some significant changes in the user interface. For example, the features in the Surf-Lock and App-Control plug-ins are now fully integrated within Vision7, and have been renamed. However the set of features provided has not changed. The results of Netop’s beta testing have been positive, with teachers commenting that Vision7 “works beautifully.”

Upgrades and License Keys:

This upgrade is free to customers with a current Netop Advantage agreement, but does require a new license key. Please note that there are no longer any separate license keys for Surf-Lock, App-Control and Pointer, instead this functionality is included with the standard Vision7 license.

Netop will begin issuing new license keys to license contacts on Wednesday, and expects to have this process complete on Friday, January 15th. In some countries your license key may be issued by your local Netop partner.

If you have questions about your license, or wish to purchase an upgrade, please contact info@codework-systems.com.

Installation and Technical Support:

Vision 7 may/may not be installed on top of Vision6. There is no need to/You must/For best results uninstall Vision6 prior to installing Vision7 on teacher and student computers. For help with installation or technical support questions go to www.netop.com/support/technical-support/netop-vision7.htm.

Vision7 Documentation

At present, documentation for Vision7 is available in English only. Local language documentation will be available when those versions are released in February.

• Netop Vision7 Datasheet
• Vision7 Release Notes
• Upgrader’s Guide to Vision 7 (with user interface map: Vision6 to Vision7)
• Netop Vision7 Quick Installation Guide
• Netop Vision7 Remote Deployment Guide
• Netop Vision7 Getting Started Guide
• Netop Vision7 User’s Guide
• Netop Vision7 TeachPad Quick Guide
• Netop Vision7 Vision@Hand User’s Guide
• Netop Vision7 Improving User Interface and Workflow

Download a Free Trial of Netop Vision Now

Included in this update

• Faster screen transfer with 64-bit Hosts
• Directory Service validation with Security Server
• Improved compatibility within Microsoft ISA 2006 environments
• Web update improvements
• Cross domain authentication issues resolved
• Improved Smart Card authentication support

Download a Free Trial of Netop RemoteControl

Productivity

A huge concern for employers is the financial loss they are suffering due to the amount of time employees waste on the Internet. The simple fact is: if an employer is using the Internet instead of working, it’s costing the business money. If you have a workforce of 20 and pay your employees $10 per hour, if they waste even just one hour a day on the Internet, your wasted cost is $47,000 per year – not small change at all!

Security

With hackers becoming more and more cunning, hidden malware and viruses are rife. Malware can be embedded in websites and install itself onto the network when users browse infected pages. Downloads are a constant threat as they frequently contain damaging virus which not only reduce network performance but also pose a very potent risk to company information.

Legal issues

Time wasted confronting an employee about their inappropriate Internet use is one thing but the cost to defend against a lawsuit caused by an employee downloading copyrighted material is quite another matter. Email is a common feature of workplace sexual harassment cases and, under the Sex Discrimination Act, employers can be held liable for their employees’ actions. Any serious Internet abuse can also result in damage to the company reputation or brand.

Network speed

Furthermore, according to a UK study, visits to social networking sites during office hours consume up to 20 percent of corporate bandwidth.  Internet connections cost money and excessive non-work related traffic means paying for more bandwidth than you need. More importantly, however, visits to media sites such as YouTube slow the network down which in turn slows down the flow of business critical information which is vital for other employees to do their jobs.

Solution

Banning the Internet in the workplace is unrealistic. To do so would be to deprive employees of a valuable resource. It also doesn’t foster a relationship of trust between employer and employee and can damage morale. However, it makes sense to restrict sites responsible for drops in employee productivity. It was recently reported that 54% of U.S. companies have banned workers from using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace while on the job . What’s needed is an Internet restriction solution to help you create a filter that only allows access to authorized sites.

Every company functions differently and will require their own individual Acceptable Use Policy based on how much internet access they want to allow their employees. Certainly, the corporate world needs to be aware of the Internet in the work place as a distraction and as a security threat but there needs to be a balance between the internet as an enemy and the internet as an essential business tool.

About BrowseControl

BrowseControl is an Internet management program that restricts inappropriate surfing and enforces Internet usage policies across your enterprise. BrowseControl can completely block the Internet, allow access to authorized web sites, block offensive sites, schedule access to the Internet during specific times of the day/week – all conveniently from a central console. It can also block applications.

For more information about BrowseControl and CurrentWare, go to www.currentware.com

Included in this update
• Much improved performance across the internet with intelligent protocol switching in the Netop WebConnect solution along with faster HTTP performance
• Improved support for Microsoft ISA Server environments
• Command mode screen transfer fixed in Windows Server 2003
• Smartcard and Security Server improvements
• Screen corruption and black screen issues resolved

Download Netop Remote Control v9.5.1

Now available on an even more powerful and robust common console, CurrentWare Console, the Internet filtering and monitoring policies of both BrowseControl and BrowseReporter can efficiently be administered through this common interface.

The clients for BrowseControl and BrowseReporter have also been combined into one common client, offering improved deployment through Active Directory, 3rd party deployment tools or through remote installation from the CurrentWare Console.

Discover the new CurrentWare console at http://www.currentware.com

Solutions available on the new CurrentWare Console include:

• BrowseControl is the industry’s most comprehensive Internet blocking and filtering solution. Block inappropriate websites through the Blocked List. Enable access to authorized sites through the Allowed List. Improve productivity by blocking online games or chat programs through the Application Blocker.
• BrowseReporter is a reliable and accurate solution for monitoring users’ Internet browsing activity. Identify the sites visited and the time spent at each site on a per user or per computer basis. Generate detailed or executive level reports/charts to isolate users who are abusing the Internet usage.
• enPowerManager is a lightweight tool for effectively managing the energy usage of PCs across an enterprise. Create effective
  energy management policies for shutting down and booting PCs on a regular basis, thus eliminating unnecessary energy usage.

CurrentWare has two software that can help parents with controlling the web contents on their computers.

1. BrowseControl is an Internet filtering software that allow the parents to create a white list and a black list for Internet access.
2. BrowseReporter is a website monitoring software that tracks all of the websites that the user has been to on the comuter.

To jumpstart your 30 days free evaluation of BrowseControl and BrowseReporter, follow the instructions below.

Installation of BrowseControl and BrowseReporter

1. Download the software from our website:

BrowseControl: http://www.codework-systems.com/products/currentware/browsecontrol/browsecontrol-download-form/

BrowseReporter: http://www.codework-systems.com/products/currentware/browsereporter/browsereporter-download-form/

2. Install the BrowseControl and BrowseReporter Server and Console on the Parent’s computer.

3. Install the BrowseControl and BrowseReporter Clients on your kids’ computers.

4. For BrowseControl, set up your white list or black list to start web filtering. With the white list, you can block all the websites on the Internet except for the websites that you have defined on the white list. With the Black list, you are blocking access to specific websites.

5. For BrowseReporter, as soon as you upload the data to the BrowseReporter server, you will be able to generate reports on your kid’s Internet activities.

If you need help with your evaluation of BrowseControl or BrowseReporter, feel free to contact our technical support team.

A Video on how to install BrowseControl: