Content Filtering

Good News: there are ways to control what your employees can see and not see on the Internet!

The Internet and e-mail have become indispensable tools for business, but many companies are finding employees are using these tools as much or more for personal activities than job-related tasks. In fact, many business owners have recognized that unrestricted use of the Internet by employees has the potential to drain, rather than enhance productivity and, at worst, can even have dire legal consequences.

A Two-Pronged Approach

To reduce the risk and minimize non-productive activities, business owners are utilizing a two-pronged approach: (1) Implementing an Internet Acceptable Use Policy (IAUP) and (2) installing a monitoring system to restrict and police employees’ online activities.

An IAUP is nothing more than a written agreement that sets out the permissible workplace uses of the Internet and e-mail. In addition to describing permissible uses, an IAUP should specifically set out prohibited uses, rules of online behavior, and access privileges with penalties for violations of the policy spelled out, including security violations and vandalism of the system.

Not only does an IAUP reduce wasted hours on the net, but it can also reduce bandwidth and equipment needs, as well as shield you, the business owner, from possible sexual harassment and other lawsuits arising from your employee’s inappropriate use of the web.