Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cloud security leader, has launched the company’s latest web gateway solution, InterScan Web Security 5.5, aimed at more control over cloud-based applications.

The new solution delivers even greater visibility and control over the growing use of cloud-based applications such as instant messaging, peer-to-peer, video and audio applications, and web mail, said the comoany said in a statement.

Trend Micro InterScan Web Security 5.5 provides superior protection against Internet threats, while reducing costs through datacenter consolidation by supporting bare-metal, VMware Ready and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual appliances.

It works alongside the Advanced Reporting and Management module, a separate, but essential, component that provides centralized real-time network traffic visibility, drill-down historical reporting, and policy management, it added.

The key features found in the new solution include:

•Application Control: This provides greater visibility into and control over an organization’s Internet usage. It automates the discovery and bandwidth usage of over 420 Internet-based protocols and the thousands of client applications that leverage them.

•HTTP Inspection: This provides more granular control to protect against emerging web threats by allowing administrators to identify behavior and filter web traffic according to any characteristic of the HTTP protocol.

•URL Filtering: In addition to the Allow, Block, Monitor, and Warn actions available for URL Filtering policies, several enhancements are included in the 5.5 release.

These include Time-based Quotas which allow administrators to define the total allowable browsing time within work/leisure hours that users can visit specific sites or categories of sites. Temporary time extensions can be granted as needed.

Password Override: This allows administrator-defined users to override the block action by typing a password in their browser to allow one-time access.

Commenting on the latest solution, Gabriel de Freitas Braga Castello Branco, security analyst, Real Protect Information Security said, “We really like the new features in the latest release of InterScan Web Security. The application control capabilities give us great visibility, so we can discover any of over hundreds of Internet applications on our customers’ networks.”

Jay Jensen, chief information officer, director of IT, Sierra RV Corporation said, 'With in-the-cloud threat protection, InterScan Web Security stops threats on the web and only brings in content from sites that are deemed safe. This is a much better strategy for security.'

John Maddison, GM of data center security, Trend Micro said the employee-use of cloud-based Web 2.0 applications is standard for many organizations and, as a result, it exposes their organization to cybercriminals attempting to gain access to sensitive data.

'The InterScan Web Security gives organizations visibility into the Internet-based applications employees use and also secures that usage by blocking unwanted or unsafe content at the network perimeter,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service