Secure Web Gateway

A secure Web gateway sits between the edge of the network and the Internet to filter unwanted software, content and malware within users' Web and Internet traffic. Secure Web gateways also centrally handle enforcement of organizational and regulatory compliance policies.

Many secure Web gateways tackle three critical areas: URL filtering, malware filtering and application control. With URL filtering, companies block access to sites that are known to have inappropriate content or harmful code.

Malware filtering ensures that machines do not send or receive malicious code, such as Trojans, viruses or worms, via the Internet or Web. While most vendors have some type of signature-based malware filtering, which detects known threats, more sophisticated offerings include non-signature-based filtering, which can identify zero-day threats based on heuristics and other types of analysis.

The third part of a secure Web gateway is application control, which unlike other network security tools, can apply policy to manage traffic generated from specific applications. For instance, companies can block users from clicking on links within instant messaging tools - a common source of malware. Application control also enables companies to enforce detailed usage policies for Internet applications such as peer-to-peer file sharing, blogging, voice over IP, and multiplayer games.

Secure Web gateways are an alternative to Web security point solutions and are more granular than traditional firewalls and proxy servers in their protection of the enterprise. They are available in three formats: service, software and appliance. Some vendors even offer a virtual appliance that allows companies to use the gateways with blade servers and other standardized hardware environments.