Transparent Web Authentication

CIPAFilter's Transparent Web Authentication is an integral part of the content filter. It works by providing user-authentication information and usernames in web usage reports, without requiring the students/users to manually login. Authentication information is retrieved from the network server(s) when a user initiates an Internet connection.

Currently, CIPAFilter support transparent authentication with Windows Active Directory and Novell networks.

Manual Web Authentication

CIPAFilter's Manual Web Authentication feature will force a user to enter in a username and password prior to getting access to the Internet. The authentication occurs at the browser level and is not part of any network-based policy setting. When the browser window is closed, the next time it is opened, another authentication window will appear regardless of whom is logged on to the computer.

Manual Web Authentication requires a proxy server setting for the browser, which can be set manually, or implemented in a network policy.

Manual Authentication is supported on Windows, Novell, and MAC platforms and may also be used with a local database that CIPAFilter provides (more commonly used in smaller environments where no servers are present).

Note: The use of external proxy servers can be blocked with CIPAFilter's Layer-7 firewall rules, and by limiting access to HTTPS proxy servers using our firewall and/or HTTPS black-list.

CIPAFilter has 4 methods of authenticating a user.

1. Windows Active Directory
2. Novell (Using LDAP)
3. MAC (Using LDAP)
4. Local CIPAFilter Database

Web Authentication is primarily used for the following reasons:

• Allow/Deny Internet access for a user
• Setup separate filtering groups with different accss privileges
• Find out more specific information in the filter notification e-mails
• Track Internet usage by username (using Web Reporting)
• Allow/Deny Download privileges (using Download/Spy-ware Blocking)