GFI LanGuard Agents are designed to be deployed on local(network) or remote servers and workstations. Once installed, the GFI LanGuard Agents can then be configured via LanGuard’s main server console, giving the administrator full control as to when the Agents will scan the host they are installed on, and communicate their status to the GFI LanGuard server.

Those concerned about system resources will be pleased to know that the GFI LanGuard Agent does not consume any CPU cycles or resources while idle. During the time of scanning, once a day for a few minutes, the scan process is kept at a low priority to ensure that it does not interfere or impact the host’s performance.

Discover how easy you can monitor, patch and update all workstations and servers using GFI LanGuard - Grab your free download now!

GFI LanGuard Agents communicate with the GFI LanGuard server using TCP port 1070, however this can be configured.

Let’s see how we can install the GFI LanGuard Agent from the server’s console.

First open GFI LanGuard and select Agents Management from the Configuration tab:

Figure 1. Select Agents Management and the Deploy Agents

Next, you can choose between Local domain or Custom to define your target(s):

This section contains useful articles regarding Cloud-based services and how they can help companies save on running costs, administration and investments on new equipment.  We take a look at the top reasons why Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) should consider cloud-based services and what their drawbacks are.

One of the largest problems faced by organizations of any size is effectively controlling user internet access(from laptops, mobile devices, workstations etc), minimizing the security threats for the organization (ransomware – data loss prevention), user copyright infringement (torrent downloading/sharing movies, games, music etc) and discover where valuable WAN-Internet bandwidth is being wasted.

Organizations clearly understand that using a Firewall is no longer adequate to control the websites its users are able to access, remote control applications (Teamviewer, Radmin, Ammyy Admin, Remote desktop etc), file sharing applications - Bittorrent clients (uTorrent, BitComet, Deluge, qBittorrent etc), online cloud storage services (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, Amazon Cloud Drive, Hubic etc) and other services and applications.

The truth is that web monitoring applications such as GFI’s WebMonitor are a lot more than just a web proxy or internet monitoring solution.

Web monitoring applications are essential for any type or size of network as they offer many advantages:

• They stop users from abusing internet resources
• They block file-sharing applications and illegal content sharing
• They stop users using cloud-based file services to upload sensitive documents, for example saving company files to their personal DropBox, Google Drive etc.
• They stop remote control applications connecting to the internet (e.g Teamviewer, Remote Desktop, Ammy Admin etc)
• They ensure user productivity is kept high by allowing access to approved internet resources and sites
• They eliminate referral ad sites and block abusive content
• They support reputation blocking to automatically filter websites based on their reputation
• They help IT departments enforce security policies to users and groups
• They provide unbelievable flexibility allowing any type or size of organization to customise its internet usage policy to its requirements

Try the award winning GFI WebMonitor for Free and discover how easy you can control users, internet applications, security risks and more.

The Risk in the Business Environment – Illegal Downloading

Most Businesses are completely unaware of how serious these matters are and the risks they are taking while dealing with other ‘more important’ matters.

Companies such as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are in a continuous battle suing and fighting with companies, ISPs and even home users for illegally distributing movies and music.

Many users are aware of this and are now turning to their company’s internet resources, which in many cases offer faster and unlimited data transfer, to download their illegal content such as movies, games, music and other material.

An employer or business can be easily held responsible for the actions of its employees when it comes to illegal download activities, especially if no policies or systems are in place.

In the case of an investigation, if the necessary security policies and web monitoring systems are in place with the purpose of preventing copyright infringement and illegal downloading, businesses are less vulnerable to the illegal implications of their users, plus it allows them to track down and find the person responsible.

The articles to follow deal with one of the most discussed topics around the world, e-mail security. GFI.COM was kind enough to allow Firewall.cx visitors to gain access to their excellent White Page database covering hot e-mail security topics.

GFI.COM was kind enough to allow the Firewall.cx community to directly use their Free Online Security Services. Recommended to any Network Administrator or home users who wish to secure their network!

GFI Email Security Testing Zone - http://www.emailsecuritytest.com

Test whether your email system is vulnerable to email viruses and attacks! The zone allows visitors to freely discover instantly if their system is secure against current and future email threats, such as emails containing infected attachments, emails with malformed MIME headers, HTML mails with embedded scripts and much more !

GFI Event Log Scanner - http://www.eventlogscan.com

Intrusion Detection by checking for high security events happening on your machine, such as users logging on to your machine, accesses to important files on your machine, failed logon attempts, security policy changes to your machine, and more! Use EventLogScan to check that your system is truly secure!

This section contains articles covering a variety of network security topics, security whitepapers, product reviews,  Cisco password decoder/cracker and much more.

Here you will find Firewall.cx's reviews of the market's hotest networking products, designed to add functionality and peace of mind for any IT Manager or network engineer. All reviews have been performed by our own team engineers, well known through our site's forums.

Products found in our Review Section are highly recommended by Firewall.cx

One of the most important features in any network security monitoring and patch management application such as GFI’s LanGuard is the ability to automate tasks e.g automatic network scanning, email alerts etc. This allows IT Administrators, Network Engineers, IT Managers and other IT Department members, continue working on other important matters while they have their peace of mind that the security application is keeping things under control and will alert them instantly upon any changes detected within the network or even vulnerability status of the hosts monitored.

Download your copy LanGuard 2015 Network Security / Vulnerability Scanner and Patch Management system for a limited time only!

GFI LanGuard’s email alerting feature can be easily accessed either from the main Dashboard where usually the Alerting Options notification warning appears at the bottom of the screen:

Figure 1. GFI LanGuard email alerting Option Notification

Or alternatively, by selecting Configuration from the main menu and then Alerting Options from the left side area below:

When IT Administrators and Managers are faced with the continuous failure of GFI LanGuard Agent deployment e.g (Access is denied), it is best to switch to manual installation in order to save valuable time and resources. The reason of failure can be due to incorrect credentials, disabled account, firewall settings, disabled remote access on the target computer and many more. Deploying GFI LanGuard Agents is the best way to scan your network for unpatched machines or machines with critical vulnerabilities.

Figure 1. GFI LanGuard Agent deployment failing with Access is denied

Users interested can also check our article Benefits of Deploying GFI LanGuard Agents on Workstations & Servers. Automate Network-wide Agent Scanning and Deployment.

Automate network security scanning, software deployment, system patching and more. Grab a copy of GFI LanGuard now!

Step 1 – Locate Agent Package on GFI LanGuard Server

The GFI LanGuard Agent installation file is located in one of the following directories, depending on your operating system:

• For 32bit operating systems: c:\Program Files\GFI\LanGuard 11\Agent\
• For 64bit operating systems: c:\Program Files (x86)\GFI\LanGuard 11\Agent\

This article shows how any IT Administrator, network engineer or security auditor can quickly scan a network using GFI’s LanGuard and identify the different systems such as Windows, Linux, Android etc. More importantly, we’ll show how to uncover vulnerable, unpatched or high-risk Windows systems including Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012 R2, Domain Controllers, Linux Servers such as RedHat Enterprise, CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, openSuse, Fedora,any type of Windows workstation (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1,10) and Apple OS X.

GFI’s LanGuard is a swiss-army knife that combines a network security tool, vulnerability scanner and patching management system all in one package. Using the network scanning functionality, LanGuard will automatically scan the whole network and use the provided credentials to log into every located host and discover additional vulnerabilities.

Download your copy LanGuard 2015 Network Security / Vulnerability Scanner and Patch Management system for a limited time only!

To begin, we launch GFI LanGuard and at the startup screen, select the Scan Tab as shown below:

Figure 1. Launching GFI LanGuard 2015

Next, in the Scan Target section, select Custom target properties (box with dots) and click on Add new rule. This will bring us to the final window where we can add any IP address range or CIDR subnet:

For every business, established or emerging, the Internet is an essential tool which has proved to be indispensable. The usefulness of the internet can be counteracted by abuse of it, by a business’s employees or guests. Activities such as downloading or sharing illegal content, visiting high risk websites and accessing malicious content are serious security risks for any business.

There is a very easy way of monitoring, managing and implementing effective Internet usage. GFI WebMonitor can not only provide the aforementioned, but also provide real – time web usage. This allows for tracking bandwidth utilisation and traffic patterns. All this information can then be presented on an interactive dashboard. It is also an effective management tool, providing a business with the internet usage records of its employees.

Such reports can be highly customised to provide usage information based on the following criteria/categories:

• Most visited sites
• Most commonly searched phrases
• Where most bandwidth is being consumed
• Web application visibility

Some of the sources for web abuse that can be a time sink for employees are social media and instant messaging (unless the business operates at a level where these things are deemed necessary). Such web sites can be blocked.

GFI WebMonitor can also achieve other protective layers for the business by providing the ability to scan and block malicious content. WebMonitor helps the business keep a close eye on its employees’ internet usage and browsing habits, and provides an additional layer of security.

On its main dashboard, as shown below, the different elements help in managing usage and traffic source and targets:

Figure 1. WebMonitor’s Dashboard provides in-depth internet usage and reporting

WebMonitor’s main dashboard contains a healthy amount of information allowing administrators and IT managers to obtain important information such as:

• See how many Malicious Sites were blocked and how many infected files detected.
• View the Top 5 Users by bandwidth
• Obtain Bandwidth Trends such as Download/Upload, Throughput and Latency
• Number of currently active web sessions.
• Top 5 internet categories of sites visited by the users
• Top 5 Web Applications used to access the internet

Knowing which applications are used to access the internet is very important to any business. Web applications like YouTube, Bittorrent, etc. can be clearly identified and blocked, providing IT managers and administrators a ringside view of web utilisation.

The following articles deal with one of the hottest topics around: Network, Web and IDS (Intrusion Detection System) Security.

The articles have been carefully selected to ensure they provide acurate and upto date information to our readers, while some have been written by our team, in response to our visitors request!

Companies and users around the world are struggling to keep their network environments safe from malicious attacks and hijacking attempts by leveraging services provided by high-end firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), antivirus software and other means.   While these appliances can mitigate attacks and hacking attempts, we often see the whole security infrastructure failing because of attacks initiated from the inside, effectively by-passing all protection offered by these systems.

I’m sure most readers will agree when I say that end-users are usually responsible for attacks that originate from the internal network infrastructure. A frequent example is when users find a link while browsing the Internet they tend to click on it to see where it goes even if the context suggests that the link may be malicious. Users are unaware of the hidden dangers and the potential damage that can be caused by clicking on such links.

The implications of following links with malicious content can vary for each company, however, we outline a few common cases often seen or read about:

• Hijacking of the company’s VoIP system, generating huge bills from calls made to overseas destination numbers (toll fraud)
• The company’s servers are overloaded by thousands of requests made from the infected workstation(s)
• Sensitive information is pulled from the workstations and sent to the hackers
• Company Email servers are used to generate and send millions of spam emails, eventually placing them on a blacklist and causing massive communication disruptions
• Remote control software is installed on the workstations, allowing hackers to see everything the user is doing on their desktop
• Torrents are downloaded and seeded directly from the company’s Internet lines, causing major WAN disruptions and delays

As you can see there are countless examples we can analyze to help us understand how serious the problem can become.

Download this whitepaper if you are interested to:

• Learn which are the Top 10 Dangerous sites users visit
• Learn the Pros and Cons of each website category
• Understand why web content filtering is important
• Learn how to effectively block sites from compromising your network
• Learn how to limit the amount of the time users can access websites
• Effectively protect your network from end-user ‘mistakes’
• Ensure user web-browsing does not abuse your Internet line or Email servers

We apologise however the whitepaper is no longer available by the vendor.  Head to our homepage to read up on new network and security related articles.