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Organizations will use a bandwidth analyzer to identify the users and websites responsible for the excessive bandwidth usage, later adding them to their internet blacklist to prevent future abuse. Bandwidth Management: Bandwidth abuse causes severe latency and network crashes.Why Should I Block My Users From Accessing Certain Websites? All you need to do is add the websites you’d like to block to your block list. You will also need to reconfigure the file every time you wipe the machine. You have to edit the hosts manually for every single device you want to manage. A web filter allows you to block all URLs within a domain with one wildcard entry.ĭifficult. You need to specify each and every variation of a URL you would like to block. To whitelist websites with a web filter you simply need to add the domains you’d like to allow to a whitelist (allow list) and all other domains will be blocked by default. Using the hosts file block all websites except approved ones requires you to manually find the IP addresses of the websites you would like to allow, add them to the file, and direct all other traffic to a null route. Unique web access permissions can be adjusted for each device, user, or workgroup.ĭifficult. Changes to the file also affects all users on the device.Īdvanced. Web access permissions can only be done on a per-device basis. The centralized console of a web filter makes managing multiple devices simple and efficient. It forces you to decentralize the management of your network. Using Web Filters vs Hosts File to Block a Website
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