Using Open Source Software to Proxy, Authenticate, and Monitor User Web Habits

In today's corporate environment employee access to Internet resources is, for many, a daily job function. Fundamentally, the web is utilized for simple day-to-day operations including virus updates, software patches and hardware drivers and other network administrator duties. Other divisions of an organization may require the World Wide Web for resources such as market updates, company news, and general research on products or competitor's products. In today's business environment, access to the World Wide Web is no longer an option for many companies, but instead a requirement. Such global World Wide Web access offered to employees raises issues and concerns over user web habits and issues with users utilizing the World Wide Web for business use during business hours. This paper will attempt to address what time and again is a problem for network and security administrators: monitoring user access to the Internet in an environment where blocking resources may not be ideal, cost effective, or in accordance with company policy.