A Guide to Internet and Email Filters

In today’s interconnected world, information flows seamlessly from one device to another. Whether it’s through the internet or email, having filters is an essential tool that plays a crucial role in shaping our online experience.

From safeguarding against malicious content to streamlining communication channels, internet and email filters impact our online interactions and protect our information.

Read: Email Security Best Practices You Should Follow

Internet Filters

Internet filters, also known as web filters, are tools designed to regulate websites and content that users access while browsing the internet; they can be installed as a browser extension, a standalone program or a part of an overall security plan. These filters operate based on predefined criteria set by administrators or the users themselves, and they filter content coming into and out of the internet, usually with a firewall.

Internet filters enable companies to manage the amount and type of content accessed by their employees, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and maintaining a conducive, productive work environment. They can block access to inappropriate or non-work-related websites, including:

• Entertainment sites
• Social media platforms
• Shopping sites
• Pornographic sites
• Gambling sites

These filters also prevent users from inadvertently visiting potentially harmful or malicious websites, acting as a frontline defense against cyber threats, including malware, phishing and ransomware.

There are a few filters that fall under the broad internet filter category every company should be aware of:

• Search engine filters: These remove restricted content when users search for it via search engines.
• Allow listing: Allow lists specify the sites that can be visited, so any request not on the list is denied.
• Block listing: Block lists are the opposite of allow lists and specify sites that a user can’t visit.
• Content and keyword filtering: This filter decides whether to allow or block traffic based on the content or keyword searched.

Read: Enhance Email Security with These 5 Email Security Protocols

Email Filters

With over 347 billion emails sent every day, protecting communications is vital for businesses and individuals alike, especially if the email contains sensitive financial, customer or personal information. That’s where email filters come into play.

Email filters are mechanisms that scan, categorize and manage inbound and outbound emails using sophisticated algorithms and heuristics (and sometimes machine learning) to identify and filter out unsolicited, spammy emails. They look at the sender, subject line, email content, headers, links and attachments for common red flags of spam before diverting the email to a dedicated spam folder or quarantine zone. This manages email traffic efficiently and enhances productivity, as spam can clog inboxes, overload servers and consume bandwidth.

They can also scan emails for viruses, malware and phishing attempts; over 75% of cyber attacks in 2023 started with an email. By flagging suspicious attachments or links, these filters safeguard against potential security breaches and provide an extra layer of security. Outbound email filters will even remove potentially harmful content from outgoing emails, protecting a company’s reputation.

There are a variety of sub-filters that email filtering utilizes, including:

• Bayesian filters: These learn your preferences by monitoring the emails you send to spam. It also observes the content of these emails with text correlation and correlates the content to determine the probability that the email is spam.
• Reputation-based filters: These attempt to stop spam or allow legitimate emails by filtering out known spammers or approving trusted senders based on a list of reputable domains, URLs and IP addresses that have been analyzed and seen as possible security threats.
• Blocklists: This filter looks for senders explicitly connected with malicious activities and stops their messages from reaching the user’s inbox. Companies can add senders they want to block to the list.
• Content analysis: This offers the ability to block an email based on its content. If the email contains a certain keyword, phrase or attachment that mimics spam-like characteristics, the filter can then block the email.
• Header filters: These look at the email’s header and search for inappropriate sources and IP addresses to determine if previously flagged senders are creating new email addresses.
• Language filters: Spammers sometimes target people from other countries, so these block emails written in a different language than the user’s native language.

How Thriveon Can Help

At Thriveon, we know how important it is to protect your communications with customers, partners, vendors and more. That’s why we provide robust cybersecurity services so you can protect your company from cyber threats while also meeting regulatory compliance requirements.

For more information, schedule a meeting with us today.