Introduction

The Webwasher URL filtering service on SnapGear uses the ICAP protocol to perform content filtering for web traffic. The functionality of Webwasher on SnapGear is limited to URL content filtering and does not currently support any of the additional features of Webwasher. If you want to use all the advanced functionalities of Webwasher (Anti-virus, Anti-spam, Anti-Malware etc.) with SnapGear you should purchase a stand-alone Webwasher appliance and use it in conjunction with the SnapGear.

How It Works

When Webwasher is purchased as a SnapGear add-on, you receive a certificate and a private key. This certificate is what identifies your SnapGear to the global Webwasher servers and must be unique to each SnapGear configured to use Webwasher.

The Webwasher URL Filter servers consist of two servers, which are located in Australia and North America. The SG will connect to the closest server based on the IP addresses that is mapped to a geographic region.

When Webwasher is enabled and configured correctly, a connection out to the web will hit the SnapGear, the SnapGear will then send the URL using ICAP to the Webwasher service and get back a categorization for the requested URL.

The SnapGear will then look at which categories are allowed and denied according to local policy and then act accordingly on the requested URL. The SG caches the category information for URLs to avoid too much traffic to the Webwasher service. A log contains the information about Time, URL, category, and volume and this log is transferred to the Webwasher server to be used for online reporting.