Updated: 8 December 2021
Web content filtering is mostly used to keep inappropriate content out of kids’ hands and restrict timewasters in corporate networks. However, its primary advantage is not limited to preventing access to undesirable content. Reduced malware infections and access to phishing websites are among the lesser-known but probably equally important reasons web filtering is gaining favor in Enterprise WiFi networks.
As users become more IT savvy, they need the reassurance that they are connected to a secure network, especially when they are not in their own homes. Of course, establishments can explicitly say that users use their WiFi at their own risk in their Terms and Conditions. However, while that may potentially save them from legal troubles, it may not shield them from PR nightmares should malware infect the users’ devices while in their network.
ANTlabs Web Filtering Service can be used in organizations with various WiFi hotspots. For example, if you administer a school WiFi network, you may wish to keep pupils from mistakenly viewing harmful content such as gambling, pornography, or hate sites. Because these new sites constantly change and new ones appear every day, manually blocking them is not an option. Another situation when category filtering comes in handy is when your school or workplace disallows visiting time-wasting websites like YouTube is prohibited during specific hours. YouTube and related sites are classed as “Time Wasters > Entertainment” and are restricted when this category is selected. You also save time and effort by not having to type in the URLs of these websites manually.
ANTlabs Web Filtering protects users by giving operators the controls to block by category. It is based on DNS filtering—a type of content filtering using the DNS layer to filter based on IP addresses. The main difference is that this service gives blanket protection to sites you choose within your organization.
When users bring in multiple devices, the filtering works across these devices and filters websites into six major categories (Security, Adult-related, Bandwidth Hogs, Illegal Activity, Time Wasters, and General Sites) with more than 60 pre-defined subcategories and inspects encrypted sites. In addition, the URLs categorized in the security module’s database are constantly updated, so service providers who subscribe to this feature shall have peace of mind knowing they have protection from the latest threats.
ANTlabs’ built-in Anti-SPAM Protection and Anti-DOS Protection are two other ANTlabs product features that combine well with Web Filtering Service to secure your network further. Another ANTlabs gateway function that helps you secure your guest networks is Lawful Intercept, which helps your organization comply with numerous IT cyber regulations.
The ANTlabs Web Filtering Service was released in December 2021 with ASP Cloud. It benefits guest WiFi networks like hotels, schools, universities, enterprises, and other corporate networks that aren’t classified as guest WiFi.
Did you know that ANTlabs guest WiFi solutions are used by at least 2 of the 3 best airports in the world? Every year, passengers of more than 100 nationalities are asked in independently funded surveys to rate their experiences in international airports. For the longest time, Singapore’s Changi Airport was considered the best of […]
We’ve seen it in countless disaster movies: when world leaders initiate a lockdown, we always see frazzled tech support people and C-level executives in somber meetings. Outside, people scrambled to hunker down in their own homes; everyone got their eyes glued to their mobile phones and laptop for updates. All rely on staying online to continue working and to keep in touch with distant loved ones. It sounds like something out of an apocalyptic Hollywood film, right? But it did happen in real life at the height of the global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The question of whether the Internet Service Provider or Carrier could handle the increased load arose as Internet demand grew at an unprecedented rate. Can we afford outages?
So, what happens if there is an outage, and you have few people in your support team to handle issues due to government-mandated restrictions? In our real-life scenario above, at least two things stood out: 1) the outage could be triggered by unprecedented events and possibly, human error, and 2) after the outage happened, recovery may not be as swift as expected due to human delay in diagnosis and troubleshooting.
Is this preventable? Yes. Could the problem have been fixed faster had there been a system in place that reduces human errors? Yes. How were they able to solve it the first time around? Telemetry data helped in more ways than one, and automation can potentially help prevent repeat scenarios.
Service providers require access to real-time and granular information about their networks. They require technologies that can assist them in gaining profound insights, correlating, and visualizing data at speeds and in ways that human brains can be easily overwhelmed. Big data-driven network intelligence and analytics technology can assist in obtaining real-time, extremely granular, accurate, multidimensional insights about the network, services, network flows, and usage patterns.
In recent years, ANTlabs has accelerated its telemetry and network automation capabilities, thus enabling service providers and mobile operators to improve productivity, scale up or scale down cost-effectively as needed, and offer more VAS (value-added services) to their customers. In networking, telemetry refers to how data from multiple sources is gathered and transferred to receiving equipment for analysis using a series of automated communication methods.
As networks become increasingly complex, these networks are beginning to produce massive amounts of telemetry data such as logs. In addition, more people now go online to perform daily tasks that used to be done offline (i.e., Zoom meetings, ordering groceries, e-learning, and streaming), especially after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the world to limit physical interactions. On top of that, there is an increase in smart devices and machines that also need to communicate through WiFi (e.g., IPTV cameras, tablets for takeaway orders, smart doorbells, security equipment). Given the traffic surge, data can accrue to considerable volumes quickly.
ANTlabs employ machine learning and trend analysis, along with telemetry systems, to intelligently audit what is required for Telcos and service providers who want to deliver high-quality connectivity in real-time. Because each network has its idiosyncrasies, ANTlabs can tailor the final solution to each service provider’s needs by using machine learning techniques and modeling. One of the critical success factors for achieving operational or productivity objectives is having an experienced system integrator and domain expert like ANTlabs to tailor the solution with the end customer team in an iterative manner.
At the height of the 2020 government-mandated lockdowns, ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DDI have aided service providers in navigating the unpredictability of consumption trends. As a result, even with labor and location constraints, telcos and ISPs were able to respond rapidly to an increase in bandwidth demand. Even with a limited workforce due to pandemic restrictions, with the help of ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS, some carriers were able to shift capacity from one location to another and bring up new coverage quickly without sacrificing quality and no downtime.
Patterns develop as machine learning makes sense of all the data collected by ANTlabs carrier solutions, assisting decision-makers in determining when and how to conduct critical operations such as maintenance. This feature also aids service providers and network operators in creating automation rules that can be triggered when certain conditions are met. As a result, telemetry data and automation can significantly reduce human errors and ensure that pre-established operational procedures set up by experienced operators can be faithfully executed, even if the system’s operators have only recently been onboarded or the experts have yet to arrive on the scene. Furthermore, once the rectification procedures are executed, real-time visibility can also provide human engineers or managers with speedy confirmation of service recovery and relevant reports for audit.
In other use cases, automation deployed alongside the ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS can quickly spawn services such as speed tests in multiple locations dynamically and generate reports from telemetry data collected over time, customized to customers’ scenarios. In this use case, ANTlabs has helped give the edge to a customer who was using Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS by giving them ad-hoc visibility of their quality of service in specific areas with fast turnaround. In addition, such information on speed tests and network health data is retrieved easily and turned into reports when the customer needed to provide verified service data to strengthen their value proposition to potential customers.
Without the automation and telemetry capabilities, they would have to pay for costly third-party services that typically take much longer to complete. With the ANTlabs integrated solution, the usual turnaround time for third-party vendors to provide such reports that usually take a week or two is reduced to a few days.
ANTlabs carrier solutions help network operators and service providers effectively react to sudden surges or decreases in network capacity. On top of that, ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS increase productivity, improve customer retention, and potentially boost ARPU through their telemetry and network automation capabilities. The telemetry data accrued from different sources can be processed into valuable insights to help maintain a high quality of services, and as a result, increase customer retention. This data can also provide better visibility of their massive network, thus improving productivity for service providers and mobile network operators.
As machine learning gradually turns all the data that ANTlabs carrier solutions accumulate into something potentially useful, patterns emerge and help decision-makers decide when to implement crucial maintenance activities. This capability also helps network operators develop automation rules that can be triggered when set parameters are met. As a result, telemetry data and automation can substantially reduce human errors and help to retain expert knowledge within the organizations.
Customer experience shall be the fundamental differentiator for the operator’s ecosystem to flourish, and the recent pandemic has magnified the need for better connectivity regardless of where the consumer may be. Backed by valuable data, service providers who can build new services can potentially provide even better experiences, putting them in the strongest position to succeed while growing revenue.
With the flexibility, interoperability capabilities, and numerous interfaces that ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS have, the possibilities for turning customer insights into something of value can only be limited by imagination.
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Without the automation and telemetry capabilities, they would have to pay for costly third-party services that typically take much longer to complete. With the ANTlabs integrated solution, the usual turnaround time for third-party vendors to provide such reports that usually take a week or two is reduced to a few days.
ANTlabs carrier solutions help network operators and service providers effectively react to sudden surges or decreases in network capacity. On top of that, ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS increase productivity, improve customer retention, and potentially boost ARPU through their telemetry and network automation capabilities. The telemetry data accrued from different sources can be processed into valuable insights to help maintain a high quality of services, and as a result, increase customer retention. This data can also provide better visibility of their massive network, thus improving productivity for service providers and mobile network operators.
As machine learning gradually turns all the data that ANTlabs carrier solutions accumulate into something potentially useful, patterns emerge and help decision-makers decide when to implement crucial maintenance activities. This capability also helps network operators develop automation rules that can be triggered when set parameters are met. As a result, telemetry data and automation can substantially reduce human errors and help to retain expert knowledge within the organizations.
Customer experience shall be the fundamental differentiator for the operator’s ecosystem to flourish, and the recent pandemic has magnified the need for better connectivity regardless of where the consumer may be. Backed by valuable data, service providers who can build new services can potentially provide even better experiences, putting them in the strongest position to succeed while growing revenue.
With the flexibility, interoperability capabilities, and numerous interfaces that ANTlabs Tru’Auth AAA and Tru’IP DHCP/DNS have, the possibilities for turning customer insights into something of value can only be limited by imagination.
Related Posts
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What makes ANTlabs Multi-WAN load balancing module better than the competitor’s multi-WAN? Here’s a familiar scenario: networks going down in the middle of critical business processes and eventually costing businesses much money. Huge companies fork out millions of dollars to keep their networks in the green by having dedicated high-bandwidth backup links and various devices […]
How captive portal login pages improve guest WiFi experience for users It is 2021, and there are many ways to connect to the Internet. Do we still really need captive portals for guest networks? What are captive portals? These are the login pages you see before you log in to a guest network (i.e., coffee […]
With the surge in demand for cloud-based solutions, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have a compelling business case to position themselves quickly to ride the rapid digitization boom. MSPs face many challenges like onboarding customers seamlessly, scaling up and managing complexities in their customer’s networks, and launching new services quickly while maintaining operations cost-effectively. Here are […]
ANTlabs recently added Office 365 and LinkedIn to its ever-growing list of Social WiFi authentication methods. Aside from allowing your guests to connect via social media quickly, here is the comprehensive list of ways you and your guests can connect to WiFi when using ANTlabs gateways:
Social media – Encourage your guests to log in via Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram, Line, WeChat, and LinkedIn–and let them post good things about your venue
Complimentary access – invite more guests to your venue with free WiFi
User ID and password authentication (local accounts) – provide your guests, members, VIPs, and staff their WiFi user name and password
Access code authentication (local accounts) – generate and give out WiFi access codes to your guests
MAC-level authentication for non-HTTP devices – choose which devices can connect to your network
PMS authentication and Billing – conveniently connect your esteemed guests through your hotel’s property management system
Email / SMS authentication – let your guests connect to your network through email or SMS
Office 365 login – your guests and office staff can use their Office 365 account to login to your WiFi network
Auto-login – no login page for areas where you want guests to connect to your network sans access codes seamlessly
Account Printer – one-tap access code generation on a hand-held device (i.e. ANTlabs Account Printer AP 3100)
ANTlabs gateways also support credit card authentication and billing through Worldpay, Authorize.net, Payflow Pro, Payflow Link.
Recently in December, WeChat rejoined ANTlabs’ roster of social WiFi login methods after its brief hiatus.
Did you know that your neighbors may also know that you are watching Netflix when you cast Netflix on your hotel TV? Even high-end hotel guests are not spared the surprise nor embarrassment and have experienced getting a mobile notification that somebody nearby is streaming Netflix on their hotel TV. This situation usually happens when the network does not have any private network setup.
Upon reaching your hotel room, one of the first things you will most likely do is get your devices connected to WiFi—whether for work or to relax after a long day by catching up on your favorite shows on Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, or Disney+. Unlike in the home network–where we only see the devices we own–guest networks would most likely also show other people’s devices connected to that AP when you scan for your devices to cast on your hotel TV. If you can see your neighbor cast Netflix from their phone to TV, imagine what else we could be unknowingly broadcasting when connected to guest networks.
As a service provider, be it for hotels or MDUs, how can you assure the users in your network that their devices are only “speaking” with one another? And that intruders cannot easily find their devices? As more users are practically doing everything online these days, customers are also getting more aware of privacy matters and the need to protect themselves from intrusion.
One way to accomplish this is to provide each user with their private network. Providing private networks for each of your guests will ensure that only the user’s devices can “see” each other online, whether they are ‘working from hotel’—the other WFH—or just unwinding and casting Netflix on their hotel room Smart TV. Guests can also connect their gaming consoles to it, just like how they set it up at home, thus, improving the guest experience. The traditional way of achieving this is not straightforward and very time-consuming. As a service provider, the easier way to do this is through ANTlabs’ PAN (Private Area Network) module.
User experience is more than just a buzzword now, especially when transacting business online. It usually starts with how fast and easy you can connect to the Internet, how stable it is, and how secure it is wherever you are, especially guest WiFi networks. Improving network security protects your staff and guests from privacy intrusion and simplifies operations support.
With PAN module, you can tell your guests that they have a private network within their hotel room and can expect to quickly hook up their gaming consoles or enjoy casting their favorite Netflix shows on their TV—without letting the whole building know about it. They can trust that they will have a pleasant and enjoyable stay and secure business transactions online.
ANTlabs gateways also have other modules that complement the PAN module. Take, for example, the Advanced QoS module. You enjoy the best of both worlds with both PAN and Advanced QoS through operational efficiency, high-quality internet connectivity and privacy. These benefits are not only for the guests but also for the hotel staff. For one, it is easy for your team to set up private networks for your guests with the PAN module, and it is just as easy to allocate differentiated bandwidth tiers for your guests.
For example, your hotel can allocate VIPs and premium-paying guests with their 1GBps private network while non-guests who are enjoying free WiFi at the hotel lobby café share 200MBps among themselves. This means that no matter how hectic it gets during the day within your staff’s own 1GBps network, your VIPs and premium-paying guests will still be happily casting and streaming Netflix or making Zoom calls in their rooms. On top of this, other users will not see your devices that are within your private network.
The PAN module is also suitable for co-working spaces and MDUs (e.g., condominiums, dormitories, serviced apartments). While the current global situation does not encourage a lot of human traffic in these areas, it somehow shows the opposite on online traffic. Everyone is online to do practically everything; thus, more and more devices connect to the Internet daily. With the PAN module, service providers can provide a seamless and private user experience to their users no matter how busy the network gets with WFH (both ‘work from home’ and ‘work from hotel’) online activities during the day, and casting Netflix or YouTube at night.
Learn more about how the PAN module can improve your guest network.
ANTlabs has again released WeChat login for captive portals on December 14 and 21, 2020 for IG4 and SG 4, and IG 4 S-Series and SG 4 S-Series. WeChat login was first released in 2018 as an additional social WiFi authentication method for ANTlabs gateway captive portals. However, in 2019, WeChat deprecated portal login due […]
How service providers can help businesses and retailers by deploying retail WiFi and WiFi marketing COVID-19 is officially one year old. In the past nine months, activities in high-traffic places such as shopping centers came to a screeching halt. Some mall tenants scrambled to pivot or adapt and find a way to stay afloat by […]