Website Whitelisting is a tactic of cyber security wherein an administrator explicitly regulates a policy or framework on managed devices in advance, which the end-users will access. With the functionality of whitelisting the websites, the IT admins can compile a list of pre-approved websites that will be only accessible by the end-users on all the devices that adhere to the frameworks.
The malicious intent of the cyber attackers can be prevented by allowing the limited set of functionalities as deemed secured by the IT administrator. This can also be weighed as a lock-down measurement and frustrating to the end-users but can be on the verge of being a foolproof barrier to contingent cyber attacks.
The rising threats from cyberattacks like ransomware, malware, phishing attacks, and spyware have taken the business world by storm. SMBs are at a higher risk than larger organizations. Studies say that most SMBs have faced severe financial loss due to data breaches caused by these random cyberattacks. With MDM Software, it is possible to reduce the cyberattacking risk by whitelisting websites on devices.
With the onset of BYOD as an enterprise culture, the threats and risks are taking an even graver shape. Company IT admins are exploring the options to whitelist websites on corporate-owned mobiles and desktops, which is proving to be a valid way to minimize the hazards from the attack vector. With many cyber threats on the rise, companies need to pull their security strings tighter than ever before, including using anti-spyware software. Whether an SMB or a larger enterprise, it became imperative to strengthen one’s defense.
What is Website Whitelisting?
A wide world of hackers and cyberattackers operate from an ever-growing threat landscape with sophisticated ways to steal/abuse corporate data. Company IT admins are hence advised to have a multi-step procedure to build a heavy defense against malware, spyware, trojan, malicious apps, phishing attacks, etc. However, whitelisting websites can indeed play a significant role in letting companies reap gain two core benefits, namely,
Upgraded security: As we spoke earlier in the blog, a mal-intended website carrying a nasty code or a malicious app can cause several harms to your device, like hacking the data, installing ransomware, intruding the system network, or corrupting crucial company data. Whitelisting websites stops all that from taking place as the IT grants permission to access only the selected/ limited websites for business purposes.
Read This: How to allow only one website on Windows 10 devices?Improved productivity: Employees naturally browse multiple websites, especially for personal entertainment. Social media websites are a prominent example of how employees are distracted due to unlimited access to the internet. Although it doesn’t apply to everyone but still in maximum cases, it leads to a waste of productive office hours. Website whitelisting automatically disallows employees’ unnecessary website browsing, improving their work performance and productivity!
Reduced data overages: Whitelisting websites will prevent employees from browsing unnecessary websites for personal/entertainment purposes. This, in turn, will eliminate the chances of excessive data usage that leads to unwanted charges or overages for the company. For instance, the team at GeniusGeeks does the same to ensure their tech journalists avoid surfing on unnecessary websites and are productive.
For companies that have frontline executives working from remote locations and using corporate-owned devices for business purposes, whitelisted websites prove to be quite helpful. Website whitelisting can also be seamlessly applied in devices locked in kiosk mode. Schools and educational institutes should also leverage website whitelisting to limit unsafe and inappropriate website browsing by students on tablets/smartphones for study purposes.
How to Whitelist Websites on Company-Owned Mobiles and Desktops?
Today, more and more companies, irrespective of their sizes, are opting to purchase powerful MDM software that can allow the company to enforce dynamic security policies to safeguard corporate data and control device usage. Scalefusion MDM does that and much more to ensure that your corporate-owned devices and sensitive company information are managed, monitored, and secured from a centralized and unified dashboard.
How to Whitelist Websites using Scalefusion MDM
Sign up & log into the Scalefusion dashboard. Check the left-hand side menu button, navigate to Device Management, and check the drop-down options.
Click ‘Whitelist Websites’ [Allow a Website] from the left menu drop-down under Device Profiles & Policies, and you will see the below screen.
As you can see, one website (https://scalefusion.com/) is already on the whitelisted website list. In order to whitelist another website, click on the
Click on the Whitelist Websites’ [Allow a Website] tab on the top right-hand side. Once you click, you will see the below screen.
Under the Details section, put the name of the website, enter the well-formatted URL of the website. Then choose if the shortcut should be visible on the Scalefusion home screen or not (like it is shown in the above image). Here, it is visible on the home screen. After clicking on Next, you will see the below Android settings tab.
The Android Settings tab is used to set the shortcut in Scalefusion Kiosk Browser and is hence not used for Google Chrome. So, click Next.
Similarly, the Apple Settings is meant for configuring settings for Safari and ProSurf iOS kiosk browser and is not required here. So, just click on Save.
After clicking on Save, your master list of Whitelisted Websites will be ready and it will appear like the below image.
Now on this page (refer to the above image), you can take 4 actions under the Actions tab – edit, publish, unpublish and delete. Click Publish (the 4th icon from the left) to publish the website shortcut to the selected device groups, profiles, or devices, as shown below. This is the common procedure for whitelisting websites for any platform, including Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.
This is the common procedure for whitelisting websites for any platform including Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.
Apart from this, you can also publish the list of whitelisted websites directly by going to a particular device profile. Go to Device Management and click Device Profiles from the drop-down. Then, click the ‘Edit’ icon on the top right-hand side beside APPLY tab.
How to Whitelist Websites for Android
For a device profile containing Android devices, the following page will open. Here, you will see the master list of Whitelist Websites. Enable the website to be allowed on the selected device profile with the toggle button, click ‘Next’, save all settings and update the specific device profile.
How to Whitelist Websites for iOS
Similarly, you can edit settings, including whitelisting of Websites for a device profile with iOS devices, and the associated page will look like this.
How to Whitelist Websites for macOS
Likewise, in the case of a device profile with macOS devices, you can edit settings and whitelist new websites on the associated page (refer to the following image).
To whitelist websites, click the Content Filtering tab on the left-hand side, select the apt settings, and click save to update the device profile.
How to Whitelist Websites for Windows
Similarly, for a device profile with Windows 10 devices, you can edit/apply relevant settings and the option to whitelist websites and save the changes to update the device profile.
For device profiles with Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and 11 devices, you can edit/apply relevant settings and the option to whitelist websites and save the changes to update the device profile.
Closing Lines
Whitelisting websites using Scalefusion’s web content filtering feature is easy and self-explanatory, with a seamless user interface.
Get started to ensure that all your devices access only safe and allowed websites.
