FaceTime Communications USG220 review

We had no problems blocking a range of apps including iPlayer, Vuze, Live Messenger and GoToMyPC. The USG220 also handled spyware sites well, as along with the URL category database it carries out packet analysis to determine the content and uses pattern matching and packet-sequence recognition.

With so many apps to monitor and possibly block, reporting needs to be comprehensive. The Reporting tab in FaceTime provides a complete overview of all activity, and you can select specific categories and drill down deeper for more information on the top blocked products, the systems trying to access them and, with AD policy groups in force, the offending users, too.

Despite the problems of unmonitored IM and P2P usage in the workplace, most security vendors still aren't taking this seriously. Fortunately, FaceTime is, and the USG220 not only delivers one of the most comprehensive solutions for monitoring and controlling these apps, it also adds spyware protection and full web-content filtering.

Author: Dave Mitchell