What is Content Filtering?
Content filtering is the process of monitoring, screening, and blocking access to specific types of online content that may be unsafe, inappropriate, or harmful. It prevents users from accessing malicious websites, reduces exposure to threats such as malware, ransomware, and phishing, and helps organisations control what employees, guests, or students can view while connected to their network.
Content filtering tools typically work alongside a firewall to create an additional security layer, ensuring that dangerous web content cannot enter the IT environment. By implementing content filtering, organisations strengthen their cyber-defences, reduce the risk of data breaches, and ensure users access only suitable and approved online information.
How Content Filtering works?
Content filtering works by using hardware or content filtering software-based solutions to establish rules about the types of sites that may be visited. Using keywords or other common traits between sites, web content is classified into categories such as adult, alcohol, gambling.
Web content filtering tools can be configured to prevent end users from accessing harmful or inappropriate websites. The techniques that result in malware and/or stolen login credentials and data, often enter the network as web-borne threats, hidden in websites, and even online ads. With content filtering software, phishing and malware laden websites can be blocked and end users can be prevented from downloading infected files.
By using a web content filtering solution, an enterprise can manage employee access of dangerous websites, even when working remotely, without interrupting normal working patterns. By applying content filtering the web-borne threats can be controlled.
Did You Know?
businesses experienced a DNS attack
malware & spyware domains categorised a day
predefined categories by default
of websites tested by Google for malware were infected
Benefits of Content Filtering
Content filtering provides several key benefits that strengthen security, improve productivity, and protect organisations from risk:
1. Protects Against Malware and Cyberattacks
Content filtering blocks access to malicious websites, preventing malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks from entering the network. This reduces the risk of data theft, system damage, and costly breaches.
2. Improves Staff Productivity
By restricting access to distracting or non-work-related websites such as social media, gaming, or streaming sites content filtering helps employees stay focused, supporting higher productivity and more efficient use of company resources.
3. Prevents Access to Inappropriate Content
Content filtering ensures that users cannot view harmful, offensive, or inappropriate material on the organisation’s network. This is especially important in environments with minors (e.g., schools) and helps protect the organisation’s reputation.
4. Reduces Legal and Compliance Risk
By preventing staff from accessing or sharing inappropriate or harmful content online, organisations lower their risk of legal consequences, regulatory breaches, or reputational damage.
5. Optimises Bandwidth Usage
Blocking high-bandwidth or unnecessary websites reduces network congestion and improves overall internet performance for legitimate business tasks.
6. Helps Reduce Costs
If internet usage is billed by data consumption, filtering out high-data websites can lower operational costs while ensuring bandwidth is used for essential activities.
What is DNS Content Filtering?
DNS content filtering is another way to control the types of web content that can be accessed via wired or wireless networks. Businesses use DNS content filtering to enforce internet usage policies and prevent employees from accessing malicious websites. Internet Service Providers use DNS content filtering to ensure customers cannot access any content that violates laws in their country.
DNS content filtering occurs at the DNS lookup stage. In a fraction of a second, a series of checks is performed to determine if the user should be allowed to visit a particular webpage. These checks are essential because new web pages and web content are constantly being uploaded, and the content of existing web pages is regularly changing. If websites are found to violate an organization's filtering policies, access to those web pages will be blocked.
With DNS content filtering, controls are applied before any content is downloaded. If the website passes all the checks, the content will be displayed in the user’s browser. If the checks fail, it will display a local DNS block page. The block page explains that the webpage cannot be displayed and provides the reason. DNS content filtering solutions allow policies to be applied for the entire organization, for different user groups, roles, or individual users. Enterprise-level DNS content filtering solutions offer highly granular controls, allowing precise control over the types of content that can be accessed.
DNS content filtering is another way to control the types of web content that can be accessed via wired or wireless networks.
Content Filtering Software for Schools
Keeping objectionable content away from children is one of the more obvious use cases for web content filtering. Content filtering software for schools is also required for CIPA compliance. CIPA requires schools to implement measures to prevent children from accessing obscene images.
WebTitan OTG for Chromebooks is a cloud content filtering solution for the education sector that allows schools to carefully control the websites that can be access by students both in the classroom and offsite. Schools can easily devise filtering policies for all pupils or specific groups of students and apply those filtering polices in the cloud. The solution allows schools to enforce the use of Safe Search and prevent access to age-inappropriate web content to keep students safe.
WebTitan OTG for Chromebooks delivers fast and effective user- and device-level content filtering and empowers students to discover the Internet in a safe and secure fashion, while also ensuring compliance with federal and state laws such as the U.S. Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
Content Filtering for Public WiFi Hotspots
Content filtering is essential for any organisation offering public WiFi. It creates a safe and controlled online environment by protecting users from web-borne threats, preventing minors from accessing inappropriate material, and reducing the organisation’s risk of legal liability for facilitating illegal online activity.
Beyond minimising these risks, a content filter also provides positive business benefits. Locations offering protected WiFi gain a competitive advantage over those that do not, and the insights generated from filtering tools can help organisations better understand how their hotspots are being used.
How Content Filtering Protects Public Hotspot Users
A WiFi content filter enables organisations to control the types of websites customers, guests, and employees can access. Using tools such as blacklists, category-based filtering, and keyword filters, it blocks:
- Malicious websites containing malware
- Adult or inappropriate content
- Platforms commonly associated with illegal activity (e.g., P2P file-sharing sites)
The most significant benefit is security: filtering prevents users from inadvertently downloading viruses, spyware, adware, and other threats. When customers feel confident that your public WiFi is safe, they are more likely to return and to recommend your business to others.
Flexible Controls for Different Environments
Modern content filters offer flexible configuration options that allow organisations to tailor access based on user groups or time of day, for example, restricting certain categories during business hours or enabling limited access after a watershed moment. They can also help ensure fair usage. Bandwidth limits can be applied to prevent one user from streaming high-demand content and degrading the experience for everyone else. Because most WiFi content filters are managed through a web-based portal, settings can be configured remotely. This is particularly valuable for organisations managing multiple hotspot locations, as it reduces administrative overhead and ensures consistency.
Using Content Filtering Insights to Improve User Experience
Many filtering solutions include detailed reporting features. These reports help organisations enforce acceptable-use policies, identify attempts to bypass filters, and gain anonymous insights into user behaviour. This information can be used to enhance customer experience—for example:
- Tailoring promotions based on popular browsing categories
- Hosting online events if social media usage is high
- Creating dedicated quiet areas for users who primarily check email or work online
By understanding how people use your public WiFi, you can create a more personalised and engaging environment.
What Decides the Best Web Content Filter?
The best content filter is determined by how well it protects users, aligns with organisational needs, and supports secure, productive online access. A high-quality content filtering solution should offer strong security features, be easy to manage, and comply with relevant policies and regulations. At its core, an effective content filter must reliably block malicious or harmful websites, including those associated with phishing, malware, and social engineering attacks. This ensures users are shielded from web-borne threats that can compromise data, disrupt operations, or damage an organisation’s reputation.
Beyond security, the best solutions offer flexible management tools that allow administrators to tailor filtering rules to suit different teams, roles, or environments. Features such as category-based filtering, keyword blocking, and the ability to approve access to websites give organisations complete control without restricting legitimate work. Ease of deployment and day-to-day management is also crucial, particularly for organisations with limited IT resources.
Compliance is another key deciding factor. The chosen solution must support industry-specific regulations and regional legal requirements, ensuring that inappropriate, illegal, or non-compliant content cannot be accessed on the organisation’s network.
Finally, a top-tier content filter should enhance user productivity by reducing distractions, controlling bandwidth usage, and maintaining a consistent, safe browsing experience. When these capabilities combine, organisations benefit from a secure, compliant, and efficient online environment.
Must-Have Features in a Web Content Filter Solution
Key features include:
1. Effective Threat Protection
A top content filter must reliably block malicious websites, phishing pages, and social-engineering threats. Protection against known cybercriminal domains is essential.
2. Customisation and Administrative Control
Administrators should be able to configure settings easily, including whitelisting or blacklisting sites to support productivity and business needs.
3. Compliance Support
The solution must meet the legal and regulatory requirements relevant to your industry or region, ensuring safe and compliant internet use.
4. Alignment With Company Policies
The filter should integrate smoothly with your organisation’s security policies and workflows without disrupting users or daily operations.
5. Ability to Block High-Risk or High-Bandwidth Content
The best solutions allow granular control over categories such as:
- Streaming services
- Torrent and illegal file-sharing sites
- Adult or inappropriate content
6. Category-Based Filtering
Filtering by content category allows administrators to quickly apply appropriate restrictions based on user roles or organisational requirements.
Types of Web Content Filters
Not all web content filters are built the same, and a key differentiator is how they are deployed. Choosing the wrong deployment model can lead to complex implementation, higher support requirements, or unnecessary costs. Deployment types are defined by where the filtering technology is installed and how user traffic is inspected.
The four main types of web content filters are:
- Client-based: Installed directly on individual devices, this approach filters traffic locally. While not ideal for larger organisations, it can work well for small offices with limited IT resources.
- Server-based: Installed on an on-premises server, this model routes all web traffic through a central point for inspection. It is suitable for mid-sized organisations that prefer to maintain local infrastructure rather than adopt cloud services.
- Gateway-based: Hosted on a central gateway server at the network’s exit point, this method filters traffic before it reaches the internet. It is effective for organisations that want centralised control without deploying filters on every device.
- Cloud-based: The most scalable and widely preferred option for enterprises and managed service providers. Filtering occurs in the cloud, often using DNS-based inspection to block harmful domains before traffic reaches the network. This model is easy to deploy, efficient to manage, and highly adaptable across distributed environments.
Common Business Requirements for Web Content Filters
While features play an essential role, businesses also have practical requirements that influence which web content filtering solution is the best fit. Many of these needs are consistent across industries, and your organisation likely shares similar priorities.
Key business requirements include:
Pricing:
Although cost may not be the top deciding factor, the solution must still align with your IT budget and provide clear value.
Scalability:
A solution should grow with your organisation. As your workforce expands—from dozens of employees to hundreds, your web filtering platform must scale without requiring costly replacements.
Flexibility:
Every organisation has different security and access needs. A good content filter must offer configurable policies, granular controls, and support for custom whitelists and blacklists to accommodate diverse environments.
Compatibility:
Whether cloud-based or deployed on-premises, the solution should integrate seamlessly into your existing infrastructure without requiring major architectural changes.
Dynamic Database Updates:
New online threats emerge daily. A strong filtering solution automatically updates its threat database to include the latest malicious sites, without requiring administrator action.
Ease of Management:
High administrative overhead can burden IT teams. The ideal solution is simple to deploy, intuitive to manage, and adaptable as business needs evolve.
Reporting Capabilities:
Stakeholders need visibility into security performance. Administrators should be able to generate clear reports that highlight usage trends, blocked threats, and potential targeted attacks.
Content Filtering With WebTitan Cloud
WebTitan DNS content filtering provides flexible controls for content filtering of online activity. WebTitan Cloud is a DNS based web content filtering solution that provides complete protection from online threats such as viruses, malware, ransomware, phishing and comprehensive content filtering. WebTitan Cloud is a low maintenance solution that can be set up in five minutes to stop your users from accessing inappropriate content online.
Our intelligent AI driven real time content categorization engine combines industry leading anti-virus and cloud based architecture. This makes the WebTitan Cloud content filter an ideal solution for organizations needing maximum protection and minimal maintenance. WebTitan customer testimonials speak for themselves.
WebTitan DNS security solutions help stop web security threats by:
- Blocking users from landing on malware laden website
- Scanning file downloads for malware.
- Preventing users from accessing categories of websites deemed to be suspicious, dangerous or inappropriate.
- Preventing internal employee breaches - c2 call backs from phishing links
- Stopping compromised devices from communicating with command-and-control services.
- Less pressure on other security solutions such as AV and firewall
- AI powered threat detection
- Blocking of domains regardless of http or https
- Continuous updating of url classification databases
WebTitan Cloud is an ideal alternative to OpenDNS Cisco Umbrella. We also have a detailed Cisco Umbrella pricing comparison for prospective new customers.
Do you have more questions about DNS Content Filtering? Contact us today.
Susan Morrow
- DNS FILTERING
- WEB FILTERING
- CONTENT FILTERING
Malware prevention and web filtering software block users from opening malicious websites in their browsers. It’s useful for organizations to use web content filtering software to stop web-based attacks including malware downloads and ransomware. It also stops users from accessing phishing web pages that steal employee credentials and private information.
Instead of solely using antivirus and antimalware programs for data protection, malware filtering blocks users from downloading from specific domains. When users attempt to access downloads from a specific domain in their browsers, the malware filtering software blocks access immediately during the DNS lookup process, so users receive a warning message in their browser rather than the download.
Whether it’s a phishing email or a malicious online link, users are an organization’s weakest link. Web filters block users from accessing malicious downloads and domains hosting phishing content so that they are not tempted into installing malware on their local workstations or divulging sensitive information, such as network credentials to attackers.
A web filter combined with email filtering software greatly reduces the risks of phishing. Employees cannot access a malicious domain if email filtering software presents a false negative, so a web filter acts as a failsafe to protect users from opening an attacker-controlled web page after clicking on an embedded phishing link in an email.
When a user tries to retrieve a web page in their browser, a web filter works by blocking the domain during the lookup query on the domain’s name server. By blocking the DNS lookup, users cannot retrieve any malicious content or download malware to their local workstations, saving an organization from malware or ransomware attacks.
Web filtering software blocks anyone on the network from retrieving phishing or malware downloads using their browsers. It’s an added layer of cybersecurity for any organization where users have open access to the internet. Blocking content during the DNS query also stops malware from reaching a workstation and forces users to rely on antivirus software.
Using a phishing email, attackers trick users into retrieving malicious content. Organizations can use web filtering software to block users from loading known phishing domains and domains known for distributing malware. A web filter blocks domains during a DNS query so administrators can configure the environment to block categories of inappropriate content and malicious domains.
To add a layer of cyber security on a network, administrators integrate web filtering software to block known malicious domains. Web filtering software blocks a malicious domain during DNS queries when users type a malicious domain into their browsers. By blocking a domain, users receive a warning message and can’t access the domain, so an organization essentially lowers the risks of a data breach from web-based threats.
Web filters block malicious websites from being loaded in user browsers. Employees tricked into clicking a malicious link in a phishing email or opening a domain known for hosting malicious content will be blocked from accessing it and will receive a warning. Web filters also provide reports so that administrators can review any suspicious domain requests.
Talk to our Team today
