BadBlue lets office workers bypass web filtering

Corporate web filtering software can restrict or log workers' activity, even when that behavior is legitimate and job-related. BadBlue's personal web server lets workers bypass most corporate filtering and logging software, giving unfettered access to the Internet.

Atlanta GA (PRWEB) December 9, 2003 --BadBlue, a leading provider of file sharing and collaboration software, today announced the availability of its new Personal Edition software package. The package is designed to transform a home PC into a powerful Internet web server designed to share photos, videos, music and business documents securely. Its new OfficeSurfer feature provides office workers with freedom from most corporate web filtering software, avoiding monitoring and ensuring privacy.

"If we're at a client site and need unfettered access to the Internet for research purposes, OfficeSurfer lets us bypass the restrictions that normal employees have so that we can get our job done," stated Warren Timmer, president of ISS Ohio. "Some of the corporate web filters restrict software development sites that are categorized as 'hacker sites'. In our security consulting practice, it is crucial to have access to so-called hacker information so that we can better protect our clients. OfficeSurfer lets us bypass web filtering so that we can do a better job."

BadBlue's OfficeSurfer feature acts as a reformatting proxy, disguising destination URL's and avoiding the scrutiny of most corporate logging and filtering software. By surfing to any computer with OfficeSurfer installed, corporate users can gain access to all web sites that the OfficeSurfer computer can reach.

"We certainly don't intend for OfficeSurfer to be used in violation of corporate policy, that's clearly stated on our site (http://badblue.com/helpofs.htm)," said Brandt Ross, CEO of BadBlue. "It is intended for legitimate business usage that is interfered with by over-zealous web filtering software: a product researcher who needs complete access to the web; a consultant who needs personal email access for work-related activity; and so forth."

While file sharing and collaboration have been hallmark features of the BadBlue products, OfficeSurfer adds an important new capability to the series of BadBlue personal server products.

BadBlue Personal Edition enables a home user to share photo albums, videos, music, and any other type of media or document, thereby taking full advantage of their Internet connection. Especially relevant for cable, DSL and other broadband consumers, Personal Edition can turn a PC into a true web server on the Internet, complete with a free domain name. BadBlue's domain-name capability supports connections that use both static and dynamic IP addresses. Setup of a domain-name can be accomplished in a few minutes. BadBlue's Personal Edition product is the entry-level or consumer offering, providing a rich set of features geared towards home and SOHO users.

A business-focused product, BadBlue Enterprise Edition, provides additional capabilities that extend the collaborative abilities of a PC to encompass business documents and data. Enterprise Edition can publish Office documents, spreadsheets and databases to the web with a single click. This enables distribution of data to clients that only have web browsers and do not possess copies of the Office software. Further, the Enterprise product supports full-text search, a remote SQL execution feature called LiveSQL and several other "power" features.

BadBlue Personal Edition and Enterprise Edition can be purchased on the central BadBlue web site: http://badblue.com .

About Working Resources

Working Resources, based in Atlanta, Georgia, produces collaboration software for consumers and businesses focusing on web sharing, peer-to-peer, mobile and distributed application serving. The privately held company, founded in June of 2000, released its free BadBlue Personal Edition software package in September of 2000. Its founders, veterans of the software industry, served in various management roles with Alpha Software, FASTech Integration and Puma Corporation. Additional information can be found at http://badblue.com.

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