Web Access Monitoring Method and Associated Program

A web access monitoring method in a computer system in which client terminals and a centralized control server for controlling the client terminals are connected through a communication network, wherein

• said centralized control server includes a step for registering in a database monitoring rules which can set a first policy prescribing warning conditions and processing forms at the time of warning for web accesses which are unnecessary or improper from a business or educational point of view and a second policy prescribing a processing form which does not regulate the web accesses and only warns a user, and which can designate different policies for each user system and each user and a step for transmitting the most up-to-date monitoring rules in response to an acquisition request from the client terminal of said monitoring rules,
• said client terminal is provided with a filtering module for performing monitoring processing performed by a communication module such as a browser, and
• said filtering module includes a step for communicating with said centralized control server to acquire said latest monitoring rules at appropriate times and storing them in a storage medium and continuing the monitoring processing on said web accesses using the monitoring rules acquired last time even when the communications with said centralized control server are impossible while said communication module operates,
• an analysis step for analyzing communication contents immediately before the starting of communications with an access destination by said communication module and detecting the occurrence of a web access to an object to be monitored prescribed by said monitoring rules,
• a step for counting an access quantity at the time of detection of said web access, and
• a warning step, when it is judged that said access quantity has reached an upper limit value prescribed by said warning conditions, for allowing, not regulating, said web access when said second policy is set and performing warning processing which displays a warning window on the screen of the client terminal on the access source or said warning processing and notification processing to an administrator terminal through said centralized control server in real time in accordance with said processing forms at the time of warning.

A web access monitoring program stored in a computer-readable storage medium in order to monitor web accesses performed by a communication module of a client terminal, wherein the computer of said client terminal is allowed to perform:

• a step for communicating with a centralized control server for controlling each client terminal, acquiring monitoring rules which can set a first policy prescribing warning conditions and processing forms at the time of warning for web accesses which are unnecessary or improper from a business or educational point of view and a second policy prescribing a processing form which does not regulate the web accesses and only warns the user, and which can designate different policies for each user system and each user from said centralized control server at appropriate times, storing them in a storage medium, and continuing the monitoring processing on said web accesses using the monitoring rules acquired last time even when the communications with said centralized control server are impossible while said communication module operates;
• an analysis step for analyzing communication contents immediately before the starting of communications with an access destination by said communication module and detecting the occurrence of a web access to an object to be monitored prescribed by said monitoring rules;
• a step for counting an access quantity at the time of detection of said web access;
• and
• a warning step, when it is judged that said access quantity has reached an upper limit value prescribed by said warning conditions, for allowing, not regulating, said web access when said second policy is set and performing warning processing which displays a warning window on the screen of the client terminal on the access source or said warning processing and notification processing to an administrator terminal through said centralized control server in real time in accordance with said processing forms at the time of warning.