How do I verify that WebCatcher is working?

Before you begin

WebCatcher collects URLs that are either unrecognized (not assigned to a category) or security related, and submits them to Forcepoint Security Labs for analysis.

  • Uncategorized URLs are reviewed for assignment to a category.
  • Security-related URLs are analyzed for what they can reveal about active Internet threats.

After WebCatcher data is analyzed, the results are used to update the Forcepoint URL Database.

WebCatcher writes the data it collects to an XML file that it sends to Forcepoint via HTTP post. To understand what data is being collected and sent, you can opt to keep a copy of the file as follows:

Steps

  1. Log on to the Security Manager and navigate to the Web > Settings > General > Account page.
  2. Under WebCatcher, mark the Save a copy of the data being sent to Forcepoint check box.
  3. Click OK and Save and Deploy to cache and save your changes.

Next steps

The next time WebCatcher runs, a copy of its XML file or files is saved in the web protection bin directory (C:\Program Files)\Websense\Web Security\bin\, by default) on the Log Server machine.

The file name indicates whether it contains uncategorized URL information or security-related URL data, and includes the date and time that WebCatcher created the file.

In addition, a webcatcher.log file is created in the Websense\Web Security\bin\ directory on the Log Server machine. Review this file to verify that WebCatcher was able to send URL information, and to find information about any errors that might have occurred.