This document provides updated information regarding category descriptions used in Symantec Web Filter.  The Blue Coat sitereview page has a description of each category, click here to go to that page.

The list below shows added categories and/or updated category descriptions as of 7/8/2011:

Spam
Sites that are part of the spam ecosystem, including sites linked in unsolicited bulk electronic messages and sites used to generate or propagate such messages.

Informational
Sites that provide content that is informational in nature and does not provide a way to directly act upon the information (e.g., a site that provides lottery results, but does not sell lottery tickets). This category is always used in conjunction with another category appropriate to the subject matter (e.g., gambling).

Dynamic DNS Host
Sites that utilize dynamic DNS services to map their domain names to dynamic IP addresses.

Child Pornography
Sites that include a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Scam/Questionable/Illegal
Sites that promote scams or that provide or sell legally questionable educational materials such as term papers. Also includes sites that advocate or give advice on performing acts that are illegal or of questionable legality such as service theft, evading law enforcement, fraud, burglary techniques and plagiarism.

Malicious Sources
Sites that host or distribute malware or whose purpose for existence is as part of the malware ecosystem. Malware is defined as software that takes control of a computer, modifies computer settings, or collects or reports personal information without the permission of the end user. It also includes software that misrepresents itself by tricking users to download or install it or to enter personal information. This includes sites or software that perform drive-by downloads; browser hijackers; dialers; any program that modifies your browser homepage, bookmarks, or security settings; and keyloggers. It also includes any software that bundles malware (as defined above) as part of its offering. Information collected or reported is "personal" if it contains uniquely identifying data, such as email addresses, name, social security number, IP address, etc. A site is not classified as malware if the user is reasonably notified that the software will perform these actions (e.g., it alerts that it will send personal information, be installed, or that it will log keystrokes).

Malicious Outbound Data/Botnets
Sites to which botnets or other malware (as defined in the Malicious Sources category) send data or from which they receive command-and-control instructions. Includes sites that contain serious privacy issues, such as "phone home" sites to which software can connect and send user information. Usually does not include sites that can be categorized as Malicious Sources.

Potentially Unwanted Software
Sites that are not malicious sources but that host software with undesirable behavior or cause undesirable browser behavior such as such as intrusive adware, adware servers used exclusively by intrusive adware, and browser hijackers.

Games
Sites that support playing or downloading video games, computer games, or electronic games. Also includes sites that support or host online sweepstakes and giveaways. 

Further Information

If you're not sure what category a given site fits into, visit http://sitereview.bluecoat.com to use our lookup tool. 

For a list of all of our current Blue Coat Web Fitler categories, visit this page: http://sitereview.bluecoat.com/catdesc.jsp.