Secure Member Access

When you add new members to your intranet, they receive an email containing the registration code for your site. They must use that code to become new members and must use a password they select to enter your intranet. To increase the security of your intranet, change the registration code frequently and encourage members to change their personal passwords frequently.

If you'd like to allow outside guests to view your intranet, you have that option, even though they are not officially registered members. Select this option if you want your site to function like an extranet - where select partners and clients can access parts of your site. By default guests are NOT permitted access to your intranet.

Full Permissions System

Your intranet site includes a complete permissions system, enabling the site administrator to control who can post new information, and customize member access rights for each part of the intranet.

The role of the administrator

• The administrator is typically the first person who set up the intranet; the intranet champion, who is responsible for rolling out the site to other users. But you don't need any special computer skills to be an Intranets.com administrator. Everything you need to manage you site can be accomplished with easy-to-use administration tools.
• The administrator can add new members to the intranet, set permissions, post new information, and edit or delete any information on the intranet. The administrator can also make intranet customization changes that appear on a site-wide basis.
• The administrator may choose to share the responsibilities of running the intranet by giving other members administrator-level access.
  

Who can post new information to the intranet?
The intranet administrator determines which members can post new information to the intranet and which members have read- only access.

The permissions you choose can vary by application. For example, you might want to permit all members to post new messages in Discussions but only permit administrators to post new Announcements.

What can members see on the intranet?
Administrators can see all information posted on the intranet. Members see all the applications and features that the administrator has enabled. All members can see information posted for the entire group. When you post private information intended for a limited audience, such as a task or private poll, only the members involved can see it.

If you choose to enable guest access for your intranet, guests can only see the areas designated by the intranet administrator.

Who can edit information on the intranet?
Administrators can edit or delete any information on the intranet. As a general rule, members can edit or delete only the information they posted to the intranet. The primary exception to this rule is in the Document Manager. You can set document folder permissions such that one person can post a document, and the members of your choice can edit it.

Member Groups

If you are an administrator, you can create a member group for each department, committee, or team represented in your intranet. When you create a group, they can share and edit their own documents, hold their own discussion forums, and email links and event reminders to each other.

Secure Hosting

All client sites reside on servers in a professionally managed data center that is physically enclosed, tightly secured, and environmentally controlled. In addition to the password and registration technology built in to Intranets.com sites, we use a "defense-in-depth" strategy to protect your site. We follow industry standard best practices in carrying out the strategy:

• Physical access to the data center is highly restricted. Only authorized personnel can enter the data center and it is guarded on a 24 x 7 basis.
  
• Each Intranets.com site's files are rigorously segregated; there is no intermingling of one site's files with any others on the servers used to host the sites.
  
• The servers on which Intranets.com sites reside are continuously monitored for attempted network attacks on a 24 x 7 basis using sophisticated software tools.
  
• Intranets.com backs up your data nightly and copies of the back-up tapes are stored both on- and off-site so that your data can be easily restored.
  

SSL Encryption

If you would like to add an extra layer of security to prevent malicious attacks on your intranet, Intranets.com also offers Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption as an option.

This option adds an extra level of protection to an intranet, assuring that communication and collaboration with colleagues are conducted in a secure environment. SSL requires that members log in through a secure server, which inhibits hackers from accessing the information. SSL encryption uses secret code to scramble the protected data.

Members on sites that subscribe to this feature have peace of mind that their data is safe when they see a small lock icon at the bottom of the browser screen, indicating that the transmission of their data is encrypted. When you sign up for SSL Encryption you can be confident that your information is well protected on a private intranet site.