While it may not seem as central to security as malware protection and breach detection, web content filtering plays an important role in ensuring regulatory compliance and the safety of workplaces as well as network security. Unlike security classification of URLs, which screens for malicious content such as malware or phishing, web filtering has to label content based not on attack mechanisms but the nature of its content, a much more generalized problem than checking for malicious patterns in the content behind the URL.

Source: SC Magazine