Find out what are three key features URL filtering? How it allows you to control who has access to specific URLs.
What Are Three Key Features URL Filtering?
URL Filtering is one of the most important features of SonicWall products. It allows us to control who has access to specific URLs, who can download and upload files, and also to block or allow specific file types.
For example, you can block URLs that contain adult content and all e-mail attachments that are in .exe format.
It means that you won’t worry about your children accessing inappropriate websites or opening malicious e-mail attachments. URL Filtering is a very powerful way of controlling what is being accessed on the network. Find out are three key features of URL filtering?
URL Filtering Rules (Policy)
The first rule is Policy. When you create a policy and assign it to an interface, you are limiting who can connect to the network. This is by only allowing certain people access to specific Internet sites or blocking access to certain sites altogether.
With policy-based URL filtering, you can also enable or disable specific types of traffic (e.g., HTTP or FTP). This is by creating a policy for certain ports that are being used by different applications in your network. You can also block or allow specific file types based on their extensions (e.g., Java, .pdf).
If you want a more granular approach then you can use URL filtering with categories and subcategories. These are such as social networking sites, blogs, forums, and so on. This allows you to more finely control which sites your users can visit based on the category that they fall into.
For example, if your company policy states that you only want employees using social networking sites for company business purposes. Then you could block all social networking sites except for one like Facebook which is allowed for personal use only. It is also possible to block users from accessing any external website at all unless they have been specifically granted privileges by an administrator.
Default Action Configuration
The administrator would need to configure the “Default Action” setting under “URL Filtering.” Next, opt for “URL Filter Settings” and “Default Action” for this option to work correctly. This is a good way of preventing users from accessing websites that might contain viruses or malware.
Because they will be unable to access any external website without explicit permission being given by an administrator first. This feature is particularly useful if you have strict security policies in place where employees are not allowed to connect their mobile devices directly to the internal network. Because they could inadvertently install malicious software onto your network if they were able to access external websites.
Policy-based URL filtering is particularly useful for enforcing security policies on your network. But it’s also possible to use URL filtering categories and subcategories to block or allow specific content. This can be useful if you want to control which websites your users can visit based on the category that they fall into.