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Internet Usage Filters > Managing access to categories, protocols, and cloud apps
Managing access to categories, protocols, and cloud apps
Administrator Help | Forcepoint Web Security and Forcepoint URL Filtering | v8.5.x
Related topics:
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When a request is blocked
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New Forcepoint URL Database categories and protocols
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Special categories
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Risk classes
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Security protocol groups
The Forcepoint URL Database organizes similar websites (identified by URLs and IP addresses) into categories. Each category has a descriptive name, like Adult Material, Peer-to-Peer File Sharing, or Spyware. You can also create your own, custom categories to group sites of particular interest to your organization (see Creating a custom category). Together, the Forcepoint URL Database categories and user-defined categories form the basis for policy enforcement.
Forcepoint LLC does not make value judgments about categories or sites in the Forcepoint URL Database. Categories are designed to create useful groupings of the sites of concern to subscribing customers. They are not intended to characterize any site or group of sites or the persons or interests who publish them, and they should not be construed as such. Likewise, the labels attached to categories are convenient shorthand and are not intended to convey, nor should they be construed as conveying, any opinion or attitude, approving or otherwise, toward the subject matter or the sites so classified.
The up-to-date list of Forcepoint URL Database categories is available here.
To suggest that a site be added to the Forcepoint URL Database, or that a site be moved from one category to another, go to csi.forcepoint.com.
When you create a category filter, you choose which categories to block and which to permit.
In addition to housing URL categories, the Forcepoint URL Database includes protocol groups used to manage non-HTTP Internet traffic. Each protocol group defines similar types of Internet protocols (like FTP or IRC) and applications (like MSN Messenger or BitTorrent). The definitions are verified and updated as frequently as nightly.
As with categories, you can define custom protocols for use in policies.
The up-to-date list of Forcepoint URL Database protocols is available here.
When you create a protocol filter, you choose which protocols to block and which to permit.
 
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With Forcepoint Web Security, it is possible to filter non-HTTP protocols that tunnel over HTTP ports using Content Gateway (see Configuring tunneled protocol detection). You can also use Network Agent to enable policy enforcement for additional protocols.
In Forcepoint URL Filtering deployments, Network Agent must be installed to enable protocol-based policy enforcement.
The hybrid service does not enforce protocol filters.
Some pre-defined protocols allow blocking of outbound Internet traffic destined for an external server—for example, a specific instant messaging server. Only pre-defined protocols with dynamically-assigned port numbers can be blocked as outbound traffic.
A Cloud Apps database that includes a list of cloud applications is included with your web protection software for use in managing access to cloud applications. When you create a cloud app filter, you determine which cloud apps to block and which to permit.
 
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Cloud App filters are not applied when users are off-site.

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Internet Usage Filters > Managing access to categories, protocols, and cloud apps
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