Define custom authentication settings

Web Security Help | Web Security Solutions | Version 7.8.x

Use the Settings > Hybrid Configuration > Custom Authentication page to add and edit custom rules to change the default authentication behavior for specific applications or sites.

Occasionally, some Internet applications and websites cannot authenticate with the hybrid service. This might occur with, for example, instant messaging programs, antivirus updates, or software update services.

To allow particular applications that do not properly handle authentication challenges to bypass authentication, you can specify user agents, domains, or URLs, or a combination of these options.

A user agent is a string sent from your browser or Internet application to the server hosting the site that you are visiting. This string indicates which browser or application you are using, its version number, and details about your system, such as the operating system and version. The destination server then uses this information to provide content suitable for your specific browser or application.

For example, this is a user agent for Firefox:

Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.2.6)

In this example, Windows NT 5.1 indicates that the operating system is Windows XP, and the language it uses is US English.

To get the user agent string for your browser, enter the following in the browser's address bar:

javascript:alert(navigator.userAgent)

You can view the user agents that have made authentication requests via the hybrid service in the User Agents by Volume report, available from the Custom Authentication page and also on the Main > Status > Hybrid Service page. If a user agent in this report has a high number of authentication requests, it may be experiencing authentication problems. You can select a user agent in the report and click Create Rule to add a new custom authentication rule for that agent. See View User Agent Volume report.

To define a custom authentication rule, click Add, and then see Adding custom authentication rules.

To edit an existing rule, click the rule Name, and then see Editing custom authentication rules.

To remove a custom authentication rule, mark the check box next to the rule name, and then click Delete.

If you have added or edited a custom authentication rule, click OK to cache your changes. Changes are not implemented until you click Save and Deploy.