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Hello,
I had entered an expression to unblock (cgtextures.com) and it was working fine until recently. Now even though the expression is still in the unblock list it gets blocked as Freeware / Software downloads. I don't know what would cause it to break. I removed it from the unblock list saved the config and then entered it again thinking that would get it going again, but it still gets filtered. I also tried to recategorize it into a category that is not blocked, but that did work either.
I don't want to have to open up an entire category just for one site. I would really appreciate it if anyone has any ideas on how to get this site unblocked. Thank you in advance.
We moved from 7.5 to 7.6.2 and encountered the same issue, recategorized URLs were still being blocked as per the original category. We opened eimserver.ini and under FilteringManager, changed SecurityCategoryOverride=ON to =OFF. Maybe this is what you're after?
CF
Investigative Reports and/or the Websense block page you get when attempting to visit the site will tell you why it's not working anymore. Changes are the URL changed enough that your expression isn't catching.
I'd recommend staying away from regular expressions if you can help it. If you just need to allow the entire domain "cgtextures.com" just re-categorize "http://cgtextures.com" into a category you do allow, like business.
Hi Glitch,
Thanks for responding. I have tried to re-categorize but that doesn't work either. I have found another domain that is doing the same thing. In each instance I have traced the traffic generated by visiting each domain / site and neither is calling data from any other domain / IP or site. I'm using HTTPWatch to track the traffic. It's got me really perplexed.
I'll try not using an expression and see what happens. Update to follow in a few minutes.
I tried unblocking "http://cgtextures.com" after removing the regular expression of "cgtextures.com", but it didn't work. I then removed "http://cgtextures.com" from the unblock list and added it to the Misc / Image servers category. Unfortunately this doesn't work either. I feel like I am missing something easy, but I've been doing this for several years with various verions of Websense and have never had these types of issues. Does anyone know if this might be due to the new version or the new db categories recently added. Maybe Websense has changed something that is affecting this process. Again any help would be greatly appreciated.
I just tried to open a trouble ticket with support online and I keep getting an error message when the redirect happens. I guess they are having issues with the site ask.websense.com or at least the redirects that happen when you try to go to that site.
Oh well. Still having issues unblocking and or re-categorizing sites. I will continue to hunt for answers.
I'm having the same problem. New user to Websense, but have used web filtering / packet shaping systems in the past.
I have created a new subcatagory under User Defined which I'm simply calling "Allowed". Using the Unblock URL control I've recatagorized the url for the "Allowed" category.
When I test, the site remains blocked with a message referencing the original category. As though it were never re-categorized. Yet when I check the re-categorized url it shows and has been saved under the Permitted Allowed category.
I found an ini file called eimserver.ini but I don't have an option to change secuirty over ride
[FilteringManager]
InfoServerName=portal.websense.com
CustomUrlDomainMatch=off
Wow I forgot all about this thread. cfowler, you are correct. That is the change that you have to make in order to recategorize URLs. Thanks for posting the answer.
Might depend on your version of Websense. If you have a Stand Alone deployment you may have a Policy Server and a Reporting Server, check the same path on the Policy Server?
Thanks guys ... I have the 5000V appliance, so assuming that's considered "stand alone". Went into General settings - Risk Classes and tuned off all "Security Risk" categories while leaving the remaining classes with default settings. Worked for one url, but not another. I'm assuming I need to dial in the remaining risk classes.
I hope you all know the consequences for disabling the security override feature... there's another thread in here that we've discussed it at length but there is good reason why that Security Override feature was added. One of the main reasons we all have Websense is to protect our network from internet borne security threats and when you disable that feature you're in many cases saying you know better than Websense about what's dangerous. I still think they need to add the ability to exclude a specific URL from the override feature, but to just shut if off without a thought is even more dangerous.
If there are sites you need to access that are under the Security Risk category I'd first recommend using the Site Lookup Tool and plead your case for it to be officially recategorized.
I agree with that option. For instance we found that www.tgw.com (The Golf Warehouse) was classified as a security threat but it wasn't. We submitted the request and I got a response email within one calendar day that it was fixed. I just did it for a second one and got a response in less than a day that it was fixed. Websense seems very responsive to those requests.
