CP R77 ApplicationControlURLFiltering AdminGuide
CP R77 ApplicationControlURLFiltering AdminGuide
URL Filtering
R77 Versions
Administration Guide
12 October 2015
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Revision History
Date Description
12 October 2015 Removed user-defined object path limitation in (Site Categories) topic
09 December 2013 Added limitation that Dynamic Objects are not supported ("The Policy Rule
Base" on page 16) in the Application and URL Filtering Rule Base
Feedback
Check Point is engaged in a continuous effort to improve its documentation.
Please help us by sending your comments
(mailto:[email protected]?subject=Feedback on Application Control and URL Filtering
R77 Versions Administration Guide).
Contents
Important Information............................................................................................................ 3
Terms ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Introduction to Application Control and URL Filtering ....................................................... 8
The Need for Application Control ......................................................................................... 8
The Need for URL Filtering .................................................................................................. 8
The Check Point Solution for Application Control and URL Filtering .................................... 8
Main Features ..................................................................................................................... 9
Getting Started ..................................................................................................................... 10
Application Control and URL Filtering Licensing and Contracts ......................................... 10
SmartDashboard Toolbar .................................................................................................. 10
Enabling Application Control on a Security Gateway ......................................................... 11
Enabling URL Filtering on a Security Gateway .................................................................. 11
Creating an Application Control and URL Filtering Policy .................................................. 11
Monitoring Applications ................................................................................................. 12
Blocking Applications .................................................................................................... 12
Limiting Application Traffic ............................................................................................ 13
Using Identity Awareness Features in Rules ................................................................. 13
Blocking Sites ............................................................................................................... 14
Blocking URL Categories .............................................................................................. 15
Managing Application Control and URL Filtering .............................................................. 16
The Policy Rule Base ........................................................................................................ 16
Default Rule and Monitor Mode .................................................................................... 16
Parts of the Rules ......................................................................................................... 17
Limit Objects ................................................................................................................. 21
Analyzing the Rule Base (Hit Count) ............................................................................. 21
Working with UserCheck Interaction Objects ................................................................ 24
The Application and URL Filtering Database ..................................................................... 27
Security Category Updates ........................................................................................... 28
Application Categories .................................................................................................. 28
Application Risk Levels ................................................................................................. 28
Using the AppWiki ........................................................................................................ 29
Updating the Application and URL Filtering Database................................................... 29
The Application and URL Filtering Overview Pane ............................................................ 30
My Organization............................................................................................................ 30
Messages and Action Items .......................................................................................... 30
Detected in My Organization ......................................................................................... 30
Top Users ..................................................................................................................... 31
AppWiki ............................................................................................................................. 31
Gateways Pane ................................................................................................................. 31
Applications/Sites Pane ..................................................................................................... 31
Creating Applications or Sites ....................................................................................... 32
Creating Modbus Application Rules .............................................................................. 32
Creating Categories ...................................................................................................... 33
Creating Application or Site Groups .............................................................................. 33
Exporting and Importing Applications or Sites ............................................................... 34
Advanced Settings for Application and URL Filtering ......................................................... 34
HTTP Inspection on Non-Standard Ports ...................................................................... 34
Overriding Categorization ............................................................................................. 34
HTTPS Inspection ............................................................................................................. 35
How it Operates ............................................................................................................ 35
Configuring Outbound HTTPS Inspection ..................................................................... 36
Configuring Inbound HTTPS Inspection ........................................................................ 38
The HTTPS Inspection Policy ....................................................................................... 39
Managing Certificates by Gateway................................................................................ 43
Adding Trusted CAs for Outbound HTTPS Inspection................................................... 43
HTTPS Validation ......................................................................................................... 44
HTTP/HTTPS Proxy...................................................................................................... 46
Security Gateway Portals .............................................................................................. 47
HTTPS Inspection in SmartView Tracker ...................................................................... 48
HTTPS Inspection in SmartEvent.................................................................................. 49
Engine Settings ................................................................................................................. 50
Fail Mode ...................................................................................................................... 50
Check Point Online Web Service .................................................................................. 50
URL Filtering ................................................................................................................. 51
Connection Unification .................................................................................................. 52
Web Browsing............................................................................................................... 53
Application Control Backwards Compatibility ................................................................ 53
Application and URL Filtering and Identity Awareness....................................................... 53
Using Identity Awareness in the Application and URL Filtering Rule Base .................... 53
Identifying Users Behind a Proxy .................................................................................. 54
Legacy URL Filtering ......................................................................................................... 55
Terminology .................................................................................................................. 55
Architecture .................................................................................................................. 55
Configuring Legacy URL Filtering ................................................................................. 56
Application Control and URL Filtering in SmartView Tracker .......................................... 57
Log Sessions ..................................................................................................................... 57
Application Control and URL Filtering Logs ....................................................................... 57
Viewing Logs ..................................................................................................................... 58
Predefined Queries ....................................................................................................... 58
Permissions for Logs .................................................................................................... 58
Application Control and URL Filtering in SmartEvent....................................................... 59
Event Analysis in SmartEvent or SmartEvent Intro ............................................................ 59
Browse Time ..................................................................................................................... 59
Viewing Information in SmartEvent .................................................................................... 60
Working with UserCheck ..................................................................................................... 61
Configuring the Security Gateway for UserCheck .............................................................. 61
UserCheck CLI .................................................................................................................. 62
Revoking Incidents ............................................................................................................ 63
UserCheck Client ................................................................................................................. 64
UserCheck Client Overview ............................................................................................... 64
UserCheck Requirements.................................................................................................. 64
Enabling UserCheck Client ................................................................................................ 65
Client and Gateway Communication .................................................................................. 65
Option Comparison ....................................................................................................... 66
File Name Based Server Discovery .............................................................................. 66
Renaming the MSI ........................................................................................................ 66
Active Directory Based Configuration............................................................................ 67
DNS Based Configuration ............................................................................................. 68
Getting the MSI File ........................................................................................................... 69
Distributing and Connecting Clients ................................................................................... 70
UserCheck and Check Point Password Authentication ................................................. 71
Helping Users .................................................................................................................... 71
Setting up a Mirror Port ....................................................................................................... 72
Technical Requirements .................................................................................................... 72
Configuring a Mirror Port ................................................................................................... 72
Connecting the Gateway to the Traffic .......................................................................... 73
Configuring the Interface as a Mirror Port ..................................................................... 73
Checking that it Works .................................................................................................. 73
Removing the Mirror Port .............................................................................................. 73
Regular Expressions ........................................................................................................... 74
Using Regular Expressions in Custom Sites ...................................................................... 74
Regular Expression Syntax ............................................................................................... 75
Using Non-Printable Characters ........................................................................................ 75
Using Character Types ...................................................................................................... 76
Index ..................................................................................................................................... 77
Terms
Application
A software program that runs on a server,
website, desktop computer, or mobile device.
Application Control
The ability to create rules that control user or
computer access to specified applications.
Gateway
A computer or appliance that controls
communication between different networks.
Rule
A set of traffic parameters and other conditions
that cause specified actions to be taken for a
communication session.
Security Gateway
A computer or appliance that inspects traffic and
enforces Security Policies for connected network
resources.
Site
1. A collection of related Web pages or content
accessible with a browser over the Internet or an
Intranet. 2. In remote access clients, the gateway
that users connect to through the VPN.
SmartConsole
A Check Point GUI application used to manage
security policies, monitor products and events,
install updates, provision new computers and
appliances, and manage a multi-domain
environment.
SmartDashboard
A Check Point client used to create and manage
the security policy.
URL Filtering
The ability to create rules that control user and
computer access to specified sites based on their
URL.
Web Site
A collection of related Web pages or content
accessible with a browser over the Internet or an
Intranet.
Chapter 1
Introduction to Application Control
and URL Filtering
In This Section:
The Need for Application Control .............................................................................. 8
The Need for URL Filtering ....................................................................................... 8
The Check Point Solution for Application Control and URL Filtering........................ 8
Main Features ........................................................................................................... 9
Main Features
Granular Application Control Identify, allow, or block thousands of applications and internet sites.
This provides protection against the increasing threat vectors and malware introduced by internet
applications and sites.
Largest application library with AppWiki Comprehensive application control that uses the industrys
largest application library. It scans for and detects more than 4,500 applications and more than 100,000
Web 2.0 widgets and categories.
Integrated into Security Gateways - Activate Application Control and URL Filtering on Security
Gateways including UTM-1, Power-1, IP Appliances, and IAS Appliances.
Central Management Lets you centrally manage security Policies for Application Control and URL
Filtering from one user-friendly console for easy administration.
SmartEvent Analysis - Use SmartEvent advanced analysis capabilities to understand your application
and site traffic with filtering, charts, reporting, statistics, and more, of all events that pass through
enabled Security Gateways.
Application Control can be enabled on R75 or higher gateways and URL Filtering can be enabled on R75.20
or higher gateways.
SmartDashboard Toolbar
You can use the SmartDashboard toolbar to do these actions:
Icon Description
Open the SmartDashboard menu. When instructed to select menu options, click this
button to show the menu.
For example, if you are instructed to select Manage > Users and Administrators,
click this button to open the Manage menu and then select the Users and
Administrators option.
Open a policy package, which is a collection of Policies saved together with the same
name.
Icon Description
Open SmartConsole.
Look through the AppWiki to learn which applications and categories have high risk levels. Find ideas of
applications and categories to include in your Policy.
Monitoring Applications
Scenario: I want to monitor all Facebook traffic in my organization. How can I do this?
Blocking Applications
Scenario: I want to block pornographic sites in my organization. How can I do this?
The rule blocks traffic to pornographic sites and logs attempts access sites that are in the pornography
category. Users who violate the rule receive a customizable UserCheck message that informs them that the
application is blocked according to company security policy. The message can include a link to report if the
website is included in an incorrect category.
Important - A rule that blocks traffic, with the Source and Destination parameters defined as
Any, also blocks traffic to and from the Captive Portal.
To create a rule that allows streaming media with time and bandwidth limits:
1. In the Application and URL Filtering tab of SmartDashboard, open the Policy pane.
2. Click one of the Add Rule toolbar buttons to add the rule in the position that you choose in the Rule
Base. The first rule matched is applied.
3. Make a rule that includes these components:
Applications/Sites - Media Streams category.
Action - Allow, and a Limit object that specifies the maximum upload and download throughput.
Time - Add a Time object that specifies the hours or time period in which the rule is active.
Name Source Destination Applications/Sites Action Track Install Time
On
Limit Any Internet Media Streams Allow Log All Non-peak
Streaming Upload_1Gbp
Media s
Up: 1 Gbps
Note - In a cluster environment, the specified bandwidth limit is divided between all defined cluster
members, whether active or not. For example, if a rule sets 1Gbps limit in a three member cluster,
each member has a fixed limit of 333Mbps.
2. Create a rule below the rule from step 1. Include these components:
Source - Any
Destination - Internet
Applications/Sites - The category: Remote Administration Tool
Action - Block
Name Source Destinatio Applications/Sites Action Track Install On
n
Allow Radmin to Identified_users Internet Radmin Allow None All
Identified Users
Blocking Sites
Scenario: I want to block sites that are associated with categories that can cause liability issues. Most of
these categories exist in the Application and URL Filtering Database but there is also a custom defined site
that must be included. How can I do this?
You can do this by creating a custom group and adding all applicable categories and the site to it. If you
enable Identity Awareness on a Security Gateway, you can use it together with URL Filtering to make rules
that apply to an access role. Use access role objects to define users, machines, and network locations as
one object.
In this example:
You have already created an Access Role that represents all identified users in the organization.
You want to block sites that can cause liability issues for everyone within your organization.
You will create a custom group that includes Application and URL Filtering Database categories as well
as a previously defined custom site named Smirnoff.
You configure Application Control and URL Filtering in SmartDashboard. SmartView Tracker shows the logs
and SmartEvent shows real-time traffic statistics and analysis. This chapter explains the Application Control
and URL Filtering configuration and management that you do in SmartDashboard.
Important - Dynamic Objects are not supported in the Application and URL Filtering Rule Base.
For examples of how to create different types of rules, see Creating Application Control Rules.
The result of this rule is that all application traffic is monitored. Therefore, you can see logs related to
application traffic in SmartView Tracker and SmartEvent. Use the data there to better understand the use of
applications in your environment and create an effective Rule Base.
If you enabled Identity Awareness on the Security Gateway, you will also see names of identified users in
the logs.
If you do not add other rules to the Rule Base, your Application Control Policy stays in monitor mode. This
means that you see application traffic in the logs, but do not block access to applications.
If you change the default rule, for example:
You change the tracking to none
You change the value in Applications/Sites from Any Recognized to a specified application,
Then no traffic will be monitored.
You can add more rules that block specified applications or sites or have different tracking settings. If you do
not change the default rule, traffic that is not included in other rules is allowed and monitored.
Number (NO.)
The sequence of rules is important because the first rule that matches an application is applied.
For example, Gmail additional categories include Sends Mail, Transmits Personal or Enterprise
Information, and Instant Chat. If rule 3 allows Gmail and rule 4 blocks applications with the Instant Chat
additional category, Gmail will be allowed based on rule 3.
Hits
Hit Count tracks the number of connections that each rule matches. For each rule in the Rule Base, the Hits
column shows by default a visual indicator of matching connections together with the number of hits in K
(thousands), M (millions), G (billions), or T (trillions). You can configure to show the percentage of the rule's
hits from total hits, the indicator level (very high, high, medium, low, or zero) and set a timeframe for the data
that is shown. These options are configured from the Firewall Rule Base by right-clicking the Hits column
header or the rule number.
See Hit Count ("Analyzing the Rule Base (Hit Count)" on page 21).
Name
Give the rule a descriptive name. The name can include spaces.
Double-click in the Name column of the rule to add or change a name.
Source
The source is where the traffic originates. The default is Any.
Important - A rule that blocks traffic, with the Source and Destination parameters defined as
Any, also blocks traffic to and from the Captive Portal.
Put your mouse in the column and a plus sign shows. Click the plus sign to open the list of network objects
and select one or multiple sources. The source can be an Access Role object, which you can define when
Identity Awareness is enabled.
Destination
Choose the destination for the traffic. The default is the Internet, which includes all traffic with the
destination of DMZ or external. If you delete the destination value, the rule changes to Any, which applies to
traffic going to all destinations
Important - A rule that blocks traffic, with the Source and Destination parameters defined as
Any, also blocks traffic to and from the Captive Portal.
To choose other destinations, put your mouse in the column and a plus sign shows. Click the plus sign to
open the list of network objects and select one or multiple destinations.
Applications/Sites
The Applications/Sites column contains the applications and categories for sites and applications that you
choose to include. One rule can include multiple items and items of different types. For example, one rule
can include 2 applications and 3 categories. The default is that the rule applies to all known applications and
sites. The category on which the rule is matched is shown in the SmartView Tracker logs in the Matched
Category field.
You can also include widgets and custom defined applications, sites, categories and groups. Custom
defined items are set in SmartDashboard by the administrator and are not a part of the Application and URL
Filtering Database.
If you do not enable URL Filtering on the Security Gateway, you can use a generic web browser application
called Web Browsing.
This application includes all HTTP traffic that is not a defined application. Because Web Browsing traffic can
generate many logs, the Web browsing application has its own activation setting. You can activate Web
Browsing in Advanced > Engine Settings.
changed for CR00763034
Action
Action refers to what is done to the traffic. Click in the column to see the options and select an action to add
to the rule.
Action Meaning
Allow Allows the traffic
Ask Asks the user a question and adds a confirmatory check box, or a reason box.
Block Blocks the traffic. If no UserCheck object is defined for this action, no page is displayed.
Limit Limits the bandwidth that is permitted for a rule. Add a Limit object ("Limit Objects" on
page 21) to configure a maximum throughput for uploads and downloads.
User Check Configure how often the user sees the configured message when the action is ask,
Frequency inform, or block.
Captive Portal Redirects HTTP traffic to an authentication (captive) portal. Once the authentication
credentials are obtained, further connections from this source are inspected without
requiring authentication.
Rule Actions From the toolbar at the top of the Application Control Policy page, click the icons to
create new rules or to delete the selected rules.
If you right-click in a column of the Rule Base and select Rule Actions, a menu opens
with these options:
New Rule - Select to create a new rule Above or Below the rule that is currently
selected.
Delete Rule - Deletes the selected rule or rules.
Disable Rule - The rule stays in the Rule Base but is not active.
Select All Rules - Selects all the rules and you can then choose another action to
apply to them.
View rule logs in SmartView Tracker - Opens SmartView Tracker and shows logs
related to the rule.
View rule logs in SmartEvent - Opens SmartEvent and shows logs related to the
rule.
Important - A rule that blocks traffic, with the Source and Destination parameters defined as
Any, also blocks traffic to and from the Captive Portal.
Note - The actions Block, Ask, and Inform involve the creation of UserCheck Interaction
Objects.
Track
Choose if the traffic is logged in SmartView Tracker or if it triggers other notifications. Click in the column
and the options open. The options include:
None - Does not record the event
Logs:
Log - Records the event details in SmartView Tracker. This option is useful to get general
information on your network traffic. It consolidates logs by session (there is one log for each
session). It shows the initial URL browsed and the number of suppressed logs it includes.
Extended Log - Consolidates logs by session, shows the number of suppressed logs and includes
data for each URL request in the session time frame. Each of the URLs has an entry in the URLs
tab of the log in SmartView Tracker. Using this option can have an effect on performance.
Complete Log - Records logs for each URL request made regardless of session. Each URL request
has its own log. This option also generates an event in SmartEvent for each URL browsed and is
intended only for troubleshooting purposes. Note that this option generates many logs.
For more about logs, see log sessions (on page 57).
Alert - Logs the event and runs a command, such as display a popup window, send an email alert or an
SNMP trap alert, or run a user-defined script as defined in Policy > Global Properties > Log and Alert
> Alert Commands.
Mail - Sends an email to the administrator, or runs the mail alert script defined in Policy > Global
Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands.
SNMP Trap - Sends a SNMP alert to the SNMP GUI, or runs the script defined in Policy > Global
Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands.
User Defined Alert - Sends one of three possible customized alerts. These alerts are defined by the
scripts specified in Policy > Global Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands.
Install On
Choose which Security Gateways on which the rule will be installed. The default is All, which means all
Security Gateways that have Application Control enabled. Put your mouse in the column and a plus sign
shows. Click the plus sign to open the list of available Security Gateways and select.
Time
You can add a Time object to a rule to make the rule active only during specified times. If you do not include
a Time object in a rule, the rule is always active.
You can include multiple Time objects in a rule in these ways:
Select each Time object to include it.
Create a Time Group that includes multiple Time objects.
When you have multiple Time objects or a Time Group, each Time object works independently. For
example, if a rule has two Time objects:
One shows that the rule is active on Mondays.
One shows that the rule is active from 9:00 - 17:00.
The rule is active each day from 9:00 - 17:00 and all day on Mondays. For the rule to be active from 9:00 -
17:00 on Mondays only, make one Time object that contains all of the criteria.
If Time objects were created from a different tab in SmartDashboard, you can also use them in the
Application Control and URL Filtering Rule Base. For example, you can create Time objects from the
Firewall Rule Base or from Manage menu > Time.
To create a new Time object from the Application Control and URL Filtering Rule Base:
1. In the Time column of a rule, right click and select Add Objects.
2. Click New and select Time.
3. In the General pane, enter a Name without spaces.
4. In the Time pane, select one or more options:
Time Period - Select a date and time when the rule starts to be active and expires.
Restrict to specific hour ranges - Select hours of the day when the rule is active.
Specify Days - Select days of the week or month when the rule is active. The default is Every Day.
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK to add the object to the selected rule.
Note - The relevant time zone is that of the Security Gateway enforcing the rule. If Security
Gateways are in different time zones, they enforce the same time object rules at different times.
Limit Objects
Use the Limit action in rules to limit the bandwidth that is permitted for a rule in the Application Control and
URL Filtering Rule Base. Configure a maximum throughput for uploads and downloads. The Limit action
makes sure that employee use of the internet does not impede important business tasks.
You can add one Limit object to a rule. It can include upload and download rates.
Download - From the internet to the organization.
Upload - From the organization to the internet.
When the limit is reached, the gateway begins to drop packets. The Application Control logs show dropped
packets.
Note - The Security Gateway implements the Limit action by dropping successive packets which
exceed the allowed bandwidth.
Better Firewall performance - You can move a rule that has a high hit count to a higher position in the
Rule Base
Better understand the behavior of the security Policy
Zero 0 hits
To refresh hit count data in the Application and URL Filtering Rule Base:
Example:
In a rule that contains:
Applications/Sites Action
Social Networking category Inform
If you select Once a day, as the UserCheck Frequency and For this rule for UserCheck Scope:
A user who accesses Facebook and then LinkedIn on the same day gets one Inform message.
If you select Once a day, as the UserCheck Frequency and For each application for UserCheck Scope:
A user who accesses Facebook and then LinkedIn on the same day gets one Inform message for
Facebook and one for LinkedIn.
In new installations, the UserCheck Scope default is For each category.
In upgrades from a version before R75.40, the UserCheck Scope default is For this Rule.
UserCheck Page
On the UserCheck page, you can create, edit, and preview UserCheck interaction objects and their
messages.
Item Meaning
Cancel Page Cancel Shows after a user gets an Inform or Ask message and clicks
Cancel.
Access Notification Inform Shows when the action for the rule is inform. It informs users
what the company policy is for that site.
Company Policy Ask Shows when the action for the rule is ask. It informs users what
the company policy is for that site and they must click OK to
continue to the site.
Ask and Inform pages include a Cancel button that users can click to cancel the request.
For Threat Prevention and Application and URL Filtering, you can show these UserCheck message
previews:
Regular view - Shows a preview of the UserCheck message on a computer.
Mobile Device - Shows a preview of the UserCheck message on a mobile device.
For DLP, you can also show these UserCheck message previews:
Email - Shows a preview of the UserCheck message in an email.
Agent - Shows a preview of the UserCheck message in the DLP agent window.
Application Categories
In the Application and URL Filtering Database, each application is assigned to one primary category based
on its most defining aspect. See the category in the description of each application and in the logs.
In the Application and URL Filtering Database, each application can have additional categories, which are
characteristics of the application. For example, some of the additional categories of Gmail include: Supports
File Transfer, Sends mail, and Instant Chat. If an additional category is in a rule, the rule matches all
applications that are marked with it.
When you use the AppWiki or add applications to the Rule Base, you can filter by additional category or risk
level to see all applications with that characteristic. This is a good way to get ideas of types of applications
that you might want to block or allow.
If new applications are added to an additional category that is in an Application Control, URL Filtering, or
Threat Prevention rule, the rule is updated automatically when the database is updated.
4 - High Can cause data leakage or malware infection Remote Desktop, File Sharing, P2P
without user knowledge (uTorrent, Kazaa)
3 - Medium Can be misused and cause data leakage or Instant messaging, File Storage (Drop box),
malware infection WebEx, Gmail
2- Low Potentially not business related, but low risk Gaming, Facebook, YouTube, Media
1- Very Low Usually business related with no or very low SalesForce, Google Finance
risk
You can filter a search based on the risk level. For example, select risk level 5 to see all applications with
that risk level. The risk level is also a tag that shows in the details of each application. This helps you to
understand which types of applications to be wary of and which are low risk.
To change the schedule for updates on the management server and Security Gateways:
1. Before you run the scheduled update, in the Automatic Application Updates section of the Updates
pane, select both:
Update Application and URL Filtering Database on the Security Management Server
Update Application and URL Filtering Database on the Security Gateway
When you update the database on the Security Management Server, you can see relevant database
changes in SmartDashboard. If you only update the Security Gateways, you will see in SmartDashboard
that the Security Gateway has a new version of the Application and URL Filtering Database.
2. On the Updates pane, in the Scheduled Updates section, click Configure to schedule when the
updates will run. By default, a scheduled update runs at two hour intervals.
In Multi-Domain Security Management, update the database for all Domain Management Servers in the
Global SmartDashboard and not from Domain Management Servers.
To configure a proxy:
The Advanced > Updates pane shows if the Security Management Server uses a proxy to connect to
the internet or not. Click Configure Proxy to go to the SmartDashboard page to configure the proxy for
the Security Management Server.
In SmartDashboard, in the object properties of a gateway or Security Management Server, go to
Topology > Proxy.
In a Multi-Domain Security Management environment, configure a proxy in Policy > Global Properties
> Proxy.
Scheduling Updates
To change the update schedule from the default scheduled Application and URL Filtering
Database updates:
1. On the Advanced > Updates pane, under Schedule Updates, click Configure.
The Scheduled Event Properties window opens.
2. In the General page, set the Time of Event.
Select Every and adjust the setting to run the update after an interval of time.
Select At to set days of the week or month and a time of day for updates to occur:
Enter an hour in the format that is shown.
Click Days and the Days page opens. Select the days when the update will occur. If you
select Days of week or Days of month, more options open for you to select.
3. Click OK.
If you have Security Gateways in different time zones, they will not be synchronized when one updates and
the other did not update yet.
My Organization
Shows a summary of which Security Gateways enforce Application Control and URL Filtering. It also
has a link to the Gateways pane.
Shows the total number of rules in the Policy:
The number of Allow rules. Click the link to see them.
The number of Block rules. Click the link to see them.
Detected in My Organization
Shows a graphical summary of the most popular applications in Top Applications, the most popular
categories in Top Categories and the most popular sites in Top Sites.
Select a time interval for graph data.
Select the criteria for the graph data: Bandwidth or Sessions.
Start SmartView Tracker button - Link to open the Application Control and URL Filtering logs in
SmartView Tracker.
Start SmartEvent button - Link to open SmartEvent where you can see the traffic statistics and analysis.
Top Users
Shows a graphical summary of the most popular users who use applications the most.
Select a time interval for graphs data.
Select the criteria for the graph data: Bandwidth or Sessions.
Start SmartView Tracker button - Link to open the Application Control and URL Filtering logs in
SmartView Tracker.
Start SmartEvent button - Link to open SmartEvent where you can see the traffic statistics and analysis.
AppWiki
Shows current statistics of the quantities and types of Applications and Social Networking Widgets
included in the Application and URL Filtering Database.
Click the arrows to browse through the types of Social Networking Widgets.
Click the links to go directly to the AppWiki.
The Security Gateway connects to the internet to get the most current AppWiki.
Make sure that there is a DNS server configured.
Make sure a proxy is configured for each gateway and the Security Management Server, if necessary.
Gateways Pane
The Gateways pane lists the gateways with Application Control and/or URL Filtering enabled. Select a
gateway and click Edit to edit the gateway properties.
For each gateway, you see the gateway name and IP address. You also see these columns:
Application Control - If Application Control is enabled.
URL Filtering - If URL Filtering is enabled.
Identity Awareness - If Identity Awareness is enabled, and if so, a summary of its Identity Awareness
status.
Update Status - If the Application and URL Filtering Database is up to date on the gateway or if an
update is necessary.
Comments - All relevant comments.
In the Application and URL Filtering Database Updates section, you can also see the status of the
Application and URL Filtering Database on the Security Management Server. A message shows if the
Management server is up to date or if a new update is available. Click Updates to go to the Updates pane.
Applications/Sites Pane
The Applications/Sites pane shows custom applications, sites, categories and groups that you defined.
Select an object in the list and click Edit to change its properties. You can use the toolbar buttons to create,
look for, delete and import objects.
You can import a customized application binary file that Check Point creates for applications not in the
Application and URL Filtering Database. This file contains a database of internal applications that are not
necessarily web-based.
For each object in the list, you see the name and type and also:
Primary Category - If the object is an application or website, this column shows the primary category
assigned to it.
Description - The comment entered for the custom-defined object.
Creating Categories
You can create a custom category to use in the Rule Base if there is no corresponding category.
Note - If category data in the Application and URL Filtering Database for a URL is not
applicable for your organization, you can override the categorization ("Overriding
Categorization" on page 34).
Overriding Categorization
In some cases, the category data in the Application and URL Filtering Database for a URL is not applicable
for your organization. You can use the override categorization option to update the category and risk
definitions of a URL.
This definition overrides the information in the Application and URL Filtering Database and the responses
received from the Check Point Online Web Service. The Rule Base will use the newly specified
categorization when matching rules with URLs.
You can use the toolbar buttons to create, edit, search, and delete a categorization entry.
HTTPS Inspection
You can enable HTTPS traffic inspection on Security Gateways to inspect traffic that is encrypted by the
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. SSL secures communication between internet browser clients and
web servers. It supplies data privacy and integrity by encrypting the traffic, based on standard encryption
ciphers.
However, SSL has a potential security gap. It can hide illegal user activity and malicious traffic from the
content inspection of Security Gateways. One example of a threat is when an employee uses HTTPS (SSL
based) to connect from the corporate network to internet web servers. Security Gateways without HTTPS
Inspection are unaware of the content passed through the SSL encrypted tunnel. This makes the company
vulnerable to security attacks and sensitive data leakage.
The SSL protocol is widely implemented in public resources that include: banking, web mail, user forums,
and corporate web resources.
There are two types of HTTPS inspection:
Inbound HTTPS inspection - To protect internal servers from malicious requests originating from the
internet or an external network.
Outbound HTTPS inspection - To protect an organization from malicious traffic being sent by an
internal client to a destination outside of the organization.
The Security Gateway acts as an intermediary between the client computer and the secure web site. The
Security Gateway behaves as the client with the server and as the server with the client using certificates.
All data is kept private in HTTPS Inspection logs. This is controlled by administrator permissions. Only
administrators with HTTPS Inspection permissions can see all the fields in a log. Without these permissions,
some data is hidden.
How it Operates
In outbound HTTPS inspection, when a client in the organization initiates an HTTPS connection to a secure
site, the Security Gateway:
1. Intercepts the request.
2. Establishes a secure connection to the requested web site and validates the site server certificate.
3. Creates a new SSL certificate for the communication between the Security Gateway and the client,
sends the client the new certificate and continues the SSL negotiation with it.
4. Using the two SSL connections:
a) It decrypts the encrypted data from the client.
b) Inspects the clear text content for all blades set in the Policy.
c) Encrypts the data again to keep client privacy as the data travels to the destination web server
resource.
In inbound HTTPS inspection, when a client outside of the organization initiates an HTTPS connection to a
server behind the organization's gateway, the Security Gateway:
1. Intercepts the request.
2. Uses the server's original certificate and private key to initiate an SSL connection with the client.
3. Creates and establishes a new SSL connection with the web server.
4. Using the two SSL connections:
a) It decrypts the encrypted data from the client.
b) Inspects the clear text content for all blades set in the policy.
c) Encrypts the data again to keep client privacy as the data travels to the destination server behind the
gateway.
Usage:
export_https_cert [-local] | [-s server] [-f certificate file name under
FWDIR/tmp][-help]
For each Security Management Server that has Security Gateways enabled with HTTPS inspection, you
must:
Import the CA certificate.
Enter the password the Security Management Server uses to decrypt the CA certificate file and sign the
certificates for users. This password is only used when you import the certificate to a new Security
Management Server.
To import a CA certificate:
1. If the CA certificate was created on another Security Management Server, export the certificate from the
Security Management Server on which it was created ("Exporting a Certificate from the Security
Management Server" on page 36).
2. In SmartDashboard, right-click a Security Gateway object, select Edit > HTTPS Inspection > Import
Or
From the HTTPS Inspection > Gateways pane of a supported blade, click the arrow next to Create
Certificate and select Import certificate from file.
The Import Outbound Certificate window opens.
3. Browse to the certificate file.
4. Enter the private key password.
5. Click OK.
6. If the CA certificate was created on another Security Management Server, deploy it to clients ("Exporting
and Deploying the Generated CA" on page 37).
Server Certificates
When a client from outside the organization initiates an HTTPS connection to an internal server, the Security
Gateway intercepts the traffic. The Security Gateway inspects the inbound traffic and creates a new HTTPS
connection from the gateway to the internal server. To allow seamless HTTPS inspection, the Security
Gateway must use the original server certificate and private key.
To enable inbound HTTPS inspection:
1. Add the server certificates to the Security Gateway. This creates a server certificate object ("Adding a
Server Certificate" on page 39).
2. Add the server certificate object to the Certificate column in the HTTPS Inspection Policy, to enforce it
in rules ("Certificate" on page 42).
The Server Certificates window in SmartDashboard has these options:
Add - Import a new server certificate. Enter a name for the server certificate, optional comment and
import the P12 certificate file.
Delete - Delete a previously added server certificate. This option does not delete the server certificate
option. It only removes it from the Server Certificate list.
Search - Enter a key word to search for a server certificate in the list.
Predefined Rule
When you enable HTTPS inspection, a predefined rule is added to the HTTPS Rule Base. This rule defines
that all HTTPS and HTTPS proxy traffic from any source to the internet is inspected on all blades enabled in
the Blade column. By default, there are no logs.
Number (No.)
The sequence of rules is important because the first rule that matches is applied.
For example, if the predefined rule inspects all HTTPS traffic from any category and the next rule bypasses
traffic from a specified category, the first rule that inspects the traffic is applied.
Name
Give the rule a descriptive name. The name can include spaces.
Double-click in the Name column of the rule to add or change a name.
Source
The source is where the traffic originates. The default is Any.
Important - A rule that blocks traffic, with the Source and Destination parameters defined as
Any, also blocks traffic to and from the Captive Portal.
Put your mouse in the column and a plus sign shows. Click the plus sign to open the list of network objects
and select one or multiple sources. The source can be an Access Role object, which you can define when
Identity Awareness is enabled.
Destination
Choose the destination for the traffic. The default is the Internet, which includes all traffic with the
destination of DMZ or external. If you delete the destination value, the rule changes to Any, which applies to
traffic going to all destinations
Important - A rule that blocks traffic, with the Source and Destination parameters defined as
Any, also blocks traffic to and from the Captive Portal.
To choose other destinations, put your mouse in the column and a plus sign shows. Click the plus sign to
open the list of network objects and select one or multiple destinations.
Services
By default, HTTPS traffic on port 443 and HTTP and HTTPS proxy on port 8080 is inspected. You can
include more services and ports in the inspection by adding them to the services list.
To select other HTTPS/HTTP services, put your mouse in the column and a plus sign shows. Click the plus
sign to open the list of services and select a service. Other services, such as SSH are not supported.
Site Category
The Site Category column contains the categories for sites and applications that users browse to and you
choose to include. One rule can include multiple categories of different types.
Important -
A valid URL Filtering blade contract and license are necessary on the relevant Security
Gateways to use the Site Category column.
To perform categorization correctly, a single connection to a site must be inspected in
some cases regardless of the HTTPS inspection policy. This maps the IP address of a site
to the relevant domain name.
You can also include custom applications, sites, and hosts. You can select a custom defined application or
site object ("Creating Applications or Sites" on page 32) with the Custom button or create a new host or site
with the New button at the bottom of the page.
Action
The action is what is done to the traffic. Click in the column to see the options and select one to add to the
rule.
Inspect - The traffic is inspected on the blades set in the Blades column.
Bypass - The traffic of source and destination traffic in rules that include the bypass action are not
decrypted and inspected. You can bypass HTTPS inspection for all Check Point objects. This is
recommended for Anti-Bot, Anti-Virus, URL Filtering, and IPS updates. Other HTTPS protections that
already operate on traffic will continue to work even when the HTTPS traffic is not decrypted for
inspection.
Track
Choose if the traffic is logged in SmartView Tracker or if it triggers other notifications. Click in the column
and the options open. The options include:
None - Does not record the event
Log - Records the event details in SmartView Tracker. This option is useful for obtaining general
information on your network traffic. There is one or more log for each session depending on the
suppression option.
Alert - Logs the event and executes a command, such as display a popup window, send an email alert
or an SNMP trap alert, or run a user-defined script as defined in Policy > Global Properties > Log and
Alert > Alert Commands
Mail - Sends an email to the administrator, or runs the mail alert script defined in Policy > Global
Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands
SNMP Trap - Sends a SNMP alert to the SNMP GUI, or runs the script defined in Policy > Global
Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands
User Defined Alert - Sends one of three possible customized alerts. The alerts are defined by the
scripts specified in Policy > Global Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands
Blade
Choose the blades that will inspect the traffic. Click in the column and the options open. The options include:
Application Control
Data Loss Prevention
IPS
URL Filtering
Anti-Virus
Anti-Bot
Important - The blade options you see are based on the blade contracts and licenses in your
organization.
Install On
Choose which Security Gateways the rule will be installed on. The default is All, which means all Security
Gateways that have HTTPS inspection enabled. Put your mouse in the column and a plus sign shows. Click
the plus sign to open the list of available Security Gateways and select.
Certificate
Choose the certificate that is applicable to the rule. The Security Gateway uses the selected certificate for
communication between the Security Gateway and the client.
For outbound HTTPS inspection - choose the Outbound Certificate object (default) that reflects the
CA certificate you created/imported and deployed on the client machines in your organization.
For inbound HTTPS inspection - choose the server certificate applicable to the rule. Put your mouse in
the column and a plus sign shows. Click the plus sign to open the list of available server certificates and
select one. When there is a match to a rule, the Security Gateway uses the selected server certificate to
communicate with the source client. You can create server certificates from HTTPS Inspection >
Server Certificates > Add.
Saving a CA Certificate
You can save a selected certificate in the trusted CAs list to the local file system.
To export a CA certificate:
1. In SmartDashboard, open HTTPS Inspection > Trusted CAs.
2. Click Actions > Export to file.
3. Browse to a location, enter a file name and click Save.
A CER file is created.
HTTPS Validation
Server Validation
When a Security Gateway receives an untrusted certificate from a web site server, the settings in this
section define when to drop the connection.
Untrusted server certificate
When selected, traffic from a site with an untrusted server certificate is immediately dropped. The user gets
an error page that states that the browser cannot display the webpage.
When cleared, a self-signed certificate shows on the client machine when there is traffic from an untrusted
server. The user is notified that there is a problem with the website's security certificate, but lets the user
continue to the website (default).
Important - Make sure that there is a rule in the Rule Base that allows outgoing HTTP
from the Security Gateway.
Certificate Blacklisting
You can create a list of certificates that are blocked. Traffic from servers using the certificates in the blacklist
will be dropped. If a certificate in the blacklist is also in the Trusted CAs list, the blacklist setting overrides
the Trusted CAs list.
Add - Lets you add a certificate. Enter the certificate serial number (in hexadecimal format HH:HH) and
a comment that describes the certificate.
Edit - Lets you change a certificate in the blacklist.
Remove - lets you delete a certificate in the blacklist.
Search - Lets you search for a certificate in the blacklist.
Track dropped traffic
Choose if the dropped traffic is logged in SmartView Tracker or if it triggers other notifications. The options
include:
None - Does not record the event.
Log - Records the event details in SmartView Tracker
Alert - Logs the event and executes a command, such as shows a popup window, send an email alert
or an SNMP trap alert, or run a user-defined script as defined in Policy > Global Properties > Log and
Alert > Alert Commands
Mail - Sends an email to the administrator, or runs the mail alert script defined in Policy > Global
Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands
SNMP Trap - Sends an SNMP alert to the SNMP GUI, or runs the script defined in Policy > Global
Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands
User Defined Alert - Sends one of three possible customized alerts. The alerts are defined by the
scripts specified in Policy > Global Properties > Log and Alert > Alert Commands
Troubleshooting
Secure connections between a client and server with no traffic create logs in SmartView Tracker labeled as
"Client has not installed CA certificate". This can happen when an application or client browser fails to
validate the server certificate. Possible reasons include:
The generated CA was not deployed on clients ("Exporting and Deploying the Generated CA" on page
37).
The DN in the certificate does not match the actual URL (for example, when you browse to
https://www.gmail.com, the DN in the certificate states mail.google.com).
Applications (such as Firefox and anti-viruses) that use an internal trusted CA list (other than Windows).
Adding the CA certificate to the Windows repository does not solve the problem.
The option in the HTTPS Validation pane:
Log connections of clients that have not installed the CA certificate
When selected, logs are recorded for secure connections between a client and server with no traffic in
SmartView Tracker (default). Logs are recorded only when a server certificate is trusted by the Security
Gateway. If the server certificate is untrusted, a self-signed certificate is created and always results in a
log labeled as "Client has not installed CA certificate".
When cleared, logs are not recorded for secure connections without traffic that can be caused by not
installing the CA certificate on clients or one of the above mentioned reasons.
HTTP/HTTPS Proxy
You can configure a gateway to be an HTTP/HTTPS proxy. When it is a proxy, the gateway becomes an
intermediary between two hosts that communicate with each other. It does not allow a direct connection
between the two hosts.
Each successful connection creates two different connections:
One connection between the client in the organization and the proxy.
One connection between the proxy and the actual destination.
Proxy Modes
Two proxy modes are supported:
Transparent - All HTTP traffic on specified ports and interfaces is intercepted and sent to a proxy. No
configuration is required on the clients.
Non Transparent - All HTTP/HTTPS traffic on specified ports and interfaces directed to the gateway is
sent to a proxy. Configuration of the proxy address and port is required on client machines.
Access Control
You can configure one of these options for forwarding HTTP requests:
All Internal Interfaces - HTTP/HTTPS traffic from all internal interfaces is forwarded by proxy.
Specific Interfaces - HTTP/HTTPS traffic from interfaces specified in the list is forwarded by proxy.
Ports
By default, traffic is forwarded only on port 8080. You can add or edit ports as required.
Advanced
By default, the HTTP header contains the Via proxy related header. You can remove this header with the
Advanced option.
You can also use the Advanced option to configure the X-Forward-For header that contains the IP address
of the client machine. It is not added by default because it reveals the internal client IP.
Logging
The Security Gateway opens two connections, but only the Firewall blade can log both connections. Other
blades show only the connection between the client and the gateway. The Destination field of the log only
shows the gateway and not the actual destination server. The Resource field shows the actual destination.
DLP portal
SSL Network Extender portal
UserCheck portal
Endpoint Security portals (CCC)
All of these portals can resolve HTTPS hosts to IPv4 and IPv6 addresses over port 443.
These portals (and HTTPS inspection) support the latest versions of the TLS protocol. In addition to SSLv3
and TLS 1.0 (RFC 2246), the Security Gateway supports:
TLS 1.1 (RFC 4346)
TLS 1.2 (RFC 5246)
Support for TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 is enabled by default but can be disabled in SmartDashboard (for web-
based portals) or GuiDBedit (for HTTPS Inspection).
Blade Queries
When applying HTTPS Inspection to a specified blade:
There is an HTTPS Inspection predefined query for each of the blades that can operate with HTTPS
Inspection. The query shows all traffic of the specified blade that passed through HTTPS inspection.
The log in the blade queries includes an HTTP Inspection field. The field value can be inspect or
bypass. If the traffic did not go through HTTPS inspection, the field does not show in the log.
To open SmartEvent:
From the SmartDashboard toolbar, click SmartConsole > SmartEvent.
With SmartDashboard active, press Control +Shift +A.
Blade Queries
There is an HTTPS Inspection predefined query for each of the blades that can operate with HTTPS
Inspection. The query shows all traffic of the specified blade that passed through HTTPS inspection.
The Summary tab in the event record in the blade queries includes an HTTPS Inspection field. The
field value can be inspect or bypass. If the traffic did not go through HTTPS inspection, the field does not
show in the event record.
Engine Settings
On the Advanced > Engine Settings pane, configure settings related to engine inspection, the Check Point
Online Web Service, Application Control and URL Filtering sessions, and compatibility with gateways from
lower versions (Web Browsing application and session unification).
Fail Mode
Select the behavior of the Application Control and URL Filtering engine, if it is overloaded or fails during
inspection. For example, if the application inspection is terminated in the middle for any reason. By default,
in such a situation all application and site traffic is blocked.
Allow all requests (Fail-open) - All traffic is allowed in a situation of engine overload or failure.
Block all requests (Fail-close) - All traffic is blocked in a situation of engine overload or failure
(default).
URL Filtering
You can enable these URL Filtering features:
Categorize HTTPS sites (without activating HTTP inspection)
Enforce safe search in search engines
Categorize cached pages and translated pages in search engines.
Fine tuning
Categorizing HTTPS sites according to DN can be fine-tuned by editing these properties in GuiDBedit:
urlf_ssl_cn_enc_http_services_only
Value Meaning
False The Security Gateway listens for SSL signatures on all ports
True The Security Gateway listens for SSL signatures only on those ports specified by the
enc_http services property.
By default, enc_http services specifies only port 443.
New enc_http services can be added to any port by creating a new service in
SmartDashboard.
urlf_ssl_cn_max_server_hello_size
The maximum size of the certificate in bytes.
urlf_ssl_cn_wstlsd_ttl
The maximum amount of time to wait while the DN is being extracted from a certificate. After the default
value expires, the IP address is used to categorize the site. The default value (10 seconds) is a Check
Point internal attribute. We do not recommend that you change it.
Connection Unification
Application and URL traffic generate a large quantity of logs. To make the quantity of logs manageable, you
can consolidate logs by session. A session is a period that starts when the user first accesses an application
or site. The Security Gateway records one log for each application or site accessed during a session. All
actions that the user does in the session are included in the log.
There are 3 tracking options you can use:
Log - Records the event details in SmartView Tracker. This option is useful to get general
information on your network traffic. It consolidates logs by session (there is one log for each
session). It shows the initial URL browsed and the number of suppressed logs it includes.
Extended Log - Consolidates logs by session, shows the number of suppressed logs and includes
data for each URL request in the session time frame. Each of the URLs has an entry in the URLs
tab of the log in SmartView Tracker. Using this option can have an effect on performance.
Complete Log - Records logs for each URL request made regardless of session. Each URL request
has its own log. This option also generates an event in SmartEvent for each URL browsed and is
intended only for troubleshooting purposes. Note that this option generates many logs.
Web Browsing
Enable Web Browsing logging and policy enforcement - The Web Browsing application includes all
HTTP traffic that is not a defined application. Web Browsing is enabled by default. If you disable it:
Instances of the Web Browsing in the Application and URL Filtering Control Rule Base are not enforced.
For example, if you have a rule that blocks Web Browsing, this traffic will not be blocked if Web
Browsing is turned off.
No Web Browsing logs are recorded.
To enable Legacy URL Filtering on Security Gateway versions earlier than R75.20:
1. On the Firewall tab, double-click the required Security Gateway network object.
2. Select Other > More Settings > Enable Legacy URL Filtering.
3. Click OK.
Terminology
The following terms are used in URL Filtering applications:
Allow List: A list of allowed URL addresses, for example, a URL in the Allow List is allowed even if it is
associated with a category that is blocked.
Block List: A list of blocked URL addresses, for example, a URL in the Block List is blocked even if it is
associated with a category that is not blocked.
Blocking Notifications: Contains the message that appears when a URL address is blocked and the
URL to which a blocked URL address is redirected.
Category: Contains a group of topics sharing a common attribute (for example, crime, education and
games.
Network Exceptions: Contains a list of connections for which URL Filtering should not be enforced.
Web Filter: Enables you to allow or block URLs based on network connections and/or an external
categorized database and local exception lists.
Architecture
When a URL request arrives at a local machine, the machine checks the Network Exceptions List to
determine whether to enforce the URL Filtering policy. The URL Filtering policy is activated if the connection
is accepted by the Security Policy. If the URL Filtering policy is enforced, the URL header is stripped and the
address is sent to the Web Filter engine.
The URL is allowed or blocked based on URL request information in the predefined database and/or the
Web Filter Allow/Block Lists. For example, if the URL address matches two or more categories, and one of
them is blocked, the URL address is denied, however, if the same address appears in the Allow List it is
accepted.
The Web Filter engine is installed on the Security Gateway and the categories are updated by selecting:
SmartDashboard > Anti-Virus & URL Filtering > URL Filtering > URL Filtering Policy.
Important - During installation of the Web Filter engine, no default database is installed;
therefore, the Web Filtering policy is not enforced until a signature update is performed.
The first update may take a long time, depending on your environment. Subsequent updates
should take significantly less time, as only incremental information is downloaded.
Log Sessions
Application traffic generates a very large amount of activity. To make sure that the amount of logs is
manageable, by default, logs are consolidated by session. A session is a period that starts when a user first
accesses an application or site. During a session, the Security Gateway records one log for each application
or site that a user accesses. All activity that the user does within the session is included in the log.
To see the number of connections made during a session, see the Suppressed Logs field of the log in
SmartView Tracker. In SmartEvent the number of connections during the session is in the Total
Connections field of the Event Details.
Session duration for all applications or sites, including Web Browsing:
For applications or sites that are allowed in the Rule Base, the default session is three hours. You can
change this in SmartDashboard from the Application and URL Filtering tab > Advanced > Engine
Settings > Session Timeout.
For applications or sites that are blocked in the Rule Base, a session is 30 seconds.
Note - For versions earlier than R75.20, the logging option that you select for Session Unification on the
Advanced > Engine Settings > Settings page - sets logging options for the Web Browsing application.
Logs related to Application and URL Filtering Database updates on the Security Gateway are in Application
Control > System Logs.
Logs related to Application and URL Filtering Database updates on the management are in the
Management tab.
Viewing Logs
To open SmartView Tracker do one of these:
Click Start > Check Point > SmartView Tracker.
From the Application and URL Filtering Overview pane > Detected in My Organization, click
SmartView Tracker.
From the SmartDashboard toolbar of any SmartConsole application, select Window > SmartView
Tracker or press Control +Shift +T.
Predefined Queries
There are multiple predefined queries in Predefined > Network Security Blades > Application and URL
Filtering. You can filter the queries to focus on logs of interest.
All - Shows all Application Control and URL Filtering traffic, including allowed and blocked.
High Risk - Shows traffic of Risk Levels 4 and 5.
More > Applications - Shows all Application Control traffic.
More > Sites - Shows all URL Filtering traffic.
More > Bandwidth Consuming - Shows logs from traffic that has the High Bandwidth tag.
More > Blocked - Shows all blocked traffic.
More > HTTPS Inspection - Shows all Application Control and URL Filtering traffic that passed through
HTTPS inspection.
More > System - Shows logs related to Application and URL Filtering Database updates and other
system related issues. This includes logs related to problems that the application detection service might
encounter.
Browse Time
The Browse Time feature keeps track of the total time that users are connected to different sites and
applications. R76 and later Security Gateways calculate the cumulative connection time for each session
and periodically updates this value until the session is closed.
Note - When you enable UserCheck on an IP appliance, make sure to set the Voyager
management application port to a port other than 443 or 80.
5. In the Certificate area, click Import to import a certificate that the portal uses to authenticate to the
server.
By default, the portal uses a certificate from the Check Point Internal Certificate Authority (ICA). This
might generate warnings if the user browser does not recognize Check Point as a trusted Certificate
Authority. To prevent these warnings, import your own certificate from a recognized external authority.
6. In the Accessibility area, click Edit to configure interfaces on the Security Gateway through which the
portal can be accessed. These options are based on the topology configured for the Security Gateway.
Users are sent to the UserCheck portal if they connect:
Through all interfaces
Through internal interfaces (default)
Including undefined internal interfaces
Including DMZ internal interfaces
Including VPN encrypted interfaces (default)
Note: Make sure to add a rule to the Firewall Rule Base that allows the encrypted traffic.
According to the Firewall Policy. Select this option if there is a rule that states who can access the
portal.
7. Click OK.
8. Install the Policy.
UserCheck CLI
You can use the usrchk command in the gateway command line to show or clear the history of UserCheck
objects.
Syntax: usrchk [debug] [hits]
Parameters:
Parameter Description
debug
Controls debug messages
hits
Shows user incident options:
list - Options to list user incidents
all - List all existing incidents.
user <username> - List incidents of a specified user.
uci <name of interaction object> - List incidents of a specified UserCheck
interaction object
clear - Options to clear user incidents
all - Clear all existing incidents
user <username> - Clear incidents for a specified user
uci <name of interaction object> - Clear incidents of a specified UserCheck
interaction object
db - user hits database options
Examples:
To show all UserCheck interaction objects, run: usrchk hits list all
To clear the incidents for a specified user, run: usrchk hits clear user <username>
Notes:
You can only run a command that contains user <username> if:
Identity Awareness is enabled on the gateway.
Identity Awareness is used in the same policy rules as UserCheck objects.
To run a command that contains a specified UserCheck interaction object, first run usrchk hits
list all to see the names of the interaction objects. Use the name of the interaction object as it is
shown in the list.
Revoking Incidents
The Revoke Incidents URL can revoke a user's responses to UserCheck notifications. The URL is:
://<IP of gateway>/UserCheck/RevokePage
If users regret their responses to a notification and contact their administrator, the administrator can send
users the URL.
After a user goes to the URL, all of the user's responses to notifications are revoked. The logs in SmartView
Tracker will show the user's activity, and that the actions were revoked afterwards.
Administrators can use the usrchk command of the CLI to revoke incidents for one user, all users, or a
specified interaction object ("UserCheck CLI" on page 62).
UserCheck Requirements
See UserCheck Client Requirements in the R77 Release Notes
(http://supportcontent.checkpoint.com/documentation_download?ID=24827).
Option Comparison
Requires Manual Multi- Client Still works Level Recommended for...
AD User Trust Site Remains after
(one time) Signed? Gateway
Required? Changes
File No Yes No Yes No Very Single Security
name Simple Gateway deployments
based
Notes - The prefix does not have to be "UserCheck". The important part of the syntax is
underscore tilde (_~), which indicates that the next string is the DNS of the gateway.
If you want to add the port number for the notifications to the client from the gateway, the
hyphen (-) indicates that the next string is the port number.
Note - The entire configuration is written under a hive named Check Point under the Program Data
branch in the AD database that is added in the first run of the tool. Adding this hive does not affect
other AD based applications or features.
Trusted Gateways
The Trusted Gateways window shows the list of servers that are trusted - no messages open when users
connect to them.
You can add, edit or delete a server. If you have connectivity to the server, you can get the name and
fingerprint. Enter its IP address and click Fetch Fingerprint in the Server Trust Configuration window. If
you do not have connectivity to the server, enter the same name and fingerprint that is shown when you
connect to that server.
Note - If you configure AD based and DNS based configuration, the results are combined
according to the specified priority (from the lowest to highest).
C:\> nslookup
> set type=srv
> checkpoint_dlp._tcp
Server: dns.company.com
Address: 192.168.0.17
checkpoint_dlp._tcp.ad.company.com SRV service location:
priority = 0
weight = 0
port = 443
svr hostname = dlpserver.company.com
dlpserver.company.com internet address = 192.168.1.212
>
Remote Registry
If you have a way to deploy registry entries to your client computers, for example, Active Directory or GPO
updates, you can deploy the Security Gateway addresses and trust parameters before you install the clients.
Clients can then use the deployed settings immediately after installation.
Important - Before you can download the client msi file, the UserCheck portal must be up. The
portal is up only after a Policy installation.
We recommend that you let the users know this will happen.
We recommend that you use a server certificate that is trusted by the certificate authority installed on users'
computers. Then users do not see a message that says: Issued by unknown certificate authority.
If UserCheck for DLP is enabled on the gateway, users are required to enter their username and password
after the client installs.
Example of message to users about the UserCheck client installation (for DLP):
Dear Users,
Our company has implemented a Data Loss Prevention automation to protect our
confidential data from unintentional leakage. Soon you will be asked to
verify the connection between a small client that we will install on your
computer and the computer that will send you notifications.
This client will pop up notifications if you try to send a message that
contains protected data. It might let you to send the data anyway, if you are
sure that it does not violate our data-security guidelines.
When the client is installed, you will see a window that asks if you trust
the DLP server. Check that the server is SERVER NAME and then click Trust.
In the next window, enter your username and password, and then click OK.
Note - If the UserCheck client is not connected to the gateway, the behavior is as if the client
was never installed. Email notifications are sent for SMTP incidents and the Portal is used for
HTTP incidents.
Important - The UserCheck client is not supported for Load Sharing clusters. High Availability
clusters and all other deployment types are supported.
You can see and edit Check Point users from Users and Administrators in the navigation tree.
SmartDashboard Configuration
1. Open SmartDashboard.
2. Click Users and Administrators in the bottom part of the navigation tree and select an existing user or
create a new user.
3. In the General Properties page of the user, make sure that an email address is defined.
4. In the Authentication Properties page of the user, set Authentication Scheme to Check Point
Password and enter the password and password confirmation.
5. Click OK.
Helping Users
If users require assistance to troubleshoot issues with the UserCheck client, you can ask them to send you
the logs.
You can configure a mirror port on a Check Point gateway to monitor and analyze network traffic with no
effect on your production environment. The mirror port duplicates the network traffic and records the activity
in logs.
You can use mirror ports:
As a permanent part of your deployment, to monitor the use of applications in your organization.
As an evaluation tool to see the capabilities of the Application Control and IPS blades before you decide
to purchase them.
The mirror port does not enforce a Policy and therefore you can only use it to see the monitoring and
detecting capabilities of the blades.
Benefits of a mirror port include:
There is no risk to your production environment.
It requires minimal set-up configuration.
It does not require TAP equipment, which is much more expensive.
Technical Requirements
You can configure a mirror port on gateways with:
SecurePlatform 32 bit or 64 bit.
Check Point version R75 and higher.
Mirror ports are not supported with:
Management servers- you can only configure it on a gateway
HTTPS inspection
NAT of any kind
Clusters
IPS protections that are performance critical
Legacy User Authority features - you cannot have Authentication (Client, Session, or User) in the Action
column of the Firewall Rule Base.
C H
Certificate 42 Helping Users 71
Certificate Blacklisting 45 Hits 17
Check Point Online Web Service 50 How it Operates 35
Checking that it Works 73 HTTP Inspection on Non-Standard Ports 34
Client and Gateway Communication 65 HTTP/HTTPS Proxy 46
Configuring a Mirror Port 72 HTTPS Inspection 35
Configuring Inbound HTTPS Inspection 38 HTTPS Inspection in SmartEvent 49
Configuring Legacy URL Filtering 56 HTTPS Inspection in SmartView Tracker 48
Configuring Outbound HTTPS Inspection 36 HTTPS Inspection Queries 48
Configuring the Hit Count Display 22 HTTPS Validation 44
Configuring the Hit Count Timeframe 23 I
Configuring the Interface as a Mirror Port 73
Configuring the Security Gateway for Identifying Users Behind a Proxy 54
UserCheck 61 Important Information 3
Connecting the Gateway to the Traffic 73 Importing an Outbound CA Certificate 38
Connecting to the Internet for Updates 29 Install On 20, 42
Introduction to Application Control and URL SmartDashboard 7
Filtering 8 SmartDashboard Toolbar 10
Source 18, 40
L
T
Legacy URL Filtering 55
Limit Objects 21 Technical Requirements 72
Limiting Application Traffic 13 Terminology 55
Localizing and Customizing the UserCheck The Application and URL Filtering Database
Portal 25 27
Log Sessions 57 The Application and URL Filtering Overview
Pane 30
M The Check Point Solution for Application
Main Features 9 Control and URL Filtering 8
Managing Application Control and URL Filtering The HTTPS Inspection Policy 39
16 The Need for Application Control 8
Managing Certificates by Gateway 43 The Need for URL Filtering 8
Manually Updating a Trusted CA 44 The Policy Rule Base 16
Messages and Action Items 30 Time 20
Monitoring Applications 12 Top Users 31
More UserCheck Interaction Options 26 Track 20, 42
My Organization 30 Troubleshooting 46
Troubleshooting DNS Based Configuration 68
N Trusted Gateways 68
Name 17, 40 U
Number (No.) 40
Number (NO.) 17 Updating the Application and URL Filtering
Database 29
O URL Filtering 7, 51
UserCheck and Check Point Password
Option Comparison 66
Authentication 71
Overriding Categorization 34
UserCheck CLI 62
P UserCheck Client 64
UserCheck Client Overview 64
Parts of the Rule 40 UserCheck Frequency and Scope 25
Parts of the Rules 17 UserCheck Page 26
Permissions for HTTPS Logs 49 UserCheck Requirements 64
Permissions for Logs 58 Using Character Types 76
Predefined Queries 58 Using Identity Awareness Features in Rules
Predefined Rule 40 13
R Using Identity Awareness in the Application and
URL Filtering Rule Base 53
Refreshing the Hit Count Data 23 Using Non-Printable Characters 75
Regular Expression Syntax 75 Using Regular Expressions in Custom Sites
Regular Expressions 74 74
Remote Registry 69 Using the AppWiki 29
Removing the Mirror Port 73
Renaming the MSI 66 V
Revoking Incidents 63 Viewing Information in SmartEvent 50, 60
Rule 7 Viewing Logs 58
S W
Saving a CA Certificate 44 Web Browsing 53
Scheduling Updates 30 Web Site 7
Security Category Updates 28 Working with UserCheck 61
Security Gateway 7 Working with UserCheck Interaction Objects
Security Gateway Portals 47 24
Server Certificates 38
Server Configuration Rules 67
Server Validation 44
Services 40
Setting up a Mirror Port 72
Site 7
Site Category 40
SmartConsole 7
Page 78