Tag Archives: fortigate dns filter vs web filter

FortiOS 6 – DNS Filter

DNS filter

You can configure DNS web filtering to allow, block, or monitor access to web content according to FortiGuard categories. When DNS web filtering is enabled, your FortiGate must use the FortiGuard DNS service for DNS lookups. DNS lookup requests sent to the FortiGuard DNS service return with an IP address and a domain rating that includes the FortiGuard category of the web page.

If that FortiGuard category is set to block, the result of the DNS lookup is not returned to the requester. If the category is set to redirect, then the address returned to the requester points at a FortiGuard redirect page.

You can also allow or monitor access based on FortiGuard category.

Blocking DNS requests to known botnet command & control addresses

FortiGuard maintains a database containing a list of known botnet command and control (C&C) addresses. This database is updated dynamically and stored on the FortiGate and requires a valid FortiGuard AntiVirus subscription.

When you block DNS requests to known botnet C&C addresses, using IPS, DNS lookups are checked against the botnet C&C database. All matching DNS lookups are blocked. Matching uses a reverse prefix match, so all subdomains are also blocked.

To enable this feature, go to Security Profiles > DNS Filter, and enable Block DNS requests to known botnet C&C.

Static Domain Filter

The DNS Static Domain Filter allows you to block, exempt, or monitor DNS requests by using IPS to look inside DNS packets and match the domain being looked up with the domains on the static URL filter list. If there is a match the DNS request can be blocked, exempted, monitored, or allowed.

If blocked, the DNS request is blocked and so the user cannot look up the address and connect to the site.

If exempted, access to the site is allowed even if another method is used to block it.

CLI commands

l Rename webfilter-sdns-server-ip and webfilter-sdns-server-port:

config system fortiguard set sdns-server-ip x.x.x.x set sdns-server-port 53

end l Configure DNS domain filter lists in order to decide access for specific domains:

config dnsfilter domain-filter edit {id} set id {integer} set name {string} set comment {string} config entries edit {id}

DNS

set id {integer} set domain {string} set type {simple | regex | wildcard} set action {block | allow | monitor} set status {enable | disable}

next

next

end

 

config dnsfilter profile edit “dns_profile1″ set comment ” config domain-filter set domain-filter-table <id>

set external-blocklist [addr1] [addr2] [addr3]

end config ftgd-dns config filters

edit 1 set category 49 set action block set log enable

next edit 2 set category 71 set action monitor set log enable

next

end

end

set log-all-url disable set block-action redirect set redirect-portal 0.0.0.0 set block-botnet enable

next

end l Configure DNS profile in a firewall policy:

config firewall policy edit 1 set srcintf “any” set dstintf “any” set srcaddr “all” set dstaddr “all” set action accept set schedule “always” set service “FTP” set utm-status enable set dnsfilter-profile “dns_profile1” set profile-protocol-options “default”

set nat enable

next end

 

Configure DNS profile in profile group:

config firewall profile-group edit “pgrp1” set dnsfilter-profile “dns_profile1” set profile-protocol-options “default”

next

end

DNS profile supports safe search

Users can take advantage of pre-defined DNS filter rules to edit DNS profiles and provide safe search for Google, Bing, and YouTube.

To add safe search to a DNS profile – GUI

  1. Go to Security Profiles > DNS Filter.
  2. Edit the default filter or create a new one.
  3. Enable Enforce ‘Safe Search’ on Google, Bing, YouTube.
  4. Select Strict or Moderate level for Restrict YouTube Access.

To add safe search to a DNS profile – CLI

config dnsfilter profile edit “default” set safe-search enable

set youtube-restrict {strict | moderate} (only available if safe-search enabled)

next

end

FortiGuard botnet protection

Preventing botnets from controlling your system is achieved by detecting and blocking connection attempts to known botnets. This feature also blocks connections to known phishing sites. The FortiGuard database is continually updated with addresses of known Command and Control (C&C) sites that botnet clients attempt to connect to, as well as a addresses of known phishing URLs.

To enable botnet and phishing protection in a DNS Filter profile, enable Block DNS requests to known botnet C&C.

The latest botnet database is available from FortiGuard. To see the version of the database and display its contents, go to System > FortiGuard > AntiVirus and view the lists for Botnet IPs and Botnet Domains.

You can block, monitor, or allow outgoing connections to botnet sites for each FortiGate interface.

 


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