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This article outlines DNSFilter's recommended Filtering Policy settings to protect against Uncategorized and Unknown site traffic. 

Unknown/Uncategorized sites pose the biggest risk to internet-connected devices because it is often newly registered and obscure domains that are the source of Malware/Phishing attacks and Illegal content.

DNS requests to never before seen domains trigger our Artificial Intelligence (AI) engine to scan and classify them, so that future DNS requests are treated accordingly. Block new and very new domains under the Threats tab under your policies. 

The options below can help further protect against these threats by categorizing in real-time or altogether blocking unknown site traffic.  

Interstitial Blocking (Recommended)

One of DNSFilter’s distinct and market-leading features is our Interstitial filter. If a domain has never been seen by DNSFilter’s content filtering system, it is categorized in real-time upon the first visit by our AI engine. 

Turn on Interstitial blocking in your Filtering Policy and be seamlessly taken to the site if the scan results match up with what is allowed in your policy. The page will display the Filtering Policy's block page if the site is blocked.  

1. From the DNSFilter dashboard, navigate to Policies and select Filtering
2. Select a new or existing Policy to edit
3. Navigate to Advanced and tab to Extra Settings
4. Toggle the Enable Interstitial Page Feature switch on

Block Uncategorized & Unknown Sites

The Uncategorized & Unknown Sites option under Extra Settings introduces a strict setting that restricts functionality for most users. If you elect to globally block Uncategorized/Unknown sites, there will likely be services that cease to function normally. This is because many web pages and some software applications use content servers that are often obscurely named and not documented.

You will need to use the Query Log to determine which traffic to allow to the policy's Allow list so that your users have reduced interruption.

Admins who wish to have an extremely restrictive policy can choose to block all sites which are Uncategorized/Unknown. 

1. From the DNSFilter dashboard, navigate to Policies and select Filtering
2. Select a new or existing Policy to edit
3. Navigate to Advanced and tab to Extra Settings
4. Select Uncategorized & Unknown Sites

The app saves settings automatically once selected. A warning will appear reiterating the potential loss of functionality for users when this category is blocked.