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The XG Series hardware appliances will reach end-of-life (EOL) on March 31, 2025. Click here to see the XG to XGS migration documentation.

Block Facebook videos

This example shows how to block Facebook videos using the application filter and web policies.

Create an application filter policy

To create an application filter policy, do as follows:

  1. Go to Applications > Application filter and click Add.
  2. Enter a name.
  3. Click Save.

Add rules to the policy

To add rules to the policy, do as follows:

  1. Go to Applications > Application filter and click the policy you created.
  2. Click Add.
  3. Click Select individual application.
  4. Click the filter button Filter button. in the Name column and enter Facebook videos.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Select all the Facebook video applications.
  7. Set Action to Deny and Schedule to All the Time.

    Facebook videos filter.

  8. Click Save to add the rule to the policy.

  9. Click Save to save the policy.

Create a web category

To create a web category, do as follows:

  1. Go to Web > Categories and click Add.
  2. Enter a name.
  3. Set Classification to Unproductive.
  4. Under Domain, add the following domains:

    • facebook.com/watch
    • facebook.com/reel
    • gateway.facebook.com
    • facebook.com/ajax
    • facebook.com/stories
  5. Under Keyword, add the following keywords:

    • watch
    • reel
    • gateway
    • ajax
    • videos
  6. Click Save.

Create a web policy

To create a web policy, do as follows:

  1. Go to Web > Policies and click Add policy.
  2. Enter a name.
  3. Click Add rule.
  4. Click the drop-down under Activities and remove All web traffic.
  5. Click Add new item.
  6. Click the drop-down and select Web category.
  7. Search and select the Facebook videos web category you created and click Apply selected items.
  8. Turn on the rule.

    Facebook videos web policy rule.

  9. Click Save.

  10. Click Skip this step.

Create a firewall rule

You must create a firewall rule to apply the policy to all traffic that matches the rule. You can also apply the policy to specific users or groups.

To create a firewall rule, do as follows:

  1. Go to Rules and policies > Firewall rules.
  2. Select IPv4 protocol.
  3. Click Add firewall rule and select New firewall rule.
  4. Configure as follows:

    Setting Value
    Rule name Enter a name.
    Rule position Top
    Source zones LAN
    Destination zones WAN
    (Optional) Match known users Select this option if you want to apply the policy to specific users or groups.
    (Optional) User or groups Add users or groups.
    Web policy Select the web policy you created.
    Block QUIC protocol Selected
    Scan HTTP and decrypted HTTPS Selected
    Scan FTP for malware Selected
    Use web proxy instead of DPI engine Selected
    Decrypt HTTPS during web proxy filtering Selected
    Identify and control applications (App control) Select the application filter policy you created.
  5. Click Save.

(Optional) Install the SSL certificate to the endpoint device

To avoid the certificate warning on browsers, install the firewall's HTTPS scanning certificate authority (CA) on the endpoint device. See Install the SSL CA certificate.

Troubleshooting

If Facebook videos aren't blocked, contact Sophos Support.