View Categories

Web Filter with Site Access Control in GAT Shield

What it Is #

This guide demonstrates how to use the Site Access Control feature of GAT Shield.

The Site Access Control feature gives the Google Admins control over which websites users in the Google Workspace domain can access.

Why it Matters #

This solution gives you fine-grained control over what your users can see online. It’s like a safety net, protecting them from dangerous websites and letting you block any pages you don’t want them to visit.

Web filter with Site Access Control is globally available to all Shield users.

How to Implement #

Rules #

Quickly Allow or Block Sites #

The Admins can easily create a rule to block or allow (if blocked) users from visiting websites.

Navigate to Site Access Control > Rules > Allow/Block sites.

In Shield console navigate ti Rules tab located in SIte Access Control tab on left side and click on Rules then on the window select Allow/Block websites button on top right side

You will see a new pop-up window. Fill in the details required.

  • Action – select to Block or Allow sites.
    • Redirect URL – if blocking a site, you can enter a webpage to which the user will be redirected (optional).
  • Scope – select the users to whom the rule applies.

in the window select Block button (active in green text) then select Scope by clicking the scope button and pick a user group or org unit or all users - then select the actual scipe of users from the menu option

  • Site List – enter the sites you want to block or allow.
    • Paste from clipboard – Paste a list of sites (optional)
  • Block – click to block the added sites for the selected users.

in the website list - under it there is a website field - enter the site you want to block then click on add: website/ip and new button will be displayed select or enter another website in the field you can do this to add as many sites as you want then click on the blue button below called Block

The result of the Quick Rule #

As a result of the quick rule, you block the sites you added for users in the selected scope.

GAT Shield Site Access Control Rule in action blocking the page selected and redirecting to "Wrong Way, Go Back" page.

Test Rules #

The Google Admin can test and see if a page is blocked by GAT Shield, who’s blocked for, and what rule is blocking the page.

The Test rules will allow you to search for a specific URL and see if specific users can visit it or not.

Navigate to Site Access Control > Rules > Test Rules.

  • URL – Enter the URL you want to check.
  • User – search for the user you want to check for.
  • Check – select to check the result and see if any Shield rule blocks the end-users.

click on the test rules button a pop up window will be displayed with menu - in the menu in website filed enter a website you need to search for and below it will be user field enter email of user who you want to check if page is blocked for then click on the blue "check" button below that on the right side

User-defined Categories #

User-defined categories are manually created categories the Admins create for the users.

Navigate to User Defined Categories > New Category.

The User Defined Categories section shows the New Category button and four options to proceed with category creation. The options to create a new category from are displayed as follows: List or clipboard, Spreadsheet, Web search, Recent browsing.

There are a few ways to add a list of web pages to the rules.

  1. Via List or clipboard
  2. Via Spreadsheet
  3. Via Web Search
  4. Via Recent Browsing

Each way uses a different method to add the URLs to the rule.

  • List or Clipboard – enter the Site URLs to block it manually or via copy/paste.

Category creation wizard window showing the option to create the category from list or clipboard.

  • Create from a SpreadsheetCreate a new spreadsheet and add the Sites needed, or Select an existing spreadsheet to enter the URLs.

Category creation wizard window showing the option to create the category from the spreadsheet.

  • Web Search – Search for a keyword and block or allow all sites found by the Search.

Category creation wizard window showing the option to create the category from the web search.

  • Recent Browsing – this is a list of URLs generated from the last 90 days’ browsing history.
    • When the spreadsheet is generated, it will be sent as an email to the Admin account.

Category creation wizard window showing the option to create the category from recent browsing and via generated spreadsheet.

    • Use the generated spreadsheet and import from Spreadsheet > Select the existing spreadsheet. The generated spreadsheet will be shown as an option to be selected.
      • Select the sheet and click on the Create category button, and the URLs will be added as a category of sites.

Category creation wizard window showing the option to create a category using a generated spreadsheet and the option to select an existing spreadsheet.

      • Alternatively, copy and paste the URLs via the List or Clipboard option.

Create the Rule #

When the generated spreadsheet is selected or the URLs are added manually, the create rule wizard window will appear. Enter a name and description for the rule and click Create.

The Create Category Wizard window, where you can enter a category Name and Description and review the Summary section, which displays the URLs you entered or the selected spreadsheet. This window also shows the Create button to be used for creating the category.

Activate the Rule #

When the category is created, there will be a new button click on the Create rule.

The User-Defined Categories section displays an informational banner about the newly created category and a "Create Rule" button, providing quick access to the creation wizard for that specific category. This section also includes a table with all the Users Defined Categories created and the option to "Create a rule for this category" for a specific category in the table.

You will see a new window. Fill in the details.

  • Rule name – enter the rule name.
  • Category – the newly created category name will be shown.
  • Action – select the action to be done, such as blocking or allowing the URLs.
    • Redirect – enter a page to where the users will be redirected if they visit the blocked site (optional).
  • Scope – select the users to whom the rule applies.
  • Create – click to create the block or allow the rule.

The rule creation wizard window based on the newly created "Social Media and Gaming Blocked" category. The wizard window includes the rule name, category fields, the rule action set to "Block," and the scope configured for all users.

Result for the User-defined Categories #

After creating the rule, you can find it under Rules.

GAT Shield Rule section showing the table with all the rules created. The table shows the rule name, its selected action, description, category type, and category name.

You block the user from opening the websites.

The Blocked by GAT Shield redirected page.

Predefined Categories #

We have predefined lists of websites, organized into various categories, from a third-party provider. Each category contains many website URLs that users can access and visit.

With GAT Shield, you can easily block all those categories of websites. The Admin can select any pre-defined category and block all sites with a few steps.

To do so, navigate to Shield > Site Access Control > Predefined categories.

Hover over any category you need and click on the (+) button Create Rule for this Category.

The Predefined Categories section in Shield displays a table with all available predefined categories. Each category can be used to create a rule based on it. Hovering your cursor over the right side of a category record displays the option to "Create a rule for this category."

You will see a new pop-up window. Fill in the details and select what action and users to whom the predefined category applies.

  • Rule Name – enter a name for the active category.
  • Action – select to block the category list of sites.
    • Redirect URL – if you select it, enter the URL to which the affected users will be redirected when visiting the blocked pages.
  • Scope – select the users to whom the rule applies.
  • Create – click on Create to add and activate the rule.

The blocking rule creation wizard window for a selected predefined category titled "proxies". Scope set to "All users". The "Create" button to save the settings.

The Result of the Blocked Predefined Category #

You block all the pages from the predefined categories for the selected scope of users.

The Blocked by GAT Shield redirected page.

Allow Pages if Unexpectedly Blocked #

Even though predefined categories may block specific pages, you can easily override this by creating a simple allow list and adding those specific pages.

This allow list will take precedence over the block list, ensuring user access.

To create it, navigate to Rules > click on Allow / Block Sites.

The button under the Rule section of GAT Shield that creates a Quick rule that allows / blocks websites or URLs for a user or group.

You will see a new pop-up window.

Fill in the details and enter the sites you want to allow.

  • Allow – activate the Allow rule.
  • Scope – select which users can visit the site.
    • Paste from clipboard – paste the list of URLs to allow (optional).
  • Site list – enter the list of URLs to allow.

The quick Allow rule wizard window showing the Scope set to "All users", allowed website "x.com" and the rule "Create" button.

  • Allow – click to enable and allow the sites.

Result #

As a result, the predefined list will block all the sites that fall under its list. However, allowed sites take precedence over the blocked list.

The Blocked by GAT Shield redirected page is demonstrated as well as the allowed page x.com that can be open.

Predefined Categories – Special Categories #

In the Predefined categories, we have 4 special categories.

  • All – you block all URLs when you create a Block Rule using this category.

The case would be to block every page the users can visit and set up an allowed list for the ones they can. In effect, it controls all the pages the users can visit.

  • Google Translate – you block pages accessed via Google Translate.

The Blocked by GAT Shield redirected page shows when trying to access the blocked page via Google Translate widget.

  • Private_ip_addresses – you block all private IP addresses when you create a Block Rule using this category.
  • Public_ip_addresses – you block all public IP addresses when you create a Block Rule using this category.

The Blocked by GAT Shield redirected page shows when trying to access the pages from private or public IP addresses (depends on what category is used).

Block Partial Content on Pages #

This will allow the Admins to block partial content on a webpage, it blocks the Google Translate widget on Google search.

To set this filter, navigate to Site Access Control > Block Partial Content on pages > New Block Rule.

  • Name – enter a name for the rule.
  • Type – select the Google Translate widget on Google Search
  • Scope – select the scope of users to whom the block applies.
  • Create – create the rule.

The GAT Shield Block Partial Content on Pages module shows the +New Block Rule button to create the new rule that partially blocks the content on the page. When the +New Block Rule button is hit, the new rule wizard window is displayed and the rule can be created by adding rule name, rule type (e.g. Google translate widget on Google search), selecting the Scope to which it should apply and clicking the Create button to save the configuration.

Result of Blocked Google Translate Widget #

When you enable the block:

The Google Translate widget is hidden when the rule to partially block the page is enabled.

When you don’t enable the block:

The Google Translate widget is displayed when the rule to partially block the page is not enabled.

Events #

The “Events” tab provides a comprehensive overview of all events triggered by the Site Access Control feature.

You can view details about blocked users, including the time of the block and the specific URLs accessed.

Filter this data using any visible fields, export it to Google Sheets, or download it in CSV format for further analysis.

NOTE: Default Date filter is set for : Last 24 Hours

The GAT Shield Event section shows all the events that were triggered. The default Date filter is set to the Last 24 hours

Block Page Config #

Block Page Config allows the Admins to set up a Custom message on the blocked page.

GAT Shield Blocking Page Configuration section where you can enable the Blocking Rule Name toggle to display the rule name on the blocking page (custom message).

Related Posts #

LIVE EVENT

Join Us for a Training Session

For customers and current trials.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website