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Configure URL Reputation Service

Published April 5, 2023 | Last modified February 27, 2026

Objective

This guide provides instructions on how to enable the URL Reputation Service from within F5® Distributed Cloud Console (Console). The URL Reputation Service enables you to classify a URL based on a category or a score. After the URL is classified based on a risk, that URL can be denied or allowed based on your forward proxy policy configuration.

For more information, see HTTP Connect and Forward Proxy Policies documents.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites apply:

Configuration

You can enable URL reputation classification using a basic method (URL categories) or a more advanced method (label selectors with URL categories and URL scores).

Basic method: Using single or multiple URL categories.

Each request received by your proxy server will be categorized using the following categories:

  • Uncategorized
  • Real Estate
  • Computer and Internet Security
  • Financial Services
  • Business and Economy
  • Computer and Internet Info
  • Auctions
  • Shopping
  • Cult and Occult
  • Travel
  • Abused Drugs
  • Adult and Pornography
  • Home and Garden
  • Military
  • Social Networking
  • Dead Sites
  • Individual Stock Advice and Tools
  • Training and Tools
  • Dating
  • Sex Education
  • Religion
  • Entertainment and Arts
  • Personal Sites and Blogs
  • Legal
  • Local Information
  • Streaming Media
  • Job Search
  • Gambling
  • Translation
  • Reference and Research
  • Shareware and Freeware
  • Peer To Peer
  • Marijuana
  • Hacking
  • Games
  • Philosophy and Political Advocacy
  • Weapons
  • Pay To Surf
  • Hunting and Fishing
  • Society
  • Educational Institutions
  • Online Greeting Cards
  • Sports
  • Swimsuits and Intimate Apparel
  • Questionable
  • Kids
  • Hate and Racism
  • Personal Storage
  • Violence
  • Keyloggers and Monitoring
  • Search Engines
  • Internet Portals
  • Web Advertisements
  • Cheating
  • Gross
  • Web Based Email
  • Malware Sites
  • Phishing and Other Frauds
  • Proxy Avoidance and Anonymizers
  • Spyware and Adware
  • Music
  • Government
  • Nudity
  • News and Media
  • Illegal
  • Content Delivery Networks
  • Internet Communications
  • Bot Nets
  • Abortion
  • Health and Medicine
  • Confirmed Spam Sources
  • Spam URLs
  • Unconfirmed Spam Sources
  • Open HTTP Proxies
  • Dynamically Generated Content
  • Parked Domains
  • Alcohol and Tobacco
  • Private IP Addresses
  • Image and Video Search
  • Fashion and Beauty
  • Recreation and Hobbies
  • Motor Vehicles
  • Web Hosting

Advanced method: Using a label selector with two label options: reputation.ves.io/url-trustscore and reputation.ves.io/url-category.

You can use one or the other, or you can use both labels together in expressions. The lower the score, the higher the risk is for that particular URL. Each URL request received by your proxy server will be categorized on risk levels using a scoring system.

This table provides the score and corresponding score levels:

Score RangeScoreRisk
1-50LowHigh
51-80MediumMedium
81-100HighLow

 

The instructions provided in this guide show both methods for configuring your forward proxy policy to classify URLs (to deny) and assumes you are using an existing proxy server.

Deny Malicious URLs Using URL Categories

This forward proxy policy feature blocks URLs based on categories.

Step 1: Navigate to forward proxy policies in Console.
  • From the Console homepage, click Multi-Cloud App Connect.
Figure: Console Homepage

Figure: Console Homepage

  • Select the same namespace where your HTTP proxy server is located. The new forward proxy policy must be in the same namespace.

  • Navigate to Security > Forward Proxy Policies.

  • Click Add Forward Proxy Policy.

Figure: Add Forward Proxy Policy

Figure: Add Forward Proxy Policy

Step 2: Create custom rule to include URL categories.
  • In the Name field, enter a name for the new forward proxy policy.
Figure: Add Name

Figure: Add Name

  • In the Rules section, perform the following:

    • From the Select Policy Rules menu, select Custom Rule List.

    • Click Configure.

Figure: Configure Proxy

Figure: Configure Proxy

  • Click Add Item.

  • Enter a name for this new rule.

  • From the Action menu, select Deny.

  • From the Select Connection Source menu, select an option.

Figure: Add Proxy Rule

Figure: Add Proxy Rule

  • From the Destination Choice menu, select List of URL Categories.

  • From the URL Categories menu, select a category. You can select more than one option.

Figure: Select URL Categories

Figure: Select URL Categories

  • Click Apply.

  • Click Apply.

Figure: Apply New Proxy Rule

Figure: Apply New Proxy Rule

Step 3: Create a default rule to allow all other URLs.

To allow all other URLs by default, create a default allow rule within the same forward proxy policy.

Figure: Allow All Other URLs

Figure: Allow All Other URLs

Step 4: Complete configuration and save the new settings.

After you finish, click Save and Exit.

Step 5: Add the forward proxy policy to the HTTP proxy server.

  • Navigate to your HTTP proxy server using Manage > Load Balancers > HTTP Connect & DRPs.

  • Click ... > Manage Configuration.

  • Click Edit Configuration.

  • In the Proxy Policy section, perform the following:

    • From the Manage Proxy Policy menu, select Active Proxy Policies.

    • From the Active Proxy Policies menu, select the forward proxy policy previously created.

Figure: Select Forward Proxy Policy

Figure: Select Forward Proxy Policy

  • Click Save and Exit.
Step 6: Verify the operation.

After you configure the forward proxy policy for your proxy server, send a test request from a client IP address. If there is no URL category match for a URL, the request will be allowed. If the URL category matches, then the request will be denied.

Deny Malicious URLs Using Label Selectors

This forward proxy policy feature blocks URLs based on URL scores. Note that the lower the score attached to a particular URL, the higher the malicious risk with that URL.

Step 1: Navigate to forward proxy policies in Console.
  • From the Console homepage, click Multi-Cloud App Connect.
Figure: Console Homepage

Figure: Console Homepage

  • Select the same namespace where your HTTP proxy server is located. The new forward proxy policy must be in the same namespace.

  • Navigate to Security > Forward Proxy Policies.

  • Click Add Forward Proxy Policy.

Figure: Add Forward Proxy Policy

Figure: Add Forward Proxy Policy

Step 2: Create custom rule to include URL scores.
  • In the Name field, enter a name for the new forward proxy policy.
Figure: Add Name for URL Scores

Figure: Add Name for URL Scores

  • In the Rules section, perform the following:

    • From the Select Policy Rules menu, select Custom Rule List.

    • Click Configure.

Figure: Configure Proxy

Figure: Configure Proxy

  • Click Add Item.

  • Enter a name for this new rule.

  • From the Action menu, select Deny.

  • From the Select Connection Source menu, select an option.

Figure: Add Proxy Rule

Figure: Add Proxy Rule

  • From the Destination Choice menu, select Label Selector.

  • From the Selector Expression menu, select reputation.ves.io/url-trustscore or reputation.ves.io/url-category. You can use both label options together in expressions.

  • Select In and then select from LOW, MEDIUM, or HIGH.

Figure: Select URL Score Label

Figure: Select URL Score Label

Figure: Label Expressions

Figure: Label Expressions

  • Click Apply.

  • Click Apply.

Step 3: Create a default rule to allow all other URL scores.

To allow all other URL scores by default, create a default allow rule within the same forward proxy policy.

Figure: Allow All Other URLs

Figure: Allow All Other URLs

Step 4: Complete configuration and save the new settings.

After you finish, click Save and Exit.

Step 5: Add the forward proxy policy to the HTTP proxy server.

  • Navigate to your HTTP proxy server using Manage > Load Balancers > HTTP Connect & DRPs.

  • Click ... > Manage Configuration.

  • Click Edit Configuration.

  • In the Proxy Policy section, perform the following:

    • From the Manage Proxy Policy menu, select Active Proxy Policies.

    • From the Forward Proxy Policy menu, select the forward proxy policy previously created.

Figure: Select Forward Proxy Policy

Figure: Select Forward Proxy Policy

  • Click Save and Exit.
Step 6: Verify the operation.

After you configure the policy for your forward proxy server, send a test request from a client IP address. If there is no URL category match for a URL, the request will be allowed. If the URL category matches, then the request will be denied.

Verify Policy Hits in Console

If the URL is in the categories, a policy hit will be generated and available for you to view.

Step 1: Navigate to your proxy server.

  • From the Console homepage, click Multi-Cloud App Connect.

  • Click Overview > Applications > HTTP Connect & DRPs.

  • Select your proxy server.

Step 2: Inspect policy hits.

  • Click the Connections tab.

  • Inspect the values in the url_categories, url_trustscore, url_trustworthiness, and url_risk labels.

Figure: Inspect Policy Hits

Figure: Inspect Policy Hits

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