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Wavecrest Knowledge Base

How to Whitelist (Allow) a URL in CyBlock

Applies to: CyBlock · Allowing specific sites through your web-filtering policy.

If CyBlock is blocking a site you want to permit — or you want to allow a set of sites regardless of their category — there are two ways to whitelist (allow) URLs. Pick based on how many sites you’re allowing and whether you want them grouped:

  • Method 1 — White List exception in your policy. Fastest for a few specific sites within a category you’re otherwise blocking (e.g., block Search Engines but allow Google).
  • Method 2 — Custom category set to allow. Best when you have many sites to allow, they span different categories, or you want them grouped and tracked as their own category.

(This is about allowing sites through the web filter — “whitelist,” “allow,” “unblock,” “stop blocking.” It is not related to certificates or SSL inspection.)

Method 1 — Add a White List exception to your blocking policy

Use this to allow specific sites while still blocking the rest of their category.

  1. Go to Web Management → Filter → Categories. The Control Web Categories page is displayed.
  2. Make sure the category you want the exception in is blocked as intended (the white list carves an exception out of a blocked category).
  3. Under the White List/Black List section, in the Allowed URLs box, type the URL you want to allow — for example, *.google.com.
  4. To add multiple URLs, type the first and press ENTER, then type the next and press ENTER, repeating until all are entered.
  5. Click Submit to apply.

How it behaves: an entry in Allowed URLs is permitted even though its category is blocked. For example, if you’ve blocked the Search Engines category but want Google, entering *.google.com in Allowed URLs allows Google while everything else in Search Engines stays blocked. The *. wildcard covers the domain and its subdomains.

Notes:

  • If a URL exists in both Allowed URLs and Blocked URLs, the blocked entry wins after you click Submit.
  • The Blocked URLs box is the reverse (a black list) — block specific sites while allowing the rest of their category.

Method 2 — Create a custom category and set it to allow

Use this to maintain a reusable group of allowed sites — handy when you’re allowing many domains or ones that span several categories.

Step A — Create the custom category and add your URLs

  1. Go to Categorization → Customize → URLs. The Edit URLs page is displayed.
  2. For Category Type, leave Custom selected (the default for creating a custom category).
  3. Name the category:
    • If you have no custom categories yet, type the name in the Add Category field (max 50 characters) — for example, Approved Sites.
    • If custom categories already exist, use the Select Category field and choose Create Custom Category, then enter the name in Add Category.
  4. In the Custom URLs box, type each domain you want to allow. To add multiple, type one and press ENTER, then the next and ENTER, and so on. Wildcards are supported (for example, *.example.com).
  5. Click Submit.

Step B — Make sure your policy allows that category

  1. Go to Web Management → Filter → Categories (the Control Web Categories page).
  2. Confirm your new custom category is set to allow (not blocked) in the policy. Because it’s a category like any other, CyBlock filters it according to the policy — so leaving it unblocked allows every URL you added to it.

Notes:

  • Your custom category and URL changes override future Wavecrest URL List downloads, so your allowed sites persist through updates.
  • Adding a URL that already exists in another category moves it — it’s removed from the other category and placed in this one.
  • If you use SSL Inspection, custom categories are inspected by default.
  • Setting a category to allow (a filtering/policy action) is separate from a category’s classification — Acceptable / Unacceptable / Neutral — which only affects how activity is color-coded in reports, not whether it’s blocked.

Which method should I use?

  • A few specific sites within a category you’re blocking → Method 1 (White List). Quick and self-contained.
  • Many sites, sites across different categories, or a reusable “approved” list you’ll maintain over time → Method 2 (custom category set to allow). More scalable and reportable.

Verify it worked

Use Categorization → Check URL to confirm a URL resolves to the category/handling you expect — useful after Method 2 to verify your URLs landed in the custom category.