The Barracuda Web Security Gateway can be configured for scanning of HTTPS traffic at the URL level when the SSL Inspection feature is enabled. This means that the administrator has granular control over what applications are blocked or allowed on websites like Facebook.com. The administrator can control Facebook traffic, for example, by specifying domain/sub-domain patterns associated with Facebook applications to be inspected over HTTPS. With SSL Inspection, the Barracuda Web Security Gateway can apply policies granularly to HTTPs traffic at the URL level as well as detect malware and viruses. For more information about this feature, see Using SSL Inspection With the Barracuda Web Security Gateway. This article provides several use cases as examples.

Use Case #1 – Blocking Facebook Apps

Suppose you want allow access to Facebook.com for students, but want to ONLY allow Facebook Applications (Apps) during school lunch time. Using the URL pattern for Facebook Apps (https://apps.facebook.com, https://www.facebook.com/appcenter/ ), you would first configure SSL Inspection, then create a policy on the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Exceptions page.

Step 1. Enable and configure SSL Inspection:

1. Log into the Barracuda Web Security Gateway web interface as an administrator.

2. On the ADVANCED > SSL Inspection page, set Enable SSL Inspection to Yes.

3. In the Inspected Domains field, enter Facebook.com and click Add.

4. Install an SSL certificate. There are two recommended options:

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  • Select Create to generate your own signed SSL certificate and download it to install in or push out to each client browser. If you don't, users will see a warning each time they browse an HTTPS site when SSL Inspection is enabled. For detailed instructions on creating and installing the certificate, see How to Create and Install a Self-Signed Certificate for SSL Inspection.

  • Use the Barracuda Networks Default Certificate for SSL Inspection, available on the ADVANCED > SSL Inspection page. This is the simpler of the two methods. If you are only using one Barracuda Web Security Gateway (as opposed to clustering two or more systems using Linked Management), the private key is more secure as it never leaves the device. If you have a high availability deployment, you will need to install the same root certificate on each Barracuda Web Security Gateway. For detailed instructions on installing the certificate, see How to Use the Barracuda Networks Default Certificate for SSL Inspection.

Step 2. Create the policy:

1. On the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Exceptions page, in the Add Exceptions section, select the Allow Action. See Figure 1 below. Select the type of users you want to allow (Authenticated, Local Group, etc.) in the Applies To field. In this case we've chosen Authenticated users. If your set of authenticated users includes teachers, you might want to create a group for students using the USERS/ GROUPS pages and then select the student group for Applies To.

2. Select URL Pattern as the Exception Type.

3. Enter https://apps.facebook.com, https://www.facebook.com/appcenter as the URL pattern (make sure to include a comma between URLs).

4. Set the Time Frame from 12:00 - 13:00 Mon. - Fri., or whatever constitutes 'lunch hour'.
   
   Figure 1: Creating a limited Allow policy for Facebook applications during school lunch hours
   
   

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5. Select the Protocol as HTTPS. Enter a message if you like to describe what the policy is about.

6. Configure policy alerts as needed. With Enable Policy Alerts set to On, the Barracuda Web Security Gateway will send an email summarizing content policy violations to the email address(es) entered in the Policy Alerts Email Address field.

7. Click Add. You have now created your policy.

Use Case #2 – Blocking Facebook Chat for students

Suppose you want allow access to all Facebook activities except chat for students. Using the URL pattern for Facebook Messages ( https://www.facebook.com/messages ), you would first configure SSL Inspection, then create a policy on the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Exceptions page.

Step 1. Enable and configure SSL Inspection (if not already done):

1. Log into the Barracuda Web Security Gateway web interface as an administrator.

2. On the ADVANCED > SSL Inspection page, set Enable SSL Inspection to Yes.

3. In the Inspected Domains field, enter Facebook.com and click Add.

4. Install an SSL certificate as described in step 1-4 above.

Step 2. Create the policy:

1. On the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Exceptions page, in the Add Exceptions section, select the Block Action. See Figure 2 below.
   Select the type of users you want to allow (Authenticated, Local Group, etc.) in the Applies To field. In this example we've created a group called Students from the USERS/ GROUPS > Local Groups page, and here, we have selected that group for Applies To.

2. Select URL Pattern as the Exception Type.

3. Enter https://www.facebook.com/messages as the URL pattern.

4. There is no need to set a time frame unless you want to allow access to Facebook chat OUTSIDE the hours you're blocking.
   
   Figure 2: Creating a Block policy for Facebook chat
   
   

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5. Select the Protocol as HTTPS. Enter a message if you like to describe what the policy is about.

6. Configure policy alerts as needed. In this example, the Message field explains that Policy Alerts were purposely not enabled.

7. Click Add. You have now created your policy.