HTTP Traffic Scan And Access Control to Web Resources

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Web traffic scan is carried out via a resident component called SpIDer Gate. It scans the incoming HTTP traffic and blocks all objects that contain security threats. HTTP is used by web browsers, download managers and other apps which exchange data with web servers, that is, which work with the Internet.

SpIDer Gate also allows you to control access to web resources and to prevent users from viewing undesirable websites (for example, pages on violence, gambling, adult content, and so on).

By default, SpIDer Gate is enabled automatically after you install and activate Dr.Web license.

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Other apps for scanning web traffic and controlling access to web resources installed on your Mac may not work properly if SpIDer Gate is enabled.

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macOS blocks kernel (system) extension loading. For SpIDer Gate to operate correctly, allow the loading of system software from Doctor Web Ltd. in the Security & Privacy System Preferences pane.

 

The issue is relevant for macOS High Sierra 10.13 and later.

To enable or disable SpIDer Gate

On the Desk section of the main window (see Picture 1), enable/disable the SpIDer Gate option.

Click the Dr.Web icon in the menu bar and select the corresponding item.

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Only users with administrator privileges can disable SpIDer Gate.

Configuring HTTP traffic scan

By default, SpIDer Gate blocks all incoming malicious objects. You can select the types of malicious programs to block, configure actions for the not scanned objects and set up the maximum time for scanning one file by performing the following actions:

1.In the application menu, open Preferences and select the SpIDer Gate tab. Only users with administrator privileges can change SpIDer Gate settings. Click the icon of a lock at the bottom of the window and enter the administrator name and password, if necessary.

2.Click Advanced.

3.Select the malware types to block.

4.Specify the maximum time for scanning one file. Please note, that increasing the time for scanning a single file may slow down your Mac in some cases.

5.By default, the objects that cannot be scanned are blocked. To allow such objects, deselect the Block not scanned content check box.

6.Click OK to save changes.

Configuring access to websites

By default, in addition to HTTP traffic anti-virus scan, SpIDer Gate blocks URLs listed due to a notice from copyright owner and non-recommended sites. You can disable these functions on the SpIDer Gate tab of Dr.Web preferences. You can also select the website categories to block access to and create black and white lists of websites to automatically allow or block access to them regardless of other SpIDer Gate settings.

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The default SpIDer Gate settings are optimal for most uses. Do not change them unnecessarily.

To select the categories of websites

1.In the application menu, open Preferences and select the SpIDer Gate tab. Only users with administrator privileges can change SpIDer Gate settings. Click the icon of a lock at the bottom of the window and enter the administrator name and password if necessary.

2.Select the categories of websites you want to block access to.

To create black and white lists of web addresses

1.In the application menu, open Preferences and select the Exclusions tab.

2.Click the Websites button. Only users with administrator privileges can change black and white lists. Click the icon of a lock at the bottom of the window and enter the administrator name and password, if necessary.

3.By default, both lists are empty. You can add addresses to the black and white lists. Click plus under the corresponding list and enter a domain name or a part of a domain name for the website that you want block or allow access to:

To add a certain website, enter its name (for example, www.example.com). This allows access to all webpages located on this website.

To allow access to websites with similar names, enter the common part of their domain names. For example, if you enter example, then SpIDer Gate will allow access to the example.com, example.test.com, test.com/example, test.example222.com and other similar websites.

To allow access to websites within a particular domain, enter the domain name with a period ('.'). This allows access to all webpages located on this website. If the domain name includes a forward slash ('/'), the substring before the slash is considered a domain name, while the substring after the slash is considered a part of address for the websites that you want to access within this domain. For example, if you enter example.com/test, SpIDer Gate will allow access to webpages such as example.com/test11, template.example.com/test22, and so on.

To delete websites from black or white list, select them in the corresponding list and click minus or drag them outside the application window.

4.Click OK to save changes.

Safe search

To enable the safe search function in search engines automatically:

1.In the application menu, open Preferences and select the SpIDer Gate tab.

2.Select the corresponding check box in the Safe search section.