This article applies to the Smoothwall Firewall & Filter On-Prem solution in either Hardware or VM form.
A Primer on Category Groups.
Category Groups are, in short, single named objects that represent a group of web content categories. They contain no URL's or web content identifiers themselves, but offer a mechanism by which an administrator can group custom or existing categories into easily identifiable objects.
The most common use of a Category Group is in creating a Core Blocked Content policy, in which the Category Group contains any and all categories of web content that should be blocked for all users. There are other uses, such as defining any content that should not be subject to HTTPS Inspection, or exempt from authentication checks. You may also use Category Groups to build levels of access depending on the needs of a given user group.
From an administrative point of view, the use of Category Groups leads to cleaner Guardian policies that are easier to troubleshoot and a more concise method of adding content to existing policies.
Category Groups can be identified in Guardian Policy creation by their 'one-to-many' green arrow icon.
Creating a Category Group.
- Log-in to your Smoothwall Filter & Firewall Admin UI.
- Navigate to Guardian > Policy Objects > Category Groups.
- Name the new Category Group appropriately and provide a comment if needed.
- In the Content Categories field, expand the top-level groups to reveal the base built-in categories and select items that fit your requirement. You may select individual items from within the pre-grouped objects, or the object entirely to use all base categories.
- Save the new Category Group.
Editing a Category Group.
- Log-in to your Smoothwall Filter & Firewall Admin UI.
- Navigate to Guardian > Policy Objects > Category Groups.
- From the list of existing Category Groups at the bottom of the page, click the Pen & Paper icon to the left of the Category Group in question.
- Make your amendments and click save.