DNS Categories Cloudflare Gateway’s DNS filtering capabilities allow you to block known and potential security risks on the public Internet, as well as specific categories of content. To give you more granular control over how to secure your network, Gateway also provides you with categorized security risks and content categories.
You can block security risks and content categories by creating DNS policies. Once you have configured your policies, you will be able to inspect network activity and the associated categories in your Gateway logs.
Security categories If you wish to block a hostname or URL that belongs to a security risk category, you need to block that category. If the security risk category is not configured as blocked, requests to that hostname or URL will appear in your Gateway logs as allowed requests. Category Definition Anonymizer Sites that allow users to surf the Internet anonymously. Brand Embedding Sites that imitate a verified brand, for example facobook.com. Command and Control & Botnet Sites that are queried by compromised devices to exfiltrate information or potentially infect other devices in a network. Cryptomining Sites that mine cryptocurrency by taking over the user’s computing resources. DGA Domains Domains detected as generated by algorithms seen in malware. DNS Tunneling Domains with detected DNS tunneling activity. Malware Sites hosting malicious content and other compromised websites. Phishing Domains that are known for stealing personal information. Private IP Address Domains that resolve to private IP Addresses. Spam Sites that are known for targeting users with unwanted sweepstakes, surveys, and advertisements. Spyware Sites that are known to distribute or contain code that displays unwanted advertisements or that gathers user information without the user’s knowledge.
Content categories Category Definition Adult Themes Sites that are hosting content related to pornography, nudity, sexuality, and other adult themes. Business & Economy Sites that are related to business, economy, finance, education, science and technology. Child Abuse Sites hosting child abuse content. Deceptive Ads Sites that spoof clicks, impressions, conversions for ads. Drugs Sites related to the use and promotion of illegal drugs or illegal use of prescribed drugs. Education Sites hosting educational content that are not included in other categories like Science, Technology or Educational institutions. Entertainment Sites that are hosting entertaining content that are not included in other categories like Comic books, Audio streaming, Video streaming etc. Gambling Sites that are providing online gambling or are related to gambling. Government & Politics Sites related to government and politics. Health Sites containing information about health and fitness. Information Technology Sites related to information technology. Internet Communication Sites hosting applications that are used for communication like chat, mail etc. Job Search & Careers Sites that facilitate searching for jobs and careers. Miscellaneous Sites that are not included in the listed security and content categories. Questionable Content Sites hosting content that are related to hacking, piracy, profanity and other questionable activities. Real Estate Sites related to real estate. Religion Sites hosting content about religion, alternative religion, religious teachings, religious groups and spirituality. Safe for Kids Sites that are safe for kids to visit. Security Risk Sites that contain high risk content. Refer to the table of security risk subcategories Shopping & Auctions Sites that are hosting content related to ecommerce, coupons, shopping, auctions and marketplaces. Social & Family Sites related to society and lifestyle. Society & Lifestyle Sites hosting information about lifestyle that are not included in other categories like fashion, food & drink etc. Sports Sites related to sports & recreation. Technology Sites hosting information about technology that are not included in the science category. Travel Sites that contain information about listings, reservations, services for travel. Vehicles Sites related vehicles, automobiles, including news, reviews, and other hobbyist information. Violence Sites hosting and/or promoting violent content. Weather Sites related to weather.
Security risk subcategories Category Definition Login Screens Sites hosting login screens that are not included in other categories. New Domains Domains registered within the past 30 days. Newly Seen Domains Domains that were resolved for the first time within the past 30 days. No Content Sites that have no content. Parked & For Sale Domains Domains that are not connected to a hosting service. Unreachable Domains that resolve to unreachable IP addresses.
Category and subcategory IDs Category ID Category Name Subcategory ID Subcategory Name 1 Ads 66 Advertisements 2 Adult Themes 67 Adult Themes 2 Adult Themes 125 Nudity 2 Adult Themes 133 Pornography 3 Business & Economy 75 Business 3 Business & Economy 89 Economy & Finance 6 Education 90 Education 6 Education 91 Educational Institutions 6 Education 144 Science 6 Education 150 Space & Astronomy 7 Entertainment 70 Arts 7 Entertainment 74 Audio Streaming 7 Entertainment 76 Cartoons & Anime 7 Entertainment 79 Comic Books 7 Entertainment 92 Entertainment 7 Entertainment 96 Fine Art 7 Entertainment 100 Gaming 7 Entertainment 106 Home Video/DVD 7 Entertainment 107 Humor 7 Entertainment 116 Magazines 7 Entertainment 120 Movies 7 Entertainment 121 Music 7 Entertainment 122 News & Media 7 Entertainment 127 Paranormal 7 Entertainment 139 Radio 7 Entertainment 156 Television 7 Entertainment 164 Video Streaming 8 Gambling 99 Gambling 9 Government & Politics 101 Government 9 Government & Politics 137 Politics, Advocacy, and Government-Related 10 Health 103 Health & Fitness 10 Health 146 Sex Education 12 Internet Communication 77 Chat 12 Internet Communication 98 Forums 12 Internet Communication 108 Information Security 12 Internet Communication 110 Instant Messengers 12 Internet Communication 111 Internet Phone & VOIP 12 Internet Communication 118 Messaging 12 Internet Communication 126 P2P 12 Internet Communication 129 Personal Blogs 12 Internet Communication 168 Webmail 12 Internet Communication 172 Photo Sharing 13 Job Search & Careers 113 Job Search & Careers 15 Miscellaneous 119 Miscellaneous 15 Miscellaneous 141 Redirect 17 Questionable Content 85 Deceptive Ads 17 Questionable Content 87 Drugs 17 Questionable Content 102 Hacking 17 Questionable Content 135 Profanity 17 Questionable Content 138 Questionable Activities 17 Questionable Content 157 Militancy, Hate & Extremism 17 Questionable Content 162 Unreliable Information 18 Real Estate 140 Real Estate 19 Religion 142 Religion 20 Safe for Kids 143 Safe for Kids 21 Security threats 68 Anonymizer 21 Security threats 80 Command and Control & Botnet 21 Security threats 83 Cryptomining 21 Security threats 117 Malware 21 Security threats 131 Phishing 21 Security threats 134 Private IP Address 21 Security threats 151 Spam 21 Security threats 153 Spyware 21 Security threats 175 DNS Tunneling 21 Security threats 176 Domain Generation Algorithm 21 Security threats 178 Typosquatting & Impersonation 22 Shopping & Auctions 73 Auctions & Marketplaces 22 Shopping & Auctions 82 Coupons 22 Shopping & Auctions 88 Ecommerce 22 Shopping & Auctions 148 Shopping 24 Society & Lifestyle 65 Abortion 24 Society & Lifestyle 71 Arts & Crafts 24 Society & Lifestyle 72 Astrology 24 Society & Lifestyle 78 Clothing 24 Society & Lifestyle 84 Dating & Relationships 24 Society & Lifestyle 86 Digital Postcards 24 Society & Lifestyle 93 Parenting 24 Society & Lifestyle 94 Fashion 24 Society & Lifestyle 97 Food & Drink 24 Society & Lifestyle 104 Hobbies & Interests 24 Society & Lifestyle 105 Home & Garden 24 Society & Lifestyle 112 Jewelry 24 Society & Lifestyle 114 Lifestyle 24 Society & Lifestyle 130 Pets 24 Society & Lifestyle 132 Photography 24 Society & Lifestyle 136 Professional Networking 24 Society & Lifestyle 147 Sexuality 24 Society & Lifestyle 149 Social Networks 24 Society & Lifestyle 154 Swimsuits 24 Society & Lifestyle 158 Tobacco 24 Society & Lifestyle 171 LGBTQ 24 Society & Lifestyle 173 Body Art 24 Society & Lifestyle 174 Lingerie & Bikini 25 Sports 152 Sports 26 Technology 155 Technology 26 Technology 95 File Sharing 26 Technology 69 APIs 26 Technology 81 Content Servers 26 Technology 109 Information Technology 26 Technology 123 News, Portal & Search 26 Technology 145 Search Engines 26 Technology 159 Translator 27 Travel 160 Travel 28 Vehicles 163 Vehicles 29 Violence 165 Violence 29 Violence 166 Weapons 30 Weather 167 Weather 31 Blocked 170 Child Abuse 32 Security Risks 128 Parked & For Sale Domains 32 Security Risks 169 New Domains 32 Security Risks 177 Newly Seen Domains 32 Security Risks 115 Login Screens 32 Security Risks 124 No Content 32 Security Risks 161 Unreachable