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GabrielAuYong_FTNT
Staff & Editor
Staff & Editor
December 9, 2011

Technical Tip: Blocking Google+ (Google Plus) access using the FortiGuard webfilter

  • April 24, 2026 at 11:31 AM
  • 0 replies
  • 6302 views

Description

 

This article explains how to block the Google+ (Google Plus) social network access with the FortiGuard webfiltering feature.


Scope

 
FortiOS firmware version 4.00 MR3.
FortiOS firmware version 5.0.x.


Solution

 
When "Social Networking" is configured as blocked in the FortiGate GUI FortiGuard categories, it will still be possible to browse Google+ websites.  This is because Google+ uses Google wildcard cert (*.google.com).

To ensure that a FortiGate unit is able to block Google+ access, it is necessary to enable the "Enable Deep Scanning" in Protocol Options:

1) Policy > Policy > Protocol Options
2) Edit the Protocol Options profile
3) Enable "Enable Deep Scanning" in HTTPS
4) Click "Apply"

Ensure that the outbound firewall policy associates with the correct "Protocol Options" profile after enabling UTM.


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