Recommended DNS policies

Allowlist any known domains and hostnames. With this policy, you ensure that your users can access your organization’s domains even if the domains fall under a blocked category, such as Newly Seen Domains or Login Screens.

Restrict access for users included in an identity provider (IdP) user group for risky users. This policy ensures your security team can restrict traffic for users of whom malicious or suspicious activity was detected.

Block security categories, such as Command and Control & Botnet and Malware, based on Cloudflare’s threat intelligence.

Entries in the security risk content subcategory, such as New Domains, do not always pose a security threat. We recommend you first create an Allow policy to track policy matching and identify any false positives. You can add false positives to your Trusted Domains list used in All-DNS-Domain-Allowlist.

After your test is complete, we recommend you change the action to Block to minimize risk to your organization.

Block unauthorized applications to limit your users’ access to certain web-based tools and minimize the risk of shadow IT Open external link . For example, the following policy blocks popular AI chatbots.

Block websites hosted in countries categorized as high risk. The designation of such countries may result from your organization’s users or through the implementation of regulations including EAR Open external link , OFAC Open external link , and ITAR Open external link .

Block frequently misused top-level domains (TLDs) to reduce security risks, especially when there is no discernible advantage to be gained from allowing access. Similarly, restricting access to specific country-level TLDs may be necessary to comply with regulations such as OFAC Open external link and ITAR Open external link .

Block misused domains to protect your users against sophisticated phishing attacks, such as domains that specifically target your organization. For example, the following policy blocks specific keywords associated with an organization or its authentication services (such as okta, 2fa, cloudflare and sso) while still allowing access to known domains.

Block specific IP addresses that are malicious or pose a threat to your organization.

Block specific domains or hosts that are malicious or pose a threat to your organization. Like All-DNS-ResolvedIP-Blocklist, this blocklist can be updated manually or via API automation.