Editing masks for web resource addresses
Using a web resource address mask (also referred to as "address mask") may be useful if you need to enter numerous similar web resource addresses when creating a web resource access rule. If crafted well, one address mask can replace a large number of web resource addresses.
When creating an address mask, follow these rules:
- The
*
character replaces any sequence that contains zero or more characters.For example, if you enter the
*abc*
address mask, the access rule is applied to all web resources that contain the sequenceabc
. Example:http://www.example.com/page_0-9abcdef.html
. - A sequence of
*.
characters (known as a domain mask) lets you select all domains of an address. The*.
domain mask represents any domain name, subdomain name, or a blank line.Example: the
*.example.com
mask represents the following addresses:http://pictures.example.com
. The domain mask*.
representspictures.
http://user.pictures.example.com
. The domain mask*.
representspictures.
anduser.
http://example.com
. The domain mask*.
is interpreted as a blank line.
- The
www.
character sequence at the start of the address mask is interpreted as a*.
sequence.Example: the address mask
www.example.com
is interpreted as*.example.com
. This mask covers the addresseswww2.example.com
andwww.pictures.example.com
. - If an address mask does not start with the
*
character, the content of the address mask is equivalent to the same content with the*.
prefix. - If an address mask ends with a character other than
/
or*
, the content of the address mask is equivalent to the same content with the/*
postfix.Example: the address mask
http://www.example.com
covers such addresses ashttp://www.example.com/abc
, wherea
,b
, andc
are any characters. - If an address mask ends with the
/
character, the content of the address mask is equivalent to the same content with the/*
postfix. - The character sequence
/*
at the end of an address mask is interpreted as/*
or an empty string. - Web resource addresses are verified against an address mask, taking into account the protocol (http or https):
- If the address mask contains no network protocol, this address mask covers addresses with any network protocol.
Example: the address mask
example.com
covers the addresseshttp://
example.com
andhttps://
example.com
. - If the address mask contains a network protocol, this address mask only covers addresses with the same network protocol as that of the address mask.
Example: the address mask
http://*.example.com
covers the addresshttp://www.example.com
but does not coverhttps://www.example.com
.
- If the address mask contains no network protocol, this address mask covers addresses with any network protocol.
- An address mask that is in double quotes is treated without considering any additional replacements, except the
*
character if it has been initially included in the address mask. Rules 5 and 7 do not apply to address masks enclosed in double quotation marks (see examples 14 – 18 in the table below). - The user name and password, connection port, and character case are not taken into account during comparison with the address mask of a web resource.
Examples of how to use rules for creating address masks
No.
Address mask
Address of web resource to verify
Is the address covered by the address mask
Comment
1
*.example.com
http://www.123example.com
No
See rule 1.
2
*.example.com
http://www.123.example.com
Yes
See rule 2.
3
*example.com
http://www.123example.com
Yes
See rule 1.
4
*example.com
http://www.123.example.com
Yes
See rule 1.
5
http://www.*.example.com
http://www.123example.com
No
See rule 1.
6
www.example.com
http://www.example.com
Yes
See rules 3, 2, 1.
7
www.example.com
https://www.example.com
Yes
See rules 3, 2, 1.
8
http://www.*.example.com
http://123.example.com
Yes
See rules 3, 4, 1.
9
www.example.com
http://www.example.com/abc
Yes
See rules 3, 5, 1.
10
example.com
http://www.example.com
Yes
See rules 3, 1.
11
http://example.com/
http://example.com/abc
Yes
See rule 6.
12
http://example.com/*
http://example.com
Yes
See rule 7.
13
http://example.com
https://example.com
No
See rule 8.
14
"example.com"
http://www.example.com
No
See rule 9.
15
"http://www.example.com"
http://www.example.com/abc
No
See rule 9.
16
"*.example.com"
http://www.example.com
Yes
See rules 1, 9.
17
"http://www.example.com/*"
http://www.example.com/abc
Yes
See rules 1, 9.
18
"www.example.com"
http://www.example.com; https://www.example.com
Yes
See rules 9, 8.
19
www.example.com/abc/123
http://www.example.com/abc
No
An address mask contains more information than the address of a web resource.