Rules for creating masks for web resource addresses
July 22, 2024
ID 65759
Using a web resource address mask (hereinafter also referred to as simply "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, adhere to the following 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 resource addresses that contain the sequence abc. Example: http://www.example.com/page_0-9abcdef.html.
The
?
character is treated as a question mark.To include the
*
character in the address mask, you need to enter the*
character twice. - The
www.
character sequence at the start of the address mask is interpreted as a*.
sequence.Example: the address mask www.example.com is treated as *.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. - A sequence of
*.
characters at the beginning of an address mask is interpreted as*.
or an empty string.Example: the address mask http://www.*.example.com covers the address of the web resource http://www2.example.com.
- 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 as http://www.example.com/abc, where a, b, and c 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 of web resources with any network protocol.
Example: the address mask example.com covers the web resource addresses http://example.com and https://example.com.
- If the address mask contains a network protocol, this address mask only covers web resource addresses with the same network protocol as that of the address mask.
Example: the address mask http://*.example.com covers the web resource address http://www.example.com but does not cover https://www.example.com.
- If the address mask contains no network protocol, this address mask covers addresses of web resources 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. In other words, rules 5 and 7 do not apply to such address masks (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
Does the address match 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 1.
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 2, 1.
7
www.example.com
https://www.example.com
Yes
See rules 2, 1.
8
http://www.*.example.com
http://123.example.com
Yes
See rules 2, 4, 1.
9
www.example.com
http://www.example.com/abc
Yes
See rules 2, 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 data than the address of a web resource.