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Domain Name System (DNS) filtering allows the blocking of domain resolution for specific domains or automatically categorized classes of domains (depending on the functionality of the software or appliance being used). DNS filtering prevents users from accessing blocked domains, regardless of the IP address the domains resolve to.

Examples of automatically categorized classes of domains are ‘gambling’ or ‘social networking’ domains. Automatic categorizations of domains are typically conducted by the software or appliance being used, whereas specific domains can be blocked manually. Most DNS filtering software or appliances will provide the ability to use Regular Expressions (RegEx) to (for example) also filter all subdomains on a specified domain.

DNS filtering can be applied on an individual host, such as with the hosts file, or for multiple hosts via a DNS server or firewall.

An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is a set of rules outlining acceptable and unacceptable uses of an organization's computer systems and network resources. It acts as a deterrent to prevent employees from conducting illegitimate activities by clearly defining expectations, reinforcing legal and ethical standards, establishing accountability, specifying consequences for violations, and promoting education and awareness about security risks.

A web proxy can allow for specific web resources to be blocked, preventing clients from successfully connecting to them.

An agent capable of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a software agent installed on organization endpoints (such as laptops and servers) that (at a minimum) records the Operating System, application, and network activity on an endpoint.

Typically EDR operates in an agent/server model, where agents automatically send logs to a server, where the server correlates those logs based on a rule set. This rule set is then used to surface potential security-related events, that can then be analyzed.

An EDR agent typically also has some form of remote shell capability, where a user of the EDR platform can gain a remote shell session on a target endpoint, for incident response purposes. An EDR agent will typically have the ability to remotely isolate an endpoint, where all network activity is blocked on the target endpoint (other than the network activity required for the EDR platform to operate).

Google's Chrome browser stores the history of accessed websites and files downloaded.

On Windows, this information is stored in the following location:

C:/Users/<Username>/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data/Default/

On macOS:

/Users/<Username>/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/

On Linux:

/home/<Username>/.config/google-chrome/Default/

Where /Default/ is referenced in the paths above, this is the default profile for Chrome, and can be replaced if a custom profile is used. In this location one database file is relevant, history.sqlite.
 

This database file can be opened in software such as DB Browser For SQLite. The ‘downloads’ and ‘urls’ tables are of immediate interest to understand recent activity within Chrome.

Microsoft's Edge browser stores the history of accessed websites and files downloaded.

On Windows, this information is stored in the following location:

C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\

On macOS:

/Users/<Username>/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge/Default/

On Linux:

/home/<Username>/.config/microsoft-edge/Default/

Where /Default/ is referenced in the paths above, this is the default profile for Edge, and can be replaced if a custom profile is used. In this location one database file is relevant, history.sqlite.
 

This database file can be opened in software such as DB Browser For SQLite. The ‘downloads’ and ‘urls’ tables are of immediate interest to understand recent activity within Chrome.

Mozilla's Firefox browser stores the history of accessed websites.

On Windows, this information is stored in the following location:

C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<Profile Name>\

On macOS:

/Users/<Username>/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/<Profile Name>/

On Linux:

/home/<Username>/.mozilla/firefox/<Profile Name>/

In this location two database files are relevant, places.sqlite (browser history and bookmarks) and favicons.sqlite (favicons for visited websites and bookmarks).
 

These database files can be opened in software such as DB Browser For SQLite.

Depending on the solution used, web proxies can provide a wealth of information about web-based activity. This can include the IP address of the system making the web request, the URL requested, the response code, and timestamps.

An organization must perform SSL/TLS interception to receive the most complete information about these connections.