When the Barracuda Web Security Gateway blocks access to a website, it presents a block page with a message that informs the user why that site is being blocked as shown in Figure 1. The Barracuda Web Security Gateway blocks a website if it contains spyware, a virus, content that has been blocked due to policies you set, or a URL that is on your Block List. You can optionally choose to have the Barracuda Web Security Gateway redirect blocked users to any other URL, such as a custom block page, search engine page, etc.
If you are using the Barracuda Web Security Gateway built-in block page, use the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Block Messages page to perform the following tasks:
- Select the language that the block message is displayed in for all users.
- Customize the message in case the default text is insufficient.
Figure 1. Block Message with Login Fields.
For a list of special characters you can use to customize block message text, go to the the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Block Message s page in the web interface, and click Help.
With the Barracuda Web Security Gateway 610 and higher: If you enable the Temporary Access feature for teachers and students to gain access to specific websites for classroom research, students can enter a token given by the teacher to temporarily bypass block pages. Alternatively, you can allow teachers to use log in credentials to gain access to those sites for a limited time. See Temporary Access for Education for details about this feature, which offloads temporary access management from the system administrator to the teacher.
External Block Page
You can choose to redirect the user to a custom block page which you provide/design (or any URL) instead using the Barracuda Web Security Gateway block page when a policy prevents the user from accessing a requested website or application. To use this option you must enable the Use External Block Page feature and specify an External Block Page URL on the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Configuration page.
The Barracuda Web Security Gateway will redirect the blocked user to the URL you specify, which can be your own page/site, a search engine, etc.
Terms and Conditions Page (Captive Portal)
Hotels, Internet cafes and BYOD mobile devices are typical use cases for this feature, which provides a portal with a customized Terms and Conditions page for unauthenticated or authenticated users. The user is required to agree to specified terms and conditions before they can begin browsing the web via the Barracuda Web Security Gateway, unless the user has LDAP credentials and the correct configuration applies per settings on the BLOCK/ACCEPT > Configuration page.
See Captive Portal Terms and Conditions Page for details.