The Web URL Patterns window is used to configure domains or regular expressions that you wish to track with KeyServer. After specifying patterns in this window, “usage” (i.e. access) of those URLs will be tracked by clients and reported to KeyServer. The URLs will appear as entries in the Programs window - which can then be added to products and policies much like traditional executable based programs. Once a policy has been made, KeyServer will record usage, which can then be reported in the same way as traditional program usage - looking at where URLs are accessed, how often, and for how long. As it becomes more common for software to have purely web-based components, this unified view of usage is important.
This window is very simple. First you will need to click the “+” button at the bottom left, to add a new pattern. You will be prompted to choose between a domain or a pattern. If you want to track a single domain all as a single object, use the domain choice and enter something like “example.net” (without the quotes). Then any URLs within example.net will all be reported as the same entry in the programs window. Note that when using this option, matching URLs must start with http:// or https:// - “ftp://ftp.example.net/” will not match. If you need more flexibility than this, you should use a pattern instead. When you specify a domain, you can also enter the exact Identifier you would like to use for this domain - or if you leave it blank an Identifier will be generated for you, e.g. “@example.net”.
You can also use a regexp pattern, e.g. “^https?://[-a-zA-Z0-9_.]+\.ly/”. Using a pattern also allows you to target a specific URL or set of URLs within a single domain, e.g. “mysite.org/private/”. When specifying a pattern, you must explicitly choose an Identifier. For consistency you might want to have it start with the @ symbol.
After you have added new Domains or Patterns, clients will learn this but it might not be learned until the next time a client computer restarts. Once a client learns a new pattern, it will notice when that pattern is accessed in any major browser, and report this to KeyServer. The first time KeyServer learns of a new Identifier an entry will appear in the Programs window and it can then be used in a product. It is important, whether you add a Domain or a Pattern of your own, that you test to see that it is working as expected - identifying the expected URLs and not identifying additional URLs. To do so you will first need a Product and Policy to begin gather usage (access to) the URLs.
You can also add new Domains or Patterns within the Product Wizard. When added via the Product Wizard, a program entry will be created with the identifier, which is added to the new Product.
Note that KeyAccess 7.5 or higher is required to be able to track URLs. Also, while URLs can be tracked, KeyAccess cannot prevent any pages from loading. This was done to simplify things technically, but also from a user experience perspective. If users were blocked this would almost guarantee that users would have a negative impression of KeyAccess.
Since URL access cannot be blocked, we recommend policies for products that contain URLs be configured in such a way that they will not try to prevent usage. Specifically, they should be Observe policies, Manage policies with the Site metric, or Manage policies with other metrics but with an Enforcement option of “None”. Finally, any options such as Background Warning, Queue & Notify, etc should be avoided as they could result in KeyAccess presenting confusing messages to the end user.