Test a policy

import { Render } from "~/components";

It is common for a misconfigured Gateway policy to accidentally block traffic to benign sites. To ensure a smooth deployment, we recommend testing a simple policy before deploying DNS filtering to your organization.

Test a policy in the browser

1. Go to Traffic policies > Firewall policies.
2. Turn off all existing DNS policies.
3. Turn on any existing security policies or create a policy to block all security categories:
4. Ensure that your browser is not configured to use an alternate DNS resolver. For example, Chrome has a Use secure DNS setting that will cause the browser to send requests to 1.1.1.1 and bypass your DNS policies.
5. In the browser, go to malware.testcategory.com. Your browser will display:
   • The Gateway block page, if your device is connected through the Cloudflare One Client in Traffic and DNS mode.
   • A generic error page, if your device is connected through another method, such as DNS only mode.

:::note

Custom block pages require you to install a root certificate on the device.

:::

6. In Logs > Gateway > DNS, verify that you see the blocked domain.
7. Slowly turn on or add other policies to your configuration.
8. When testing against frequently-visited sites, you may need to clear the DNS cache in your browser or OS. Otherwise, the DNS lookup will return the locally-cached IP address and bypass your DNS policies.

You have now validated DNS filtering on a test device.