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Becoming AppAware: Introducing One-Click Application Blocking For Tighter Security Controls
by Aliese Alter on Feb 17, 2022 12:00:00 AM
At DNSFilter, we’re focused on DNS security. With the infiltration of SaaS applications, it’s more important than ever to prohibit risky applications from being used on your network.
A single application is not a single domain. An application, like the messaging application Discord or the remote desktop application tool TeamViewer, is actually constructed of many domains. Sometimes tens of thousands.
That means the ability to wholly block these domains with block lists alone is out of reach. There will always be new domains associated with the app that you need to manage and add to your block list, and adding that volume of domains isn’t realistic (or scalable).
Not to mention, many of the domains associated with an application aren’t obviously related, which makes identifying Shadow IT discovery difficult.
These are the reasons we built AppAware at DNSFilter. Our goal is threefold:
- Provide increased (and simplified) security to our end users
- Reduce your workload by providing over 100 applications you can start blocking today with a single click
- Increase visibility into the activity on your network
For more details on how AppAware can help secure your network, we put together the following infographic:

AppAware is available to our MSP, Pro, and Enterprise customers. Watch our on-demand webinar about this new feature.
Login to DNSFilter today and navigate to your Policy section to see AppAware for yourself, or book a demo with our sales team to learn more about how this feature can benefit your organization.
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Not all apps are created equal. Some introduce serious risks for phishing, malware, or data breaches, especially when they’re adopted by employees without IT approval. And while blocking a website at the domain can prevent unauthorized access on your network, many applications have hundreds or thousands of domains—simply blocking the main domain might not be enough to prevent access.

DNS—short for Domain Name System—has quietly operated behind the scenes as the backbone of how devices find one another on the Internet. But as threats evolve, DNS is no longer just the plumbing: It has to become your first line of defense. That’s the core message from our recent webinar, What DNS Needs to Be When It Grows Up.

You're facing two critical issues. First, your clients feel insecure due to lack of comprehensive visibility into their network environments. Second, your pitches for cybersecurity services often fall flat because they lack compelling, data-driven insights. These challenges are roadblocks but can be turned into opportunities with SIEM and SOC solutions.