PCNSE Manage, Monitor and Operate Practice Question
A network administrator is troubleshooting an issue where HTTPS traffic to a particular website is being blocked. The security policy rule allows SSL traffic to that website. The firewall logs show the traffic is being blocked by the URL Filtering profile. The URL Filtering profile is set to allow the category 'Business-and-Economy'. The website belongs to the category 'Shopping'. What action should the administrator take?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Create a custom URL category for the website and set it to allow.
Creating a custom URL category for the specific website and setting it to allow is the best practice to override the category-based blocking without loosening security. Option A is incorrect because changing the profile might affect other traffic. Option B is incorrect because disabling URL Filtering entirely is too broad and could allow malicious traffic. Option D is incorrect because IP-based exclude lists are not recommended as websites can change IPs, and URL filtering decisions are based on URLs, not IPs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Change the security policy rule to use a different URL Filtering profile.
Why it's wrong here
Changing the security policy rule to use a different URL Filtering profile is not recommended because it could affect other traffic and is not a targeted solution.
- ✗
Disable URL Filtering for that traffic flow.
Why it's wrong here
Disabling URL Filtering for that traffic flow is too broad; it would bypass all URL filtering for that flow, potentially allowing malicious sites.
- ✓
Create a custom URL category for the website and set it to allow.
Why this is correct
Creating a custom URL category for the website and setting it to allow is the best practice to allow the specific site while maintaining category-based blocking for others.
- ✗
Add the website's IP address to the URL Filtering exclude list.
Why it's wrong here
Adding the website's IP address to the URL Filtering exclude list is not reliable because IP addresses can change, and URL filtering is based on URL categories, not IP addresses.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNSE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PCNSE exam.