If certain applications on your device violate your rights, have security issues, or are not play-protected, you can essentially blacklist and block these applications. This can be done using the Block Lists (Policies) command in the Radix Device Management Platform. Using the Block Lists command also lets you create a list of allowed websites that can be accessed on a remote device or websites that you wish to block from a device.
Where can you find the command
There are three methods to access the Block List command:
- From the Bulk Actions button,
- From the device’s three-dot menu,
- From the Device Dashboard, under Repositories Actions.
Method One: From the Bulk Actions Button:
1. Click on the Devices icon in the sidebar menu, to open the Devices Table.
2. From the list, select the device onto which you wish to apply the software policy, by checking the checkbox in the far-left column. Using this method, you can select several devices and apply the software policy to all of them at once.
The Bulk Actions button becomes active when you select a device.
3. Click on Bulk Actions>Configure>Block Lists.
4. Continue from Using the Block Lists command below.
Note: This method has the advantage of allowing you to check the checkboxes on several devices and applying software policies on all of the devices simultaneously.
Method Two: From the Device’s Three-Dot Menu:
- Click on the Devices icon in the sidebar menu to open the Devices Table.
- From the list, find the device to which you would like to apply a software policy. You can use the Search bar at the top of the list to locate the device.
- Click on the three-dot Device Actions menu in the far-right column of the device.
4. Select Configure>Block Lists from the drop-down menu of commands.
5. Continue from Using the Block Lists command below.
Method Three: From the Device’s Device Dashboard:
You can also access the Block Lists command from the Device Dashboard.
To access the Block List command from the dashboard:
- Click on the Devices icon in the sidebar menu to open the Devices Table.
- From the list, find the device for which you want to apply a software policy. You can use the Search bar at the top of the list.
- Click anywhere on the row of the specific device.
The Device Dashboard will open.
4. Click on Repositories actions in the menu on the far-right side, and select Block Lists.
5. Continue from Using the Policies command below.
Creating a New Internet Browsing Policy for a Particular Device
You can create an Internet browsing policy for a particular device if you access the Block Lists command from any of the three methods outlined above. The Radix Device Management Platform will automatically select the parameters according to the device’s operating system.
Let us take a simple example, creating an Internet browsing policy for a Windows device:
1. In the Devices Table, find the Windows device to which you wish to apply the browsing policy.
2. Click on the row of the device to open its Device Dashboard and click on Repositories actions>Block Lists.
The software policies that can be applied to a Windows device will appear in the Block Lists repository.
3. Click on Add New in the lower right corner and select Windows to create a browsing policy appropriate for a Windows device.
The following pane opens:
4. Fill in the name and description for the desired policy. In our example, we will create an Internet browsing policy that will block the ESPN website.
5. Click on the Web option in the sidebar menu and select Block list, since we are going to create a list of websites to block.
6. Select the default browser. You can choose to block the websites either on the Radix Secure Browser or the Chrome browser (if the Chrome browser is already installed on the remote Windows device).
7. Enter the URL for the ESPN website and click on the “+” to add it to our Block list.
8. Click Confirm. You will have added a new Windows software policy to the repository.
Creating a New Software Policy for a Particular Device
You can also create a new software policy for a particular device. The Radix Device Management Platform will automatically select out the parameters, according to the device’s operating system.
As a simple example, we will disable the Chrome browser app from an Android device.
1. As above, open the Devices Table, and select the Android device to which you wish to disable the Chrome browser app.
2. Click on the row of the device to open its Device Dashboard and go to Repositories Actions>Block Lists.
The software policies that can be applied to an Android device will appear in the Block Lists repository.
3. Click on Add New in the lower right corner and select Android.
The Radix Device Management Platform will automatically open the window for creating a software policy for Android devices.
4. Fill in the parameters for the desired policy. In our example, we will create a software policy that will block the use of the Chrome browser app.
5. Click on the Block list icon. The list of possible apps to be blocked appears.
6. Use the Search bar to find the Chrome app in the list. It is advised to click the “Remove duplicate” box to remove all of the variations of the Chrome app as well.
7. Click on the Add to list icon to move the apps over to the Selected apps side.
8. Click Confirm. You will have added a new Android software app policy to block the Chrome app in the repository.
Using the Block Lists Command
When you click on Block Lists, a grid of stored policies appears.
To apply one of the stored policies:
1. Click on the tile of the particular software policy. In our example below, we have selected a policy to block the Yahoo! website.
Note: You can only apply one software policy to a device at one time. There is no option to select several policies and apply them all to a device at once. If you apply a software policy to a device that already has a policy applied to it, the new policy will replace the previous one.
2. Click on Apply.
You will receive a confirmation in the lower right that the policy was sent to the device.
If the user tries to access the Yahoo! website, they will receive the following prompt. The top image is what is displayed on a Windows device, while the bottom image is what is displayed on an Android device.
3. If you select to block the use of a software app from a device, the icon of that device will no longer appear on the device. For example, if we apply the policy Chrome Browser Blocker, then the Chrome Browser icon will no longer appear on the device.
4. To remove the software policy and allow full access to all websites and apps, proceed to the section Removing a Software Policy from a Device.
Removing a Software Policy from a Device
If you wish to remove the software policy that you applied to a device, there is an option in the Block Lists screen to erase any policies from remote devices..
To remove a policy from a device:
1. Open the Block Lists repository for the particular device that has a policy applied to it, by one of the three methods outlined above:
- - From Bulk Actions>Configuration>Block lists,
- - From the device’s three-dot menu>Configuration>Block Lists,
- - From the Device Dashboard, under Repositories Actions>Block Lists.
2. In the Block Lists repository, select the None option, and click Apply.
You will see a pop-up informing you that the command to remove the software policy was sent successfully.
