Palo Alto

Palo Alto Captive Portal

Well let me tell you what happen this week
I saw one of our work mate login in his private Laptop to internet and download is so high and his user don’t show in the monitor page.

So there is a feature available in hotel and Internet Cafe and its a great feature to control who is going and coming and sometimes to which website
This Feature Called Captive portal

let me guide you in the configuration
the requirement 1, 2 & 3 available in earlier blog you can click in each component and it direct you to the page
1-LDAP
2-Authentication Profile
3-Certificate
4-Certificate Profile
5-Enable Captive Portal
6-Captive portal policies

So start from Step 4 to create a certificate profile
Go to Device – Certificate Management – Certificate profile – +
Choose Name and Select the User Domain
then under the CA Certificate Add your Cert that Created in Earlier Blog

Then Go to Device – User Identification – Captive Portal Settings – Edit
Make Sure to check Enable Captive Portal
Choose the Authentication Profile That we Created in the Earlier Blog
and Choose Mode Redirect
and in the Filed of Redirect Host put our LAN IP 192.168.250.250 so all traffic forward to that IP
Now Lets Create a Captive Rule
Go to Policies – Captive Portal – +
Choose a Name

Then Select the Source as Inside
Select your Destination as the Outside WAN
After that select Your Service as HTTP and HTTPS also you can add a URL Category if you want to strict the Captive Portal to specific web sites

Choose the Action web-form
Last thing go to the Management Profile and make Sure you check the Response Pages so the user would be able to receive it
Got o Network – Network Profiles – Interface Mgmt – edit my Profile which i created in an Earlier Blog

Now lets go to the user PC and Open a browser to google Web Site
as you can see it direct me to 192.168.250.250 in URL
Click on Continue to this website (not recommended)

It will ask you for your Username and Password
I will put my LDAP Authentication Username and password
Now it Login me
and Walla im there

Note: in the newer version of Palo Alto Captive Portal Policy is Called: Authentication Policy and Web-form is changed to : default-web-form

Palo Alto

Blocking Youtube Using Palo Alto URL Category

Youtube
The Bandwidth Killer
to be honest i learn a lot from youtube whether cisco configuration or paloalto or even other things
but during work hour many user using youtube to hear songs, watch a movie trailer which kill the internet bandwidth so i explain earlier how to block facebook using APP-ID
but Youtube APP-ID is little diffrent cause it depend in google-base which will forbid google website too
so URL Category may save the Day
this remind me of Microsoft TMG

So first let create a URL Category
Go to Objects – Custom objects – URL Category – add new
(Youtube)
Add URL (www.youtube.com) Also you can add more (*.youtube.com)

now we create a security policy
Go to Policies – Security – add new (Stop Youtube)

Select the Source Zone (inside) and the Source Address (My Laptop IP Address)

Select the user aysar.mohamed (Me)
Select the Destination as my Outside Interface
Select any in Application tab
well here we go
in Service/URL Category we select the (Youtube) Category that we create earlier
put the Action to deny
now when i try to open Youtube i got the deny messgae ;D
As you can see from the log i got the (Reset-both ) Action in rule of Stop youtube 10a

Palo Alto

Blocking Facebook or Facebook Chat Using Palo Alto APP-ID

First i have to apologize cause this going to be a long Trip and it my fault i didn’t research it will but to deny an SSL traffic which used by facebook first you have to read what inside it, in another word (Decrypt it)

So i’m here rewrite the article again and just add the Decryption of the traffic before it forward to the intended site
First we need to create a Certificate on Firewall
Choose a name, Common name and Check the Certificate Authority
and the Certificate Attributes then Click Generate

Now Select the Cert to Edit and Check the Box
Forward trust Certificate
Forward Untrust Certificate
trusted Root CA

Then Export the Certificate as (PEM)

Choose Place to Save it

and as you see it download it in my Download Folder

Second i will go to my laptop to import in

Go to Tools – Internet Option – Content – Certificates

Go to trusted Root Certification Authorities Tab – import
Press Next

Browse to my Certificate

Choose to place it in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities
Press Finish

it will give you a security warning just press yes
and import is successful

you can check it under the Trusted Root Certification Authorities Tab

Now get back to Palo Alto and Configure the Decryption Policies
Go to Policies – Decryption – Add
since this is a lab i will Choose Any as the Source

Also Choose Any as the Destination
i can Adjust under URL Category but since this is a lab i will configure it as Any
Under option Tab i select the Action as Decrypt and Type SSL Forward Proxy
Now i Check Gmail and here its Secure from my PA-CCIEROOT which is my Palo alto Common Name
Also my facebook is Secured

Now that was the Part that everyone kept ask why Aysar it ain’t working
your article is wrong
will i hope it work now

So as i said earlier unless you work in Marketing then you don’t need any Social Website
so Aysar Mohamed (ME) is an IT guy and i want my self to do IT Work and stop playing around the Facebook
(i am sure my manager agree in this point) so let’s do it

First I need to tell you when using Application you need to be careful what you choose
you can select application using Category, Subcategory, technology, Risk and Characteristics
sometimes you see if you choose based on Risk level 5 which is the hardest you could break google drive
and if you use the application using Characteristic and choose Vulnerability you could break SIP so Review everything.

Now go to Monitor – Logs – traffic and as you can see it full by Facebook logs by Aysar and it depend on one Application (facebook-base)

So let go to Policies – Security – add new (Stop facebook)
Select the Source Zone (Inside) and Source Address (My Laptop IP Address)
Select my user (Aysar.Mohamed)
Select the Destination my outside interface
then here choose the application (facebook-base) which appear in my logs
sometimes you need to add
(Web Browsing), (SSL) & (DNS)

Now Choose action to deny

Make sure to move this rule to the top

As you can see now i cant open my facebook at all and it give me this error
and if you go back to the logs you will see the action (reset-both)Now what if i want Aysar to view his Facebook but don’t want him to Chat with Anyone
Easy go back to my (Stop facebook) Policy change the APP-ID to (facebook-chat) and save
some application can’t just stop by choosing the APP-ID you need to select also what it depend on
so highlight the rule and go to the application tab and choose facebook-chat and right click and choose (Value) to see what its Depends on.
so for facebook-chat it depends on
facebook-base
mqtt
Now If i select facebook-base it will also block facebook page Also
so here the trick

Add only mqtt

Then in my Second Rule (Aysar Allow) i will add to Alow the facebook-base
under Application i will only add the facebook-base
Now i can go to my facebook but as you can see my Chat is Dark (Unable to connect)
and as you can see in the Logs it block the facebook-chat

;D
(if you need to check list of App-id you can use, go to Object tab – application)

Happy Friday Everyone

Firewall, Palo Alto, Security

Palo Alto High Availability

Down Time is not Acceptable in Any Environment
And here were the term High Availability comes to play.

To Configure the high availability in Palo Alto you need to have Two Links in each device, one for the Control Link (HA1) and one for Data Link (HA2)
both Palo Alto Device Exchange a hello message and a Heartbeat through the Control Link (HA1). if any of that not receive the Backup Palo Alto Peer will Assume that the Active Peer is Down and Take Control
(Note. this Scenario is on Active/Passive Mode)
be Aware that Both Palo Alto Device should have the Prerequisite:
1- Same model
2- Same interfaces
3- Same PAN-OS
4- License

well i’m working here on PAN-OS 7.0.1
My Active Palo Alto IP Address: 192.158.208.222
My Passive Palo Alto IP Address: 192.168.208.111

So i Show you earlier how to configure Palo Alto from scratch in the earlier Blog
Now I add extra Network card for the (HA1) & (HA2)
So to Configure the Palo Alto interface
Go to Network – Interface – Select interface
Ethernet 1/3 will represent HA1
Ethernet 1/4 will represent HA2

Now to Peer Configuration
so i Give the Active Peer IP Address
192.168.209.140 (HA1)
192.168.209.142 (HA2)
and for the Passive Peer
192.168.209.141(HA1)
192.168.209.143 (HA2)
Go to Device – High Availability – General Tab – Setup settings
Enable HA and choose a Group ID and fill the Peer IP Address and choose the mode

Then go to Control link (HA1 Configuration) and Choose my ethernet 1/3 as the HA1 and put the IP Address 192.168.209.140 and Netmask

After that i go to my Data Link (HA2) and Enable the Session for Synchronization and Put the IP Address i choose earlier 192.168.209.142 and Netmask and Gateway and for my Transport i select IP

Now to Election setting and to make Sure that 192.168.208.222 is the Active one i have to Put a Lower Priority
The Default is 100 so i Configure it to 90 and select Preemptive and heartbeat Backup (Heartbeat backup use the management interface which protect against Split Brain)

now go to Dashboard Tab – widgets – System – and Select HIGH Availability
so i can see the status in the Dashboard

and as you can see the status is so red

Now in the Other Peer i need to Configure the Same Interfaces for HA1 & HA2 and same configuration for HIGH Availability except the IP Addressing and for Election Setting i will just keep it the default
and then go Back to the Active Peer 192.168.208.222 and you will see the HA1 & HA2 turn to Green and now choose to Sync to Peer

It will Ask you to Overwrite Peer Configuration just Select yes

And now All our Configuration is Synchronized

Go to Passive Peer and you will See the Local Peer is the Passive
and the Active is 192.168.208.222

if you check the Passive Network interface you find it’s Red
And now to Test it i will ping 8.8.8.8 Non Stop and power off the Active Peer
and as you can see it just took only 3 request timeout which less than 6 second and user will not notice it qqq
and if you check the System log in Dashboard you will see your passive peer notice the HA1 Control Link Went Down and the Passive become the Active

And our Red Interfaces Become Green

by default link monitor enable on all links but if you want to specify the important link like Trust, Untrust and DMZ then
Go to Device - High Availability - Link and Path Monitoring - Link Group
add those interface to it

;D

Firewall, Palo Alto

Configure Palo Alto to allow inside DMZ (FTP server)

So DMZ
In earlier Blog Palo Alto to Internet we configure how to Allow users to go to the Internet. so today i will show you how to allow your customer to come inside to your FTP Server
first i Configure my Ethernet 1/1 with the Public IP Address 37.76.249.42
Go to Networks – Interface – Ethernet Edit
Change type to Layer 3, Configure Virtual Router and Zone (Outside)
Then go to IPv4 and configure an IP Address of 37.76.249.42/27Then Configure Ethernet 1/2 for DMZ gateway
Change type to Layer 3, Configure Virtual Router and Zone (DMZ)
Then go to IPv4 and configure an IP Address of 192.168.250.250/24
Now the most important step is to configure NAT Policy
Go to Policies – NAT – Add new
I choose name : NatMyFTPServer
Choose your
Source Zone (DMZ)
Destination Zone (Outside)
Destination interface (Ethernet 1/1)
then i have to add my Source Address so Click on Address
Choose a name (MyFTPServer)
Type : IP Netmask
Put the Local IP Address (192.168.250.16)
And it’s added
and btw in case you have many Server that serve different services and only one Public IP you can adjust the services to be one for FTP, second for HTTPS and one for Remote access which consider as (Static Nat with Port Translation )
but in our case its only one server to one public ip

Now go to Translated Packet
Translated type: static IP
and Type the translated Address which is the public IP Address i Configure Earlier and to make sure translation go both way check the box Bi-directional
Now Finally let’s configure Security Policy Rule
Let me Educate you here (The Policy always is The destination Zone is Post-NAT and the Destination IP is Pre-NAT)
so you destination after the NAT is the DMZ
and your destination IP is the Pre-NAT which is your public IP Address
Confusing i know but it took me 2 years to understand it thanks to a friend of mine (Adel ;D)
Go to Policies – Security policy – Add new
Choose a Name and Rule Type as (interzone)
Select the Source as Outside since the traffic coming from outside
Configure the Destination as (DMZ) zone and Destination Address is your Public IP Address

You can custom the Application and Service/URL Category to Allow FTP Service only but since this is a Lab just select any
Select Any in Application
Also here in case you have many Server that serve different services and only one Public IP you can adjust the services to be one for FTP, second for HTTPS and one for Remote access which consider as (Static Nat with Port Translation )
but since we have one server select Any in Service/URL Category Tab
Then select Allow as an action for this traffic
Now in my laptop i install 3CDaemon which a great FTP server and Choose the Upload/Download Directory in my D:\IOS\ which contain my files.
I also configure a profile (Aysar) so i can use this as my login instead of anonymous 13b
And now for the BIG Test
from any Customer PC i open cmd and go to ftp to the public IP Address of the FTP Server
and as you see Authentication went well
Just type
dir
which list all the file under my D:\IOS\

Palo Alto

Palo Alto HA Sync Issue & APP and Threat Mismatch

Just when i think everything okay a Nice View Such as Below Appear

I Checked All my HA Configuration and it’s Fine SO
i Define this as Two Issue
Synchronize
App and Threat Mismatch

First lets Solve the Synchronized and it’s a simple Step
Just Next to Running Config Press (Sync to Peer) so it Push the Configuration to the Passive HA

It will Ask you to Overwrite Peer Configuration Just press yes

Now it Start as you See (Synchronization in Progress)
And as you can see now it finished and now its Synchronized
and now here in the Passive HA and Also show the Same
Now Lets Move to Next step which is the APP & Threat Mismatch
Lets Check the Version of the Application First
Go to Device – Dynamic updates – and Check the Applications and threats

so Go to 654-3805 which is my Latest Update also you can See in the lower of screen (Check Update)
Then Press Install on Right Side of the Application
Check to Synch to HA Peer
press Continue Installation

Now it will Progress

And Automatically will Transfer a copy to HA Peer
As you See now a Copy Transferred and Installed in HA Peer
And Finally the all your HA Item in the Active Peer is Green

Firewall, Palo Alto, Security

Palo Alto to Internet

TOP 10 Next Generation Firewalls
Palo Alto
After Spending Many Years in Cisco Security ASA and Worked with microsoft TMG the Company Decided to go to New technology
After Reading About it I realized that Gartner agree that Palo Alto Consider to be the leader when it comes to Next Generation Firewall appliances
So let me guide you with the First Step of Initial Setup and Configure it to Internet Access for users

Well first Let start Login to the ESXI host

Then Choose to Deploy the OVA File

Browse to my Folder were i Save the OVA
Press Next

Type a Name of your Choice
I Prefer to Select Thin Provision is i will not Reserve the Whole Size
Select the Network
Now Press Finish
The Deploying Procedure StartNow we Finished with The Installation of the OVA

Depend on your Scenario and how many Network Card you Need
in my Scenario i Need 4 (Management, WAN, LAN and DMZ)
in my ESXI i have this Already Configured as you see in the Picture

Now i will Edit My Virtual Machine
Configure the Network Adapter 2 to be my Outside

Click Add and Select my Third Network Card for LAN
Choose the Network Label (Inside) Which Represent the LAN Also DO the Same for Server Side which Represent by (DMZ)

Press Finish and Its Created

Now Start the Machine
Username: admin
Password:admin
and Set your IP Address for the Machine
Now Set the Default Gateway and Save it (Commit)
You can check your Management IP configuration by issuing the command
show interface management
Now Go to the Web Page Https://192.168.208.222
Enter the Default username and Password
normal Warning Regard the Default username and Password
Go to the Device – Setup – Management – Management Interface Settings and you Can Edit the Service or IP Address
Second Go to Device – Setup – Service – Services and Configure the DNS and NTP

Second Go to Network – Zones and Add the Zones (Outside, Inside and DMZ) Repeat the Same Step Below to Create Each

Now Go to Network – Virtual Router and Create New One and Name it
Second Go to Network – Interfaces – Edit Each interface (Ethernet 1/1, 1/2 and 1/3)
Outside, inside and DMZ
Type of Layer 3
Select the virtual Router and Security Zone
then Go to IPv4 tab and Add the IP Address
Second go to Advanced Tab – Other info – Management profile and press new
Select Name and Edit the Service Permitted
And Then Select the Management profile
Repeat the Same Step to Each Interface (LAN and DMZ)
here the Zone is Different for inside
and Add the LAN IP Address : 192.168.250.250

Now Go back to Virtual Router and Add a Static Routes to Default Route to your internet ISP Router in my Case : 37.76.249.91
Now time to Configure your Security Rule
Go to Policies – Security and Add one
Name : Allow-Net
Type: Interzone

Choose the Source to be Inside
Choose the Destination: Outside
Select the Service/ URL category : Any
Select the Action : Allow
Log Setting Enable Log at Session Start and END

Now Go to to Configure the PAT (Port Address Translation)
Policies – NAT add new
Choose Name

Choose your Security Zone:Inside
Destination Zone: outside
Destination interface: Ethernet 1/1 (My WAN Network)

Then Select the Translated Packet and Configure it As below
Dynamic IP and Port for PAT

Now i go to my Client and I too IP from DHCP
Test the PING and Now the ping is working perfectly to IP Address 8.8.8.8
and i Test the Web browsing and It’s Working Perfectly