anybody seeing issues with XG17 causing Outlook desktop client losing "sync" with Office365.

XG has always caused some kind of connectivity issues with Office 356 and windows updates, Ive been waiting for Sophos to add a method to use XML files or web db's of URL's & IP CIDRs for firewall rules destinations.  I managed to import a list of URLs i created from an XML file from MS but its only a web filter category so its not ideal as its till hitting the web proxy.  We need to import CIDR's to create hosts / host groups / or using XML files from urls really so firewall rules can be used with these as destinations and then set the filters & AV to none.

MS are updating the list of urls & ips all the time so best way would be to be pull from a web db.

JK

XG has always caused some kind of connectivity issues with Office 356 and windows updates, Ive been waiting for Sophos to add a method to use XML files or web db's of URL's & IP CIDRs for firewall rules destinations.  I managed to import a list of URLs i created from an XML file from MS but its only a web filter category so its not ideal as its till hitting the web proxy.  We need to import CIDR's to create hosts / host groups / or using XML files from urls really so firewall rules can be used with these as destinations and then set the filters & AV to none.

MS are updating the list of urls & ips all the time so best way would be to be pull from a web db.

JK

Hi folks,

please review this thread, it has lots of useful urls and regex stuff.

https://community.sophos.com/products/xg-firewall/f/web-protection/102231/communication-with-office-365-products

Ian

May I ask how you were able to import the XML file? I am trying to import an XML of web exceptions but i keep getting an error stating that it only accepts .TAR files even though the file i am trying to import is a .tar.  I have exported and tried editing directly in 7zip but that doesn`t work either. 

In short i wasnt able too.  Have you seen the Outlook_url.zip someone posted in this thread??

I used that and modified it so they were just the domain names then created a new Web filter Category and imported the TXT file there.  It allows you to create Web exceptions based on them but doesnt work for FQDN Hosts for FW rules which is what im still stuck on.

JK

Below is the modified list 

3652.OUTLOOK_URLS_Modified.zip

https://community.sophos.com/products/xg-firewall/f/web-protection/102231/communication-with-office-365-products/372676#372676

Here is a link to someone who seems to have done so.  I am not sure how because I followed the steps he outlined. 

Yeah i see that post but what it doesnt tell you is how to use the XG API to import it, Ive contacted sophos support about it too and they said presently there wasnt a way to import a list of FQDN hosts only Web filter URLs.

At moment i setup a rule for HTTP & HTTPS traffic to *.office365.com, *.office.com & *.outlook.com and didnt set any AV scanning, Web filtering, App filtering or IPS on it.  Seems to have helped a touch, See MS have long lists of FQDNs dont they which are always changing so ideally we need a feature to setup FW rules to a web db of FQDN / CIDR hosts as destinations.

Its a big problem for such an app as Outlook.

JK

Sorry just realised that one is for Web filters again, which i was able to setup exceptions for using the list i mentioned and by adding it as a web category then creating a web exception for that category.

Web filter exceptions doesn't seem to help the issue, which is why i have a FW rule bypassing any filtering at all now.  But i know im missing some FQDN hosts, It would take hours to input an XML list from MS into XG as FQDN hosts.

JK

It worked.  Finally i must have had something incorrect in my original XML file

Let me know if Web filter exceptions works for you then, it didnt for me.  Only thing that helped was FW rule with no filtering at all as i mentioned.

Anyway be interested to know,

Now you know your way around the API try for FQDN hosts and let me know if it works.

JK

I have a couple of troubled users in my network so i should know by the end of the day.  I will keep you posted.  I also have the firewall rule setup and that didn`t work.  I am hopeful that these exceptions work. 

But did your Rule have all the FQDNs / URLs as the Destinations though???