Kerio Control Web Filter Is Not Activated Categorization Is Disabled Work Portable -

Even with licensing and DNS resolved, the Web Filter may be manually disabled:

Follow these steps to resolve the "Categorization is Disabled" status.

Would you like step-by-step CLI commands or screenshots for any of these steps?

| Preventive Measure | Why | |--------------------|-----| | Set up monitoring alerts | Receive email notification if categorization stops. | | Regularly check license expiry | Add a calendar reminder 30 days before renewal. | | Use redundant DNS servers | Prevents single-point-of-failure resolution issues. | | Document upstream proxy changes | Any proxy change requires updating Kerio. | | Test after updates | Category servers change IPs; test every quarter. | Even with licensing and DNS resolved, the Web

Take action today—check your license, verify your DNS, and ensure your Kerio Control Web Filter is fully activated and protecting your users.

After fixing the issue, back up your configuration immediately:

Go to or Web Filter → Upstream Proxy (version dependent). | | Regularly check license expiry | Add

By verifying your license status, ensuring your DNS and WAN connections are stable, and checking the Advanced Options to ensure the service is enabled, you can quickly restore security and filtering to your network environment.

The Web Filter requires a specific active license module. If your core license is valid but the filter is "not activated," it may be a module-specific expiration.

nslookup mcafee.url.cloud.gfi.com

Remember: Cloud categorization requires the firewall itself to act as a client. Treat it like any other workstation that needs DNS, NTP, and outbound HTTPS access. With proper monitoring and preventative maintenance, you can ensure that “categorization disabled” becomes a rare event rather than a recurring headache.

The license is valid, but the feature hasn't been activated in the administration interface.

| Cause | Description | |-------|-------------| | 1. No valid license | Web filtering requires an active, non-expired license. | | 2. Disabled categorization engine | The feature is toggled off in configuration. | | 3. DNS resolution failure | The appliance cannot resolve categorization server hostnames. | | 4. Firewall rules blocking the appliance | Outbound HTTPS (port 443) to GFI/McAfee servers is blocked. | | 5. Proxy configuration missing | Kerio Control needs upstream proxy settings to reach cloud servers. | | 6. Time/date mismatch | SSL certificate validation fails if system time is incorrect. | | 7. Corrupted local cache or database | Stale categorization data prevents reinitialization. | | | Test after updates | Category servers

Sometimes the internal activation token becomes desynchronized. Re-registering the box forces a refresh. Go to .

The web filter uses SSL certificates to talk to GFI’s cloud. If your Kerio server’s clock is off by more than 5 minutes, the SSL handshake fails, and categorization is disabled.