Quick Reference: Category Descriptions
| Category | Description |
| Abortion | Pro-choice or pro-life abortion topics. |
| Ad Fraud | Sites that falsify the number of times an online advertisement is clicked on or displayed, generally through automated bots or human traffic to click on ads. |
| Aggressive - Other | Content that states or implies violence. |
| Alcohol and Tobacco | Information about, and promote or support, the sale of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and related paraphernalia. |
| Arts and Entertainment | Motion pictures and movie theaters, television, videos, programming guides, artists, or entertainment reviews. Performing arts, museums, galleries, and sites by or about artists. |
| Auctions | Sale and purchase of goods between individuals. Does not include classified advertisements. |
| Automotive | Vehicle reviews, purchasing or sales tips, parts catalogs, auto trading, discussions of vehicles, journals and magazines covering vehicle modification or repair. |
| Botnet | URLs (typically IP addresses) identified as part of a bot network that launches network attacks such as spam, Denial of Service (DoS), SQL injections, or proxy jacking. |
| Business and Economy | Corporate websites, businesses, economics, marketing, management, and entrepreneurship. |
| Child Abuse Images | Sites containing images that show physical or emotional child abuse. |
| Command and Control Centers | Sites associated with Command and control (C2) malware servers, which act as a centralized point for managing and controlling infected computers or devices, allowing attackers to send commands to compromised systems, receive data from them, and maintain communication for various malicious activities. |
| Compromised & Links to Malware | Executables, drive-by infection sites, malicious scripts, viruses, Trojan horses, or code that can infect a system or cause other harm. |
| Content Delivery Networks | Delivery of content and data for third parties including ads, media, files, images, and video. |
| Criminal Activities - Other | Descriptions of criminal activity, how to avoid getting caught copyright and intellectual property violations, etc. |
| Criminal Skills | Content associated with criminal activity, how to avoid getting caught, evading law enforcement, copyright and intellectual property violations, etc. |
| Cult and Occult | Information about interpreting, affecting, or influencing real events through the use of astrology, spells, curses, magic powers, satanic, or supernatural beings. Includes horoscope sites. |
| Data Storage and Warehousing | Online storage and posting of files, music, pictures, and other data. |
| Dating | Websites focused on establishing personal relationships. |
| Dynamically Generated Content | Domains that generate content dynamically based on the URL argument or other information (such as geolocation). |
| Education | Content about, elementary, secondary, high school, college, university, and vocational school, along with other educational content such as enrollment, tuition, and course offerings. |
| Sites offering web-based email and email clients. | |
| Finance, Banking, and Insurance | Banking services and other types of financial information including loans, accountancy, actuaries, mortgages, and insurance. Does not include sites that offer market information, brokerage, or trading services. |
| Gambling |
Gambling or lottery websites that invite the use of real or virtual money. Information or advice for placing wagers, participating in lotteries, or running numbers; virtual casinos and offshore gambling ventures; sports picks and betting pools; virtual sports and fantasy leagues that offer large rewards or request significant wagers. Hotel and Resort sites that do not enable gambling on the site are categorized in Travel. |
| Games | Game playing or downloading, video games, computer games, electronic games, advice on games or how to obtain cheat codes; sites for selling board games, journals and magazines dedicated to game playing; sites that support or host online sweepstakes and giveaways; fantasy sports sites that also host games or game-playing. |
| Generative AI | Generative AI sites such as ChatGPT. |
| Gifts and Greeting Cards | Sites where you can download, purchase, or send online greeting cards. |
| Government Business | Information about government, government agencies, and government services such as taxation, public, and emergency services; sites that discuss or explain laws of various governmental entities; local, county, state, and national government sites. |
| Hacking | Illegal or questionable access to or use of communications equipment/software; development and distribution of programs that might enable compromise of networks and systems; avoidance of licensing and fees for computer programs and other systems. |
| Hate Speech | Sites whose content supports hate crimes and racism by individuals and known hate groups. |
| Health and Fitness | General health, fitness, and well-being including traditional and non-traditional approaches; medical information on ailments, various conditions, dentistry, psychiatry, optometry, and other specialties; hospitals and doctor offices; medical insurance; cosmetic surgery. |
| Hobbies and Interests | Information, associations, forums, and publications on recreational pastimes such as collecting, outdoor activities such as hiking or camping, arts, crafts; animal and pet related information including breeds, training, shows, and humane societies. |
| Home and Garden | Home issues and products including maintenance, home safety, decor, cooking, gardening, home electronics, or design. |
| Illegal Drugs | Discussion or remedies for illegal, illicit, or abused drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or other street drugs. Information on "legal highs": glue sniffing, misuse of prescription drugs, or abuse of other legal substances. |
| Information and Network Security | Computer/internet security, security discussion groups. |
| Internet Communications | Internet mobile communication, messaging, VoIP services. |
| Job Search | Assistance in finding employment, sites and resources for locating prospective employers, or employers looking for employees. |
| Kids | Sites specifically for children and teenagers. |
| Law | Legal websites, law firms, analysis of legal issues. |
| Lingerie, Suggestive & Pinup | Swimsuits, intimate apparel, or other types of suggestive clothing. |
| Malware - Call Home | Sites that download malicious software or malware, which establishes a connection to a remote server controlled by the attacker. |
| Malware Distribution Point | Sites specifically designed to exploit vulnerabilities in web browsers or plugins. Visitors to these sites may inadvertently download and install malware without their knowledge or consent. |
| Marijuana | Marijuana use, cultivation, history, culture, legal issues. |
| Media Search and Sharing | Photo, video, and image searches, online photo albums, image and video hosting. |
| Military | Military branches, armed services, and military history. |
| Music and Audio | Music business, sales, distribution, streaming, musical groups and performances, lyrics. |
| News and Media | Current events, radio stations, magazines, online newspapers, headline news sites, newswire services, personalized news services, and weather sites. |
| No Content | Sites that do not respond to http queries. Policy engines should usually treat these as Uncategorized. |
| Non-Psychoactive Substances | Sites containing information about drugs and compounds that don't have an impact on cognitive function (for example, vitamins, minerals, or herbal supplements). |
| Nudity | Nude or seminude depictions of the human body that are not necessarily sexual in intent or effect but might include nude paintings or photo galleries of artistic nature. Nudist or naturist sites that contain pictures of nude individuals. |
| OK | Sites that are not malicious and do not include phishing, criminal, adult, or violent content. Could include sites not assigned to another specific category. |
| Online Ads - Other | Advertisements, media, content, and banners. |
| Online Education | Distance education, online courses, vocational training, software training, and skills training. |
| Parked Domains | URLs hosting limited content or click-through ads that might generate revenue for the hosting entities but do not contain content useful to an end user, sites labeled Under Construction, folders, and web server default home pages. |
| Pay-to-Surf | Sites that pay users in cash or prizes for clicking or reading specific links, email, or web pages. |
| Peer-to-Peer | Peer-to-peer clients and access including torrents and music download programs. |
| Personal Investing | Promotion and facilitation of securities trading and management of investment assets. Also includes information on financial investment strategies, quotes, and news. |
| Personal Sites and Blogs | Personal websites and blogs posted by individuals or groups. |
| Phishing/Fraud | Phishing, pharming, and other sites that pose as a reputable site, usually to harvest personal information from a user. These sites are typically short-lived. |
| Piracy & Copyright Theft | Politics, philosophy, discussions, promotion of particular viewpoints or stances in order to further a cause. |
| Politics | Politics, philosophy, discussions, promotion of particular viewpoints or stances in order to further a cause. |
| Pornography |
Sexually explicit material for arousing a sexual or prurient interest. Adult products online groups that are sexually explicit in nature. Erotic stories and descriptions of sexual acts, adult services, sexually explicit art. |
| Proxy Avoidance and Anonymizers | Proxy servers and other methods of gaining access to URLs in any way that bypasses URL filtering or monitoring; web-based translation sites that circumvent filtering. |
| Questionable | Tasteless humor, "get rich quick" sites, and sites that manipulate the user experience or client in an unusual, unexpected, or suspicious manner. |
| Real Estate | Information on renting, buying, or selling real estate or properties; tips on buying or selling a home; real estate agents, rental, or relocation services, property improvement. |
| Reference and Research | Personal, professional, or educational reference material, including online dictionaries, maps, almanacs, library catalogs, and scientific information. |
| Religion and Spirituality | Religious or quasi-religious subjects,churches, synagogues, or other houses of worship. |
| R-Rated | Vomit and other bodily functions, bloody clothing, etc. |
| School Cheating | Sites that support cheating and contain content such as free essays, exam copies, or plagiarism. |
| Search and Internet Portals | Search interfaces using keywords or phrases. Returned results may include text, websites, images, videos, and files. Websites that aggregate a broader set of internet content and serve as a starting point for a user. |
| Secure/Private DNS | Domains used as secure and private DNS (Domain Name System) services for enhancing online privacy and security. |
| Self Harm | Sites that contain examples of or promotion of self-harm. This includes suicide, cutting, and advocacy of eating disorders or euthanasia. |
| Sex & Erotic | Sexually explicit material for the purpose of arousing a sexual or prurient interest. Erotic stories and textual descriptions of sexual acts. Adult services including video conferencing, escort services, and strip clubs. Sexually explicit art. |
| Sex Education | Information on reproduction, sexual development, safe sex practices, sexually transmitted diseases, sexuality, birth control, sexual development, contraceptives, products used for sexual enhancement. |
| Share and Freeware | Software, screensavers, icons, wallpapers, utilities, ringtones. Includes open-source projects and downloads that request donations. |
| Shopping | Department stores, retail stores, company catalogs, and other sites that allow online consumer or business shopping and the purchase of goods and services. |
| Social Networking | Social networking sites where users interact, post messages, or pictures. |
| Society | Topics, groups, and associations relevant to the general populace; issues that affect a variety of people including safety, children, societies, and philanthropic groups. |
| Spam URLs | URLs for spam content. |
| Sports | Team or conference websites; international, national, college, or professional scores and schedules; sports related online magazines or newsletters; fantasy sports and virtual sports leagues. Sport hunting, gun clubs, and fishing. |
| Spyware & Questionable Software | Downloads and discussion of software agents that track a user’s keystrokes or monitor their web surfing habits. Spyware or adware sites that provide or promote information gathering or tracking that is unknown to, or without the consent of, the user or the organization; unsolicited advertising popups and programs that might be installed on a user’s computer. |
| Streaming Media | Sales, delivery, or streaming of audio or video content, including sites that provide downloads for such viewers. |
| Style and Fashion | Fashion or glamor magazines, beauty, clothes, cosmetics, style. |
| Technology and Computing | General computer and internet sites, technical information, SaaS sites, and other URLs that deliver internet services. |
| Terrorism | Sites that instruct or advocate terrorism or extremism. |
| Torrent Repository | Sites that host torrent files or links for users to download and share content through the BitTorrent protocol. |
| Translation | URL and language translation sites that allow users to see content in other languages. These sites can also allow users to circumvent filtering because the target page’s content is presented within the context of the translator’s URL. |
| Travel | Airlines and flight booking agencies. Travel planning, reservations, vehicle rentals, descriptions of travel destinations, or promotions for hotels or casinos. City guides and tourist information. |
| Uncategorized | A site not categorized. |
| Violence | Sites that advocate violence, its depiction and methods, including game and comic violence and suicide. |
| Weapons | Sales, reviews, or descriptions of weapons such as guns, knives, or martial arts devices; information on their use, accessories, or modifications. |
| Web Hosting | Free or paid hosting services for web pages and information concerning their development, publication, and promotion. |
