Content categories

ScoutDNS classifies domains into the categories below. Toggle a category in a policy to block every domain that falls under it. Categories are grouped into four families: Adult, Information, Miscellaneous, and Recreation.

[!NOTE] A domain can be classified under more than one category, for example, an arts site featuring nude photography may sit under both Arts and Culture and Nudity. Blocking either category blocks the domain.

Adult

Categories typically restricted in K-12, public sector, hospitality guest networks, and family-protection deployments.

Abortions

Sites that argue for or against abortion, provide procedure information, or offer related advice.

Alcohol

Information about alcoholic products and accessories. Sites that promote liquor sales, hangover remedies, or the effects of alcohol consumption.

Criminal Skills

Instructions, methods, or sites that promote, encourage, or teach skills considered illegal, criminal, violent, or harmful, and sites advocating nonviolent but unethical behavior (academic cheating, software piracy). Categorization does not necessarily align with any specific region’s laws.

Extreme

Sites featuring or promoting intentional violence, destruction, or alteration of the human body, torture, self-harm, mutilation, gore, eating-disorder advocacy, suicide, grotesque content.

Gambling

Wagering money or valuables on games, contests, or events of chance or skill. Includes promotion and strategy sites. Does not include addiction-support sites or travel-destination sites that don’t enable gambling.

Hate Speech

Content intentionally offensive that degrades, intimidates, or incites violence against individuals based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or profession.

Intimate Apparel

Sites that sell, describe, or provide information about intimate apparel, swimsuits, or suggestive clothing. Excludes sites that sell undergarments as part of a broader product selection.

Match Making

Dating services, dating advice, relationship tips, personal listings, online matchmaking. Includes pet matching; excludes pet breeding.

Matrimonial

Sites that promote marriage and help individuals find marriage partners based on socio-economic status, religion, education, or profession.

Nudity

Nude or semi-nude depictions of the human body. Includes nude paintings, artistic photo galleries, nudist or naturist sites. Some overlap with Alternative Lifestyles.

Occult

Cults, occult lore, vampires, astrology, witchcraft, supernatural forces, satanic or supernatural beings.

Pay to Surf

Sites that reward users for online activity (viewing, clicking, reading) via currency, credits, or prizes.

Pornography

References, discussion, or display of pornographic images, videos, or sexually oriented material created to arouse sexual interest. Includes soft- and hard-core pornography, sadomasochism, bestiality, fetishes, erotic stories, adult magazines, sex toys.

Profanity

Content with obscene, vulgar, or derogatory language, explicit language, racial or sexist slurs, objectionable sexual references.

Substance Abuse

Information about or promotion of the recreational use of prohibited, illegal, controlled, or regulated substances. Includes paraphernalia and cultivation. Excludes sites focused on risks, negative effects, or addiction.

Tobacco

Sale or use of tobacco and related products, cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, paraphernalia.

Weapons

Promotion, support, sale, or discussion of weapons (guns, knives, swords). Bomb-making and weapon-building instructions are categorized under Criminal Skills.

Information

General information categories. Often allowed but tracked.

Advertising

Online advertisements, banner ads, ad content files, marketing materials. Blocking this category may cause portal pages to look broken (ads blocked, main content visible).

Alternative Lifestyles

Habits or behaviors related to social relations, dress, expressions, or recreation that significantly influence certain groups, non-traditional sexual practices, interests, and orientations. May include graphic images without pornographic intent.

Classifieds

Local classifieds for buying, selling, or trading cars, services, housing, jobs.

Education

Educational information, activities, institutions, faculties, distance learning, trade schools, educational programs.

Environmental

Relationships between living organisms and their natural habitat, including human impact, weather, geography, agriculture.

General News

Journalism and current-event reporting, newspapers, TV, radio, news sites.

Health

Health information, advice, or support, medical services, facilities, procedures, support groups.

Journal and Blogs

Electronic diaries, personal chronicles, literary and cultural publications. Excludes electronic forms of mainstream magazines and newspapers.

Legal

Rules and guidelines enforced by a governmental body. Law firms, legal services, lawyers, adoption services, immigration information, legal analysis.

Medication

Medicinal substances intended to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease, approved drugs, supplements, unregulated compounds.

Political

The political decision-making process, including state affairs. Can also apply to corporate, academic, or religious group interactions.

Portals

Single-starting-point sites that retrieve information from multiple sources, web search, news feeds, free email, discussion groups, shopping, references.

Real Estate

Renting, buying, selling, financing real-estate properties.

Religion

Traditional religions, systems of belief, worship, conduct, churches, religious practices.

Sex Education

Human reproduction, sexual intercourse, aspects of human sexuality, STIs, contraception, abstinence. May contain graphic images without pornographic intent.

Technology

Tools, machines, materials, and processes, computers, downloads, software, internet, hardware, peripherals.

Travel

Travel-related services and transport, destinations, discounts, special events, travel guides, vacations, accommodations, bookings.

Miscellaneous

Business and commercial categories.

Business

General business information, management, associations, entrepreneurship, industry groups. Excludes shopping and category-specific business sites (IT, travel, etc.).

Investing

Online banking, equity portfolios, share/bond purchases, investment news, money management, portfolio advice, online trading, credit cards, mutual funds, insurance.

Job Search

Employment search and application, resume writing, interview skills, career information, job databases, application pages.

Phone Cards

Telephone cards for local or long-distance calls via toll-free or local numbers. Excludes pay-as-you-go cellular or mobile.

References

Libraries, educational reference sites, scientific information, business directories, white/yellow pages, maps, almanacs, formularies, genealogy, public statistics.

Sales

Sites offering products or services for purchase online, including online auctions. Classified advertisements belong to Classifieds.

Search Engines

Tools that help users search the internet by keyword.

Vehicles

Vehicles, boats, aircraft, sales, repair, maintenance, road-side assistance, parts.

Recreation

Entertainment categories.

Arts and Culture

Human creativity and meaningful art. Art galleries, fine art, cultural awareness, learning environments. Erotic art may overlap with Nudity.

Culinary

Food, restaurants, catering, dining, cooking, recipes.

Educational Games

Games designed to teach a subject, concept, event, or skill in an entertaining form.

Entertainment

Music, recreation, amusements, fan clubs, gossip, celebrities, movies, TV shows. Critical-of-an-entertainer sites are categorized under Hate Speech.

Games

Electronic, computer, card, board, and internet games. Includes journals, magazines, strategies, cheats, sellers. Some games may contain intense violence, blood/gore, sexual content, or strong language.

Humor

Sites intended to entertain or make people laugh, jokes, funny pictures, comic pages, comedy clubs. Some content may be mature.

Sports

Physical activity in which an individual or team competes, typically involving team competition and a scoring system.

Deprecated categories

Old name	Where it went
Email	Consolidated into Web Email under Applications

Related

• Working with policies, where to toggle categories
• Application categories, the parallel set for blocking specific web apps
• Security categories, threat-focused categories like malware and phishing
• Working with allow and block lists, overriding category decisions for specific domains