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* What is this application ...

# What is this application and what should I do with it?

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By [Matt Keil](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/author/matt/?ts=markdown "Posts by Matt Keil")  
Apr 11, 2008  
2 minutes  
[Firewall](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/category/firewall/?ts=markdown)  
[application control](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/blog/tag/application-control/?ts=markdown)

The rapid evolution of the application landscape has security administrators scrambling to determine which applications are traversing the network and how they should treat them. More and more applications, both business and end-user oriented, are using evasive tactics to bypass detection. Whether it is a virus update using port 80 (but not HTTP) or a more nefarious application that uses SSL or hops from port to port, the task of controlling applications and protecting the network has become a daunting one.

To enable a more prudent decision making process on how to treat an application, Palo Alto Networks Application Research Center presents additional background for more than 575 applications in a dynamic, browser-based format, providing fingertip access to a wealth of information. [Applipedia's](http://ww2.paloaltonetworks.com/applipedia) application browser can be used as a research tool that enables administrators to filter applications based on category, subcategory, underlying technology, and characteristic including their file transfer capabilities, known vulnerabilities, ability to evade detection, propensity to consume bandwidth, and malware transmission/propagation.

To learn more about a specific application, an administrator can use the search field, which will bring up all instances of where the application name is used in the database. Drilling down into the application details provides an administrator with a description of the application, the commonly used ports and a summary of the individual application characteristics.

With a wealth of information on more than 575 applications found on enterprise networks, the Application Research Center helps administrators make more informed decisions on how to treat the applications by providing them with key facts about the applications. See for yourself. Search for your favorite application and learn about its security characteristics.

[Applipedia](http://ww2.paloaltonetworks.com/applipedia)

*** ** * ** ***

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