Anti-Spyware Profile Configuration Object

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Core Methods
3. Anti-Spyware Profile Model Attributes
4. Exceptions
5. Basic Configuration
6. Usage Examples
   • Creating Anti-Spyware Profiles
   • Retrieving Profiles
   • Updating Profiles
   • Listing Profiles
   • Filtering Responses
   • Controlling Pagination with max_limit
   • Deleting Profiles
7. Managing Configuration Changes
   • Performing Commits
   • Monitoring Jobs
8. Error Handling
9. Best Practices
10. Full Script Examples
11. Related Models

Overview

The AntiSpywareProfile class provides functionality to manage anti-spyware profiles in Palo Alto Networks' Strata Cloud Manager. This class inherits from BaseObject and provides methods for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting profiles that define threat detection and prevention settings for spyware, command-and-control traffic, and other malicious activities.

Core Methods

Method	Description	Parameters	Return Type
create()	Creates a new profile	data: Dict[str, Any]	AntiSpywareProfileResponseModel
get()	Retrieves a profile by ID	object_id: str	AntiSpywareProfileResponseModel
update()	Updates an existing profile	profile: AntiSpywareProfileUpdateModel	AntiSpywareProfileResponseModel
delete()	Deletes a profile	object_id: str	None
list()	Lists profiles with filtering	folder: str, **filters	List[AntiSpywareProfileResponseModel]
fetch()	Gets profile by name/container	name: str, folder: str	AntiSpywareProfileResponseModel

Anti-Spyware Profile Model Attributes

Attribute	Type	Required	Description
name	str	Yes	Profile name (max 63 chars)
id	UUID	Yes*	Unique identifier (*response only)
description	str	No	Profile description
cloud_inline_analysis	bool	No	Enable cloud inline analysis
rules	List[Rule]	Yes	List of anti-spyware rules
threat_exception	List[ThreatException]	No	List of threat exceptions
mica_engine_spyware_enabled	List[MicaEngine]	No	MICA engine spyware settings
inline_exception_edl_url	List[str]	No	Inline exception EDL URLs
folder	str	Yes**	Folder location (**one container required)
snippet	str	Yes**	Snippet location (**one container required)
device	str	Yes**	Device location (**one container required)

Exceptions

Exception	HTTP Code	Description
InvalidObjectError	400	Invalid profile data or format
MissingQueryParameterError	400	Missing required parameters
NameNotUniqueError	409	Profile name already exists
ObjectNotPresentError	404	Profile not found
ReferenceNotZeroError	409	Profile still referenced
AuthenticationError	401	Authentication failed
ServerError	500	Internal server error

Basic Configuration

from scm.client import Scm
from scm.config.security import AntiSpywareProfile
# Initialize clientclient = Scm(
client_id="your_client_id",
client_secret="your_client_secret",
tsg_id="your_tsg_id"
)
# Initialize AntiSpywareProfile objectprofiles = AntiSpywareProfile(client)

Usage Examples

Creating Anti-Spyware Profiles

# Basic profile configurationbasic_profile = {
"name": "basic-profile",
"description": "Basic anti-spyware profile",
"folder": "Texas",
"rules": [
{
"name": "block-critical",
"severity": ["critical"],
"category": "spyware",
"action": {
"block_ip": {
"track_by": "source",
"duration": 300
}
}
}
]
}
# Create basic profilebasic_profile_obj = profiles.create(basic_profile)
# Advanced profile with MICA engineadvanced_profile = {
"name": "advanced-profile",
"description": "Advanced anti-spyware profile",
"folder": "Texas",
"cloud_inline_analysis": True,
"mica_engine_spyware_enabled": [
{
"name": "HTTP Command and Control detector",
"inline_policy_action": "alert"
}
],
"rules": [
{
"name": "critical-threats",
"severity": ["critical", "high"],
"category": "command-and-control",
"action": {"reset_both": {}}
},
{
"name": "medium-threats",
"severity": ["medium"],
"category": "spyware",
"action": {"alert": {}}
}
]
}
# Create advanced profileadvanced_profile_obj = profiles.create(advanced_profile)

Retrieving Profiles

# Fetch by name and folderprofile = profiles.fetch(name="basic-profile", folder="Texas")
print(f"Found profile: {profile.name}")
# Get by IDprofile_by_id = profiles.get(profile.id)
print(f"Retrieved profile: {profile_by_id.name}")
print(f"Number of rules: {len(profile_by_id.rules)}")

Updating Profiles

# Fetch existing profileexisting_profile = profiles.fetch(name="basic-profile", folder="Texas")
# Update attributesexisting_profile.description = "Updated basic profile"
existing_profile.cloud_inline_analysis = True
# Add new ruleexisting_profile.rules.append({
"name": "new-rule",
"severity": ["high"],
"category": "spyware",
"action": {"alert": {}}
})
# Perform updateupdated_profile = profiles.update(existing_profile)

Listing Profiles

# List with direct filter parametersfiltered_profiles = profiles.list(
folder='Texas',
rules=['block-critical']
)
# Process resultsfor profile in filtered_profiles:
print(f"Name: {profile.name}")
print(f"Rules: {len(profile.rules)}")
for rule in profile.rules:
print(f" - {rule.name}: {rule.category}")
# Define filter parameters as dictionarylist_params = {
"folder": "Texas",
"rules": ["critical-threats", "medium-threats"]
}
# List with filters as kwargsfiltered_profiles = profiles.list(**list_params)

Filtering Responses

The list() method supports additional parameters to refine your query results even further. Alongside basic filters (like types, values, and tags), you can leverage the exact_match, exclude_folders, exclude_snippets, and exclude_devices parameters to control which objects are included or excluded after the initial API response is fetched.

Parameters:

• exact_match (bool): When True, only objects defined exactly in the specified container (folder, snippet, or device) are returned. Inherited or propagated objects are filtered out.
• exclude_folders (List[str]): Provide a list of folder names that you do not want included in the results.
• exclude_snippets (List[str]): Provide a list of snippet values to exclude from the results.
• exclude_devices (List[str]): Provide a list of device values to exclude from the results.

Examples:

# Only return anti_spyware_profiles defined exactly in 'Texas'exact_anti_spyware_profiles = profiles.list(
folder='Texas',
exact_match=True
)

for app in exact_anti_spyware_profiles:
print(f"Exact match: {app.name} in {app.folder}")
# Exclude all anti_spyware_profiles from the 'All' folderno_all_anti_spyware_profiles = profiles.list(
folder='Texas',
exclude_folders=['All']
)

for app in no_all_anti_spyware_profiles:
assert app.folder != 'All'
print(f"Filtered out 'All': {app.name}")
# Exclude anti_spyware_profiles that come from 'default' snippetno_default_snippet = profiles.list(
folder='Texas',
exclude_snippets=['default']
)

for app in no_default_snippet:
assert app.snippet != 'default'
print(f"Filtered out 'default' snippet: {app.name}")
# Exclude anti_spyware_profiles associated with 'DeviceA'no_deviceA = profiles.list(
folder='Texas',
exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
)

for app in no_deviceA:
assert app.device != 'DeviceA'
print(f"Filtered out 'DeviceA': {app.name}")
# Combine exact_match with multiple exclusionscombined_filters = profiles.list(
folder='Texas',
exact_match=True,
exclude_folders=['All'],
exclude_snippets=['default'],
exclude_devices=['DeviceA']
)

for app in combined_filters:
print(f"Combined filters result: {app.name} in {app.folder}")

Controlling Pagination with max_limit

The SDK supports pagination through the max_limit parameter, which defines how many objects are retrieved per API call. By default, max_limit is set to 2500. The API itself imposes a maximum allowed value of 5000. If you set max_limit higher than 5000, it will be capped to the API's maximum. The list() method will continue to iterate through all objects until all results have been retrieved. Adjusting max_limit can help manage retrieval performance and memory usage when working with large datasets.

# Initialize the AntiSpywareProfile object with a custom max_limit# This will retrieve up to 4321 objects per API call, up to the API limit of 5000.profile_client = AntiSpywareProfile(api_client=client, max_limit=4321)
# Now when we call list(), it will use the specified max_limit for each request# while auto-paginating through all available objects.all_profiles = profile_client.list(folder='Texas')
# 'all_profiles' contains all objects from 'Texas', fetched in chunks of up to 4321 at a time.

Deleting Profiles

# Delete by IDprofile_id = "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426655440000"
profiles.delete(profile_id)

Managing Configuration Changes

Performing Commits

# Prepare commit parameterscommit_params = {
"folders": ["Texas"],
"description": "Updated anti-spyware profiles",
"sync": True,
"timeout": 300 # 5 minute timeout
}
# Commit the changesresult = profiles.commit(**commit_params)

print(f"Commit job ID: {result.job_id}")

Monitoring Jobs

# Get status of specific jobjob_status = profiles.get_job_status(result.job_id)
print(f"Job status: {job_status.data[0].status_str}")
# List recent jobsrecent_jobs = profiles.list_jobs(limit=10)
for job in recent_jobs.data:
print(f"Job {job.id}: {job.type_str} - {job.status_str}")

Error Handling

from scm.exceptions import (
InvalidObjectError,
MissingQueryParameterError,
NameNotUniqueError,
ObjectNotPresentError,
ReferenceNotZeroError
)

try:
# Create profile configuration
profile_config = {
"name": "test-profile",
"description": "Test anti-spyware profile",
"folder": "Texas",
"rules": [
{
"name": "test-rule",
"severity": ["critical"],
"category": "spyware",
"action": {"alert": {}}
}
]
}

# Create the profile
new_profile = profiles.create(profile_config)

# Commit changes
result = profiles.commit(
folders=["Texas"],
description="Added test profile",
sync=True
)

# Check job status
status = profiles.get_job_status(result.job_id)

except InvalidObjectError as e:
print(f"Invalid profile data: {e.message}")
except NameNotUniqueError as e:
print(f"Profile name already exists: {e.message}")
except ObjectNotPresentError as e:
print(f"Profile not found: {e.message}")
except ReferenceNotZeroError as e:
print(f"Profile still in use: {e.message}")
except MissingQueryParameterError as e:
print(f"Missing parameter: {e.message}")

Best Practices

1. Rule Configuration

   • Use descriptive rule names
   • Set appropriate severity levels
   • Configure actions based on threat level
   • Document rule purposes
   • Review rule effectiveness

2. Container Management

   • Always specify exactly one container
   • Use consistent container names
   • Validate container existence
   • Group related profiles

3. Exception Handling

   • Document threat exceptions
   • Review exception lists regularly
   • Validate IP addresses
   • Monitor exception usage
   • Update as needed

4. Performance

   • Use appropriate pagination
   • Cache frequently accessed profiles
   • Monitor cloud analysis impact
   • Implement proper retry logic
   • Track job completion

5. Security

   • Follow least privilege principle
   • Validate input data
   • Monitor profile changes
   • Review audit logs
   • Document modifications

Full Script Examples

Refer to the anti_spyware_profile.py example.

Related Models

• AntiSpywareProfileCreateModel
• AntiSpywareProfileUpdateModel
• AntiSpywareProfileResponseModel