security
configuration

audit mode

Also known as: audit-only, log-only mode, monitor mode

A configuration mode where rules are evaluated and logged but NOT enforced. Lets you see what would happen before turning enforcement on.

Audit mode is the safest way to roll out a new rule. The system evaluates the rule against live traffic and records every match, but no user is actually blocked. After a few days you read the logs, find your false positives, build the necessary allowlist, then flip enforcement on.

Many mature MSP products support some form of audit mode:

  • Microsoft Defender for Endpoint: ASR rules in audit
  • Conditional Access in Entra. Report-only policies
  • Application allowlisting (ThreatLocker, AppLocker), learning mode

Not every protective DNS product has a category-level audit mode. DNSFilter, for instance, doesn’t expose one. Where the feature isn’t available, the substitute is a phased rollout using test domains plus a single-device test. Either way, skipping the safer rollout is the fastest way to ticket your own helpdesk into oblivion.