# Suggestion: Support for Wildcards in File Name Denylist Settings **URL:** \ **Category:** Endpoint Protector Ideas\ **Tags:** wildcards, denylist, under-review\ **Created:** [February 25, 2025, 7:07am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351 "2025-02-25T07:07:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andrew](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/andrew/32/2395_2.png) [@andrew](https://community.netwrix.com/u/andrew)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 7:07am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/1 "2025-02-25T07:07:33Z")
**Hey everyone,** I wanted to share an idea and see if anyone else thinks it would be useful. Currently, when working with the File Name Denylist settings, we have to add the _entire_ file name to block it. But wouldn’t it be super convenient if we could use wildcards instead? For example, imagine being able to add something like `*screenshot*` to the denylist, and it would automatically block all files containing the word “screenshot” in their names. This would cover files like: - `screenshot-01-02-2022.png` - `screenshot-02-02-2022.jpg` - `user-screenshot-final.png` I’ve come across multiple scenarios where this feature would save a lot of time and make the denylist settings much more flexible. Instead of listing every single variation of a file name, a single wildcard rule could handle them all. **Has anyone else faced this limitation?** Would love to hear if there are workarounds or if this is something that could be considered for future updates. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! ---
**Author:** ![Zoran](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/zoran/32/188_2.png) [@Zoran](https://community.netwrix.com/u/Zoran)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 9:34am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/2 "2025-02-25T09:34:38Z")
Hey Andrew, The File Name Denylist feature was designed to monitor/block file extensions that are not supported by default under the File Type list. The agent reads file names from the right to the left, so you could add an unknown extension like \*.abc, which would monitor/block all files that have the .abc extension. Nevertheless, I think you have a valid point here. It would make sense to enhance the initial feature to have the ability to use wildcards to make it easier to detect file names. I encourage you to open a support ticket using the Support Portal and we can add the request to the Product Board for consideration. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![danylo.d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@danylo.d](https://community.netwrix.com/u/danylo.d)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 12:34pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/3 "2025-02-25T12:34:44Z")
Hi Zoran, Thank you for your answer on this topic. The option to use File Type Denylist for blocking unknown extension is really useful, thank you for sharing it with us. But, as you already mentioned, it really would make sense to add the possibility to use wildcards for this feature. I believe it could help with different use cases. We already have the feature request opened for this option. Hope to see this in the future product release. ---
**Author:** ![andrew](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/andrew/32/2395_2.png) [@andrew](https://community.netwrix.com/u/andrew)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 12:44pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/4 "2025-02-25T12:44:41Z")
Thank you @Zoran we actually used this feature (blocking not listed file extention with a wildcard) during one of the PoCs today. Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![derek.putnam](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/derek.putnam/32/501_2.png) [@derek.putnam](https://community.netwrix.com/u/derek.putnam)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/5 "2025-02-25T14:23:16Z")
Hey Andrew! Welcome to the community, and thank you for providing some feedback for Endpoint Protector! I’m going to move this topic to #Endpoint Protector > Endpoint Protector Feedback since this topic is about a feature suggestion. Keep’em coming, though! ---
**Author:** ![andrew](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/andrew/32/2395_2.png) [@andrew](https://community.netwrix.com/u/andrew)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/6 "2025-02-25T14:33:26Z")
Oh, okay! Thanks.Getting myself familiar wwith the rules here 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Zoran](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/zoran/32/188_2.png) [@Zoran](https://community.netwrix.com/u/Zoran)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/7 "2025-02-25T15:06:37Z")
You and me both, haha 😀 ---
**Author:** ![krzysztof.staszalek](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/krzysztof.staszalek/32/156_2.png) [@krzysztof.staszalek](https://community.netwrix.com/u/krzysztof.staszalek)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 12:21pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/8 "2025-03-03T12:21:35Z")
The current denylists feature (allowing for File Name or File Location alternatives) includes support for implicit wildcards. I recommend referring to the user manual for comprehensive guidance and to see how it applies to your use case: Denylists and Allowlists Documentation. It’s a good idea to compare your specific needs with the information provided in the UM. [[Denylists and Allowlists Documentation](https://helpcenter.netwrix.com/bundle/EndpointProtector_5.9.4/page/Content/EndpointProtector/Admin/DenylistsAllowlists/Denylists.htm)] ---
**Author:** ![andrew](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/andrew/32/2395_2.png) [@andrew](https://community.netwrix.com/u/andrew)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2025, 1:28pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/9 "2025-03-03T13:28:41Z")
Thank you! But it seems wildcards are not specified at all. Does that mean that " \* " is applied by default in the beginning of the entry? Like mentioned in the docuemntation example “.epp” effectivelt translates into “\*.epp” My idea is either not to force the wildcard in the beginning and ad wildcard as an optional character. That would give an option to add it at the end as well. Or at least give an option of a widcard at the end of the file. So would be able to cove example like: `screenshot-01-02-2022.jpg` `screenshot-02-02-2022.jpg` Idea I just had today, discussing this thread is also to add something like ’ ? ’ placeholder Example. Some time ago we lost a deal becasue we could not block secific files, which had typical filename structure, but were generated to a each employee individually. With ‘?’ paceholder we could catch them with a strict mask (would reduce false positives). the entry would look like: screenshot-??-??-???.jpg ---
**Author:** ![Zoran](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/zoran/32/188_2.png) [@Zoran](https://community.netwrix.com/u/Zoran)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2025, 8:08pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/10 "2025-03-04T20:08:15Z")
Hey Andrew, I think this is worth exploring as a potential feature enhancement by our Product Management team. If you’ve already submitted a feature request, would you mind updating it with the “?” placeholder idea? The more data we have, the better. Thanks, Zoran ---
**Author:** ![derek.putnam](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/derek.putnam/32/501_2.png) [@derek.putnam](https://community.netwrix.com/u/derek.putnam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/12 "2025-05-29T15:52:47Z")
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**Author:** ![DAOUD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@DAOUD](https://community.netwrix.com/u/DAOUD)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 8:32am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/13 "2026-07-31T08:32:53Z")
Hi [@Zoran](https://community.netwrix.com/u/Zoran), Following up on this thread — I have a similar need and wanted to confirm the current state before opening a support ticket. My use case: we name certain sensitive files with a fixed prefix (e.g., `D1_reportname.pdf`, `D1_export.xlsx`, `D1_data.zip` — the extension varies, but they all start with `D1_`). I need to block/report any file whose name **starts with** `D1_`, regardless of the extension. You mentioned the File Name Denylist reads right to left (suffix matching), so a prefix like `D1_` can’t be matched directly today. My questions: 1. Is there **any** supported way today (File Name Denylist, Regular Expressions denylist, or another module) to match a file name **prefix** , independent of extension? 2. Does the **Regular Expressions** denylist (mentioned in the Content Aware Protection docs) apply to file names during transfer, or only to file content? If it does apply to file names, could a pattern like `^D1_.*` work there? 3. Is there a rough ETA for the wildcard/prefix support requested in this thread? Thanks in advance for the clarification! ---
**Author:** ![Zoran](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/netwrix/user_avatar/community.netwrix.com/zoran/32/188_2.png) [@Zoran](https://community.netwrix.com/u/Zoran)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2026, 10:14am UTC](https://community.netwrix.com/t/suggestion-support-for-wildcards-in-file-name-denylist-settings/1351/14 "2026-07-31T10:14:57Z")
Hi Daoud, Yes, you can match a file name prefix using a regular expression. `^D1_.*` works well, I tested it and it correctly detected all file names starting with D1\_. One thing to flag: you can’t limit the RegEx to scan file names only. It scans file content, metadata, and file names together. So if any files don’t start with D1\_ but contain that string somewhere in their content, they’ll match too. I can’t provide ETAs for feature requests, but our PM team reviews them periodically and updates the community as progress is made. Thanks, Zoran