The ability to use custom categories to block out websites was valuable because the predefined categories were either too restrictive or not restrictive enough. For example, one category would block everything from social media to webmail, while another category did not block either. So to be able to customize categories made it a lot easier.
IT Technician at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
You can define custom categories if the predefined categories are too restrictive or not restrictive enough for you.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
This product has made it easier for our IT team to keep employees on track to work and away from distracting websites.
What needs improvement?
Perhaps an option to be able to block only specific users would be a way to improve the free version of OpenDNS. In our department, there are multiple users that need different levels of access. For example, those who work in the advertising department need access to social media, while those in the accounting department do not. The ability to be able to set different rules for each user would have been nice to have.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it for about six months.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I did not encounter any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I did not encounter any scalability issues.
How are customer service and support?
I did not need to contact technical support when using OpenDNS. The product is very self-explanatory.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This was the first product we used for filtering websites.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward. I did not have any issues.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I was using the free version of OpenDNS, so I am not aware of the pricing.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We were choosing between pfSense and their packages versus. OpenDNS looked easier to setup, so we went for that first. Eventually, we moved to using pfSense’s SquidGuard, because it allows us to be more precise with filtering websites.
What other advice do I have?
This product is very straightforward and simple to setup. I would recommend others to just give the product a try. I am sure they will be happy with the results. OpenDNS has different filtering levels, but I found it easier to just go for the custom level versus the ones they had set up already.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

General Manager at Datasoft Comnet
A stable cloud-delivered security solution with a useful DNS security feature
Pros and Cons
- "We like Cisco Umbrella because of DNS security. It's one step ahead of whatever we are using for regular web filtering. In that way, it's more secure than other web filtering products."
- "The price could be better. The price is definitely a bit high, but we have to pay a premium for Cisco products."
What is most valuable?
We like Cisco Umbrella because of DNS security. It's one step ahead of whatever we are using for regular web filtering. In that way, it's more secure than other web filtering products.
What needs improvement?
The price could be better. The price is definitely a bit high, but we have to pay a premium for Cisco products.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Umbrella for more than a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Umbrella is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is helpful and provides quick and fast resolutions.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very easy. Even the integrations are very easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cisco Umbrella is expensive and could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I will recommend this product to other users.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Umbrella a ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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Director at seamlessinfotech.com
A cloud security service with valuable data and intelligence built-in
Pros and Cons
- "I like that it integrates with the infrastructure. I also like the kind of data and intelligence that's built-in. It helps create innovative reports for security."
- "It could be more secure. It would be better if they provided a transferring proxy as an add-on and more integration."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Umbrella for monitoring and more.
What is most valuable?
I like that it integrates with the infrastructure. I also like the kind of data and intelligence that's built-in. It helps create innovative reports for security.
What needs improvement?
It could be more secure. It would be better if they provided a transferring proxy as an add-on and more integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been dealing with Cisco Umbrella for two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Umbrella is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Umbrella is very scalable at the cloud level. All you have to do is increase the internet bandwidth and pay for the license.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is excellent.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was pretty straightforward. It was simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price depends on the use case, and it's a bit linear. But it depends on the customer's strategy and how Cisco plans to optimize the costs.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to potential users.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Umbrella a ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Systems Support Specialist at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Flexible, fast, and effective cloud-delivered security
Pros and Cons
- "Stability-wise, it's good. I have never encountered any bugs."
- "Actually, we recently switched over to Zscaler because it has more features and it's more scalable than Cisco Umbrella."
What is our primary use case?
Generally, we use Cisco Umbrella to prevent DNS attacks within the LAN. As we are a data center, that is our main use case.
Within our organization, there are roughly 500 people using this solution.
What is most valuable?
It's good for local communication with the data center and LAN.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Umbrella for one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, it's good. I have never encountered any bugs.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Actually, we recently switched over to Zscaler because it has more features and it's more scalable than Cisco Umbrella.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't involved in the initial setup, so I can't comment on that.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Cisco Umbrella to other interested companies. It's a very flexible and secure application — it's very good.
Overall, I would give Cisco Umbrella a rating of 10 out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Consultant & MSP Account Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees
It has the ability to block malware threats in the cloud and control web content access from inside or outside the office.
What is most valuable?
It has the ability to block malware threats in the cloud and control web content access from inside or outside the office.
How has it helped my organization?
It has significantly reduced the threat of virus/malware infections, CryptoLocker infections and has made our client’s networks more secure.
What needs improvement?
Improvement could be made in the area of detailed reporting analytics broken down by client name for individual custom reporting.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for about three years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have not encountered any deployment, stability or scalability issues. The installer can be scheduled and rolled out using our set of Managed Services tools.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer service and technical support is excellent. I give it a 9.5.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Websense, Barracuda and iPrism in the past. The flexibility of OpenDNS supporting a high-performance cloud infrastructure and not requiring any hardware or software cost was a major factor. The monthly pricing model fits into our company’s core services as a Managed Services provider and eliminates the need for annual renewal licenses.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was straightforward for the most part, but it can become complex depending on the granular content filtering features that need to be implemented for each client.
What about the implementation team?
In-house implementation. I would recommend an automated procedure on a domain network instead of a manual remote install. I recommend a default of blocking malware, phishing and pornography only, and allowing the client to determine if any additional categories need to be blocked on their network.
What was our ROI?
ROI benefits both the reseller and the client in Managed Services because of its proactive approach to network security. Our technicians aren’t spending hours of wasted time removing malware and viruses from desktops and notebooks. Customers appreciate the productive benefit of multi-layered protection that builds upon their legacy firewall and spam prevention. The pricing for the subscription is minimal (literally a few cents a day). The price is based on content management and security of client networks, as a bundled solution with an existing service.
What other advice do I have?
Try it before you buy it, to test it out. Test the content filtering categories.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Solutions Consultant at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees
It makes web filtering and malware protection easy. Initial setup was also easy; just forward your DNS.
What is most valuable?
Deployment and management are easy.
How has it helped my organization?
It made web filtering and malware protection easy.
What needs improvement?
I think there is some room for improvement with regard to the Windows client. While providing great protection for roaming laptops, on occasion users in the office would get the "yellow triangle" showing up over their wifi connection. It would state that the users were not connected to the internet, when in fact they were. This caused a few gripes and was difficult to troubleshoot. Other than that, not much else.
Only other suggestion might have been a URL to automate requests when checking if a blocked site is in fact a valid block.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for two years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Deployment and scaling are very easy. The only issue was as mentioned.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is excellent, with quick responses.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
iPrism was inline, did not scale, and not easy to manage.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was easy; just forward your DNS.
What about the implementation team?
An in-house team implemented it; it was pretty straightforward. Just get the appropriate teams involved.
What was our ROI?
ROI was all about added security and a decrease in malware.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing was fair.
What other advice do I have?
Go for it; there is no better way to secure guest networks without any headaches.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Solutions Pvt at iDesign Data Solutions Pvt.Ltd.
Analyzes the domain security and helps us implement the securest policy
Pros and Cons
- "It analyzes the domain security helps us implement the securest policy."
- "I would like to see integration with SecurNX in the future."
What is most valuable?
I think Umbrella is good enough as of now. It has the security of domains. It analyzes the domain security and helps us implement the securest policy. This feature is presently not being provided with other technologies. It's a multi-tenant solution. Multi-tenancy MSSP packages, they're all ready. As well as any cost amounting deployment security coverages with DNS and intelligence policy of production and protocols.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see integration with SecurNX in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have contacted Cisco technical support a number of times for Cisco They are two hundred percent. They are very efficient. Any kind of support you can stay with Cisco. We don't have any issues with technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is traightforward. There is no complexity in the setup. The setup took minutes only.
What about the implementation team?
Setup and maintenance are done by our own team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not a very expensive product.
What other advice do I have?
Cisco Umbrella is a very good product as of now as there is no competition. It is an excellent product. It is, actually, a must for our organization. It is not a very expensive product. I would rate Cisco Umbrella at a ten on a scale of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
System & Network Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is security beyond the firewall, and hence more beneficial, as it stops the threats before reaching the firewall.
Valuable Features:
Web content filtering: Cisco ASA 5505 doesn’t have a straight content filtering feature, so we used OpenDNS and it worked like a charm. It is security beyond the firewall, and hence more beneficial, as it stops the threats before reaching the firewall and enhances security.
Improvements to My Organization:
We were able to implement web content filtering to block unwanted traffic, and to prevent bandwidth choking and malicious attacks without deploying any hardware/software, within a few hours.
Room for Improvement:
I would like the product to offer more security features, such as IPS, IDS, DDoS prevention, etc.
Use of Solution:
I have been using it for six months.
Deployment Issues:
I have not yet encountered any deployment, stability or scalability issues.
Initial Setup:
Implementation was straightforward with minimal changes to existing infrastructure.
Implementation Team:
It was self-implemented.
Other Solutions Considered:
We have tried a Linux-based proxy server, but that was complex to manage and wasn’t foolproof.
Other Advice:
I highly recommend SMBs and enterprises use it to enhance their network security with minimal cost through the OpenDNS cloud solution.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: March 2025
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