We use Kerio Control as our firewall.
ICT Manager at MEDS
It is a good firewall appliance, but it lacks local support and scalability
Pros and Cons
- "The firewall appliance itself is the most valuable feature."
- "I find it a bit costly to pay for the products that I am not using. They need to change their model in such a way that you don't have to pay for the products that you are not using. Its local support and scalability are also not good. I am looking forward to a more scalable product that will be able to grow with time and technology."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The Kerio Product has come in handy in the area of Firewall management. Having visibility into the entire Organization through a dashboard.
What is most valuable?
The firewall appliance itself is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
I find it a bit costly to pay for the products that I am not using. They need to change their model in such a way that you don't have to pay for the products that you are not using.
The GFI features that come with Kerio are stated below. When paying for the licenses we pay for license for everything yet we only use 5 products.
GFI Products | |
GFI Endpoint Security | In use |
GFI Mail Essentials | Not in use |
Kerio Connect | In use |
GFI Archiver | Not in use |
GFI Fax Maker | Not In use |
Kerio Control | In Use |
GFI Lan Guard | In use |
GFI Web Monitor | In use |
Kerio Operator | Not in use |
GFI Events Manager | Not in use |
We only use 5 products out of the 10 we’ve paid for. We should have the option for paying for what we use not a blanket cost for everything
Internet aggregation and SDWAN Technology: The firewall should allow growth in terms of allowing connectivity to SDWAN technology available in other firewall appliances.Link aggregation and SD-WAN (Software-defined Wide Area Network) are great features for businesses who need multiple links to the internet. They’re also useful where you are using multiple links and would like to connect to other sites, such as branch offices or cloud services.
Its local support and scalability is also not good. I am looking forward to a more scalable product that will be able to grow with time and technology.
Cloud Support: The Firewall should have cloud support especially hybrid cloud support.
It should allow device identification without just stating that the devices are unrecognized-"unrecognized devices"
Sandboxing is one of those important firewall features that end users don’t even know is there. It takes a file or executable as you’re downloading it and opens it in a completely isolated and separate “test” environment.This is missing.
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KerioControl
December 2024
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For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for around one year. We are working with Kerio Control and other GFI products that come with it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has been a stable product. We haven't had any issues apart from yesterday when it somehow froze. It was the first time we experienced such an issue.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is a bit of a challenge because you need to buy a new product if you want to upgrade to new technology.
In other firewall products, you have options for scalability, but for this particular product, such an option is not available. For example, FortiGate firewall provides added technology capabilities that allow it to grow a bit. In Kerio Control, if I want to bring new technology like SD WAN, I need to buy a new product, or maybe do away with Kerio Control and use a new technology altogether.
How are customer service and support?
At the moment, there is no proper local support for Kerio Control here in Kenya. It is hard to get service or assistance for anything. This is the challenge that I faced in using a Kerio product or a GFI product.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used to work with Cisco products. We switched to Kerio because they promised a lot of products, and the initial cost was less as compared to other products.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is pretty straightforward. I learned this product on the job, and I never got any hands-on training. I just went to YouTube and oriented myself with it, and then I set it up quickly.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its initial cost is less as compared to other products. It becomes a bit costly when you pay for the products that you don't use. We paid for almost all the products through subscription, but we are using only a few products. We use EndPointSecurity, Kerio Connect, WebMonitor, and LanGuard. We don't use the rest of the products.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Kerio Control a six out of ten. Its local support, scalability, and pricing model need to be improved.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Chief of Technical Department at Ingenieria e Informática Asociada Ltda.
The solution is easy to use and provides the ability to deliver customized solutions
Pros and Cons
- "Kerio Control is easy to use and provides the ability to deliver customized solutions."
- "Support responses need improvement."
- "I would like for there to be a difference between international and national links."
What is our primary use case?
It is for local use in our company of about one hundred users. It is also deployed to different clients, which are from twenty to two hundred users.
How has it helped my organization?
It provides security to the internal network and implements solutions through VPN to access specific internal services, without the need to open the network completely. The usage capacity of Kerio Control is enormous.
What is most valuable?
The ease of use and the ability to deliver customized solutions is incredible. When updating from version 9.2.4 to version 9.2.5, support services was able to remove 5 patches from version 9.2.5 in a very short amount of time to normalize the system.
What needs improvement?
Support responses. The response time was very good, but not excellent, because they were worried about their system normalization solution. They slightly delayed in answering direct queries.
I am evaluating version 9.2.6. I would like for there to be a difference between international and national links, something I can find in other firewalls.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Yes, in version 9.2.5, but we solved it quickly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
None
How are customer service and technical support?
In general, I have not used it, except in version 9.2.5. The response was very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
None
How was the initial setup?
Simple initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
An internal team implemented the solution.
What was our ROI?
In 2 years 80% of the investment was returned.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Initial implementation costs are comparable to a similar product due to the ease of performing basic operations.
The cost of the product has optional additions with very good prices. The product update is 25% of its value which is very good.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes, FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
Setting up a small laboratory is simple and fast, so you can see a small portion of the solution's benefits and what it will do to improve a business's security.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
KerioControl
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about KerioControl. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
IT Director at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
Stable, scalable, easy to install and with good tech support
Pros and Cons
- "The installation is straightforward."
- "The solution should offer more dashboards."
What is our primary use case?
We are using the latest version.
We have many customer sites and the solution gives us control over bandwidth internet.
What is most valuable?
I consider all of the features to be valuable.
What needs improvement?
The solution should offer more dashboards.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Kerio Control for ten or fifteen years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is fine.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward. We have done this many times.
What about the implementation team?
We have three IT support engineers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is fine. Our customers pay for their licenses annually.
What other advice do I have?
I would certainly recommend the solution to others.
We have between 200 and 750 customers.
I rate Kerio Control as a nine out 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
MD at Comsque
A reliable solution offering robust performance and security.
Pros and Cons
- "The reporting needs to be improved. It is hard to get a domain."
- "The reporting needs to be improved. It is hard to get a domain."
What is our primary use case?
Providing Firewall functionality, VPN connectivity and content filtering.
How has it helped my organization?
1. It decreased malware attacks in our network.
2. It improved employee productivity and data security.
What is most valuable?
1. The built-in anti-virus and perimeter security.
2. The VPN feature.
1. The anti-virus and perimeter security functionality minimizes vulnerabilities in our network and better secures our data. This also decreases downtime of devices due to viruses and malware attacks.
2. The VPN functionality has allowed staff to have stable remote connectivity on a secure and encrypted connection. This has improved the ability to get work done smarter and efficiently whilst working remotely (or from home).
What needs improvement?
1. More detailed reporting.
2. Sometimes you get a few challenges joining to a domain.
3. Improved and simplified User Interface.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Kerio Control for over four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution and we have not had any major stability issues in our four years of using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. If you are using a Virtual Appliance make sure your hardware specifications are good then you can easily add licenses as your users increase. On hardware Appliances you might have to upgrade to a bigger appliance as your users increase.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support is fine. The response time can improve.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes, we switched due to the favourable pricing, many features and robust performance of Kerio Control.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. We deployed Hyper-V Appliances and everything worked as it should. Connecting the Appliances to MyKerio was pretty simple and hassle free.
What about the implementation team?
In-house.
What was our ROI?
Our ROI is very good. The savings we have made after deploying were good. We have saved on downtime of devices due to attacks and man hours of the IT staff attending to these issues. This enabled us to invest time and resources into profitable projects rather than to support.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The setup cost is fair especially of the Virtual Appliances. The annual licensing is easy and priced fairly.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Yes we looked at Cyberoam and Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
Kerio Control is a good solution which is reliable and easy to use.
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: Reseller
MD at Comsque
Scales easily, works well, and has good content filtering options
Pros and Cons
- "The firewall and the content filtering options are valuable."
- "There isn't a lot to be improved. It works well as it is, but they can maybe improve the reporting side."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for our data plan. We are using its latest version.
What is most valuable?
The firewall and the content filtering options are valuable.
What needs improvement?
There isn't a lot to be improved. It works well as it is, but they can maybe improve the reporting side.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for about five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable. We don't have any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It scales easily without a challenge. We have about 400 users, but administrators directly work with it.
How was the initial setup?
It was pretty straightforward. It took about an hour.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed it ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its licensing is yearly. You renew every year. Its price is all-inclusive.
What other advice do I have?
It works well. I don't have a problem with how it works. I am also fine with its deployment, but it can be challenging if you don't have someone skilled or trained. If you have the skills, its deployment would be straightforward. You would be able to deploy it without a challenge. So, you just need to find the right person to deploy it.
I would rate it an eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Co-Founder & COO at Seek Smarter Lda
Reliable and straightforward installation
Pros and Cons
- "The stability of Kerio Control is good."
What is our primary use case?
We use Kerio Control for controlling access to the web, and to protect the inside of the network.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Kerio Control for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Kerio Control is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not tried to scale the solution at this time.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Kerio Control could be better, it is a bit overpriced compared to other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Kerio Control an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Computer Technician at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Provides users with the ability to log in to the portal page, keep track of their data usage and perform bandwidth management
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is to provide users with the ability to log in to the portal page, keep track of their data usage and perform bandwidth management."
- "I would like to be able to inspect https packets for the purpose of virus scanning."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case for this solution is to provide our customers with a reliable and secure internet service for which they can perform bandwidth management and other operations.
How has it helped my organization?
This is a service that we set up for the yacht owners. They all want to carry the control over the yacht.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is to provide users with the ability to log in to the portal page, keep track of their data usage and perform bandwidth management. It allows the captain to keep a log of everything that is happening and see who is using what bandwidth.
If somebody is using too much bandwidth then they have the option to throttle them back.
What needs improvement?
As of late, it seems that they can't release a version that doesn't have some type of bug. It crashes when it runs out of memory, and fixing this would be great.
I would like to be able to inspect https packets for the purpose of virus scanning.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution has been pretty stable overall. That said, there is room for improvement.
For some clients, some of the options cause problems. Filtering, for example, is something that one client does not need at all. Turning this off seems to straighten things out.
I have been awoken at 3 am by emails telling me that things are down, and that has happened within the past couple of updates, but not as much. I keep my eyes on the Kerio forums and watch for other people who say that it is time to upgrade again.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My impression is that it is pretty scalable and it can handle a lot of stuff.
I don't use it to the point where I'm linking multiple sites together, so I can't comment on that aspect.
We have the solution installed on approximately twenty boats now, and we're continuing to install them.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support used to be great. However, it's gone way downhill. I used to speak directly to the person writing the code, and he would walk you through when you need help. Now, I can barely get a hold of him.
Thankfully, now that I know the software inside and out, I don't really need them.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used a couple of other solutions.
For me, they are straightforward. However, the reason we chose this solution is because it has to be something that the captain can understand. It has to be a straightforward user interface.
If it were a situation where a client were going to be managing every aspect of it and the captain is not going to be involved, I would probably choose pfSense or something else.
How was the initial setup?
This initial setup is straightforward. It is a no brainer, and anybody can get in there and just do it. They deployment takes maybe half an hour, if that.
It all depends on what they are requesting. It's not just "one size fits all". Some boats have a LAN they need set up, while some boats don't. We set up the unit sources and assign different ports.
These days they have a dedicated internet port, and they've got four or five land ports. We'll take one or two of the land ports and assign them to the Internet port, so that way they'll have a ship-to-shore connection, as well as a VSAT (Very small aperture terminal) connection. We'll also have another device with a cell router coming into the third connection, so that way they can switch between the three Internet connections when they need to.
For example, if they are out at sea they're going to use the VSAT, but if they are in the port then they will either use the ship-to-shore Wi-Fi, or the cellular connection, to save money.
We have eight technicians on site, but it only takes one person to handle the deployment. The maintenance is quick; we can log in remotely and update it if we need to. I prefer to be on site for this in case something goes wrong, but nine times out of ten everything is just fine.
What about the implementation team?
We do the implementation ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a yearly upkeep fee.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have evaluated WatchGuard and pfSense as well. We basically need something that is easy for the client because they want to have control over everything, and that's what Kerio is going to give them.
What other advice do I have?
This solution is big in our industry because the captains have to have control over everything. If the captain wants to log in and see what his users, his crew members are doing, then Kerio provides that.
I suggest watching the Kerio forums for what the community is saying in terms of upgrades and support.
I would rate this solution eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Technical Coordinator / Pointe-Noire Branch, BUROTOP IRIS SA at BUROTOP IRIS SA
Improved my organization's security, good technical support, and inexpensive
Pros and Cons
- "Kerio has improved my organization's security."
- "They should add wireless features."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is for security purposes, web filtering, and firewalls.
How has it helped my organization?
Kerio has improved my organization's security.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature would be the security.
What needs improvement?
They should add wireless features.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is okay.
How is customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. The deployment took one week.
What about the implementation team?
I implemented it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is inexpensive.
What other advice do I have?
I would tell someone considering this solution to go for it.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
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Updated: December 2024
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