We primarily use Wildfire products to prevent attacks. As resellers, we showcase the Wildfire capabilities like handling known and unknown threats on the customer side.
Technical Support Engineer at a venture capital & private equity firm with 501-1,000 employees
Excellent threat protection, great technical support, and an easy setup
Pros and Cons
- "The way that the solution quickly updates to adjust to threats is the solution's most valuable aspect. When there's a security attack, within five minutes, all Wildfire subscribers have access to updates so that all systems will be safe. Its threat prevention is way better than other vendor products."
- "The size of Palo Alto's cloud is big but it could be easier to use from a product management perspective."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The way that the solution quickly updates to adjust to threats is the solution's most valuable aspect. When there's a security attack, within five minutes, all Wildfire subscribers have access to updates so that all systems will be safe. Its threat prevention is way better than other vendor products.
What needs improvement?
In terms of threat prevention capabilities, the solution doesn't need any improvements that I can see. We've been quite satisfied.
The size of Palo Alto's cloud is big but it could be easier to use from a product management perspective.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for nine months now. I'm new to Palo Alto Networks but I have been using the solution since I started working with Palo Alto Networks on the reseller side.
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Palo Alto Networks WildFire
December 2024
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How are customer service and support?
We've dealt with technical support in the past. Once you open a ticket from the support portal, you will be assigned an engineer. That engineer will only focus on your case until it is solved. It's unlike other vendors that don't necessarily give you the same engineer or service representative for the same ticket. It offers good continuity when there are issues to be resolved. We've been quite satisfied with their level of service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've used Sophos Firewall in the past. They can also block or scan threats.
How was the initial setup?
The solution is very straightforward. Setting it up is easy. We just create a Wildfire profile then apply it on the security parcel. It is pretty straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of the solution is a bit higher, but it's worth the extra money you will spend because of the protection that you get.
What other advice do I have?
I really recommend Palo Alto Networks. Out of 10 stars, I would give 11.
I would recommend the solution because it's so easy to deploy and when you read the security profiles, it's very easy to handle, unlike other vendors. When it comes to threat protection, the features are easy to use and understand.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: reseller
IT Network Consultant Engineer - Projects and ICT Infrastructure Services at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Helps us when segmenting and securing the network
Pros and Cons
- "It helps us when segmenting and securing the network and all sort of technologies, all sort of next generation needs. It's next generation phases of firewall like anti-virus, sandboxing, wifi, and VPN."
- "Other vendors have some sort of bandwidth management built into the firewall itself and Palo Alto is missing that."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use cases are for firewalls, cloud, and on-premise.
How has it helped my organization?
It helps us when segmenting and securing the network and all sort of technologies, all sort of next generation needs. It's the next generation phases of firewall like anti-virus, sandboxing, wifi, and VPN.
What is most valuable?
All of the features are quite good.
What needs improvement?
Other vendors have some sort of bandwidth management built into the firewall itself and Palo Alto is missing that.
If there was anything extra for the endpoint security and VNC that would be good, but again it's coming with Palo Alto and must come with some additional cost.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. With respect to scalability and stability both, I would say are quite scalable and very steady. I haven't seen any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This solution is being used corporate-wide, more than a couple thousand people.
How are customer service and technical support?
Most of the time their technical support has been perfect. A few times a few of the tech support engineers did not have strong knowledge. Overall, though, it's good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have worked with Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, CheckPoint, too many of them.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. The setup took less than an hour, it's a simple firewall setup.
What other advice do I have?
It's a stable product. It's pretty expensive but with respect to value for money, it's okay.
I would rate it a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks WildFire
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks WildFire. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Security Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The cloud-based services are a nice feature.
Pros and Cons
- "The cloud-based services are a nice feature."
- "My primary use case for this solution is for a secure gateway."
- "I think it would be nice for Palo Alto to work without the connection to the cloud. It is 100% powerful when connected to the cloud. But, if you disconnect from the cloud, you only get 40-50% power."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case for this solution is for a secure gateway. It creates a proxy or an appropriation for the suspicious files that can be damaging.
How has it helped my organization?
The cloud-based services are a nice feature.
What needs improvement?
I do not find it as secure as other solutions. Furthermore, the cloud-based solutions are still not legally available in countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia. Some countries do not allow the service according to country obligations. They can not use the cloud services for government offices. So, Wildfire is not allowed in several locations.
I think it would be nice for Palo Alto to work without the connection to the cloud. It is 100% powerful when connected to the cloud. But, if you disconnect from the cloud, you only get 40-50% power.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have previous experience with FireEye and Symantec. I find that Symantec is a standalone on an enterprise level secure market, which I cannot say for WildFire.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and easy.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Architect - Cloud Serviced at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
It crashes too frequently for a few boxes, but they have the best tech junkies I have worked with.
What is most valuable?
- App-ID
- User-ID
- Ease of deployment and usability
- Filtering Mechanism like SP3 Engine
How has it helped my organization?
From a technical perspective this has given us a new high as this is how a technology solution should function. From a sales perspective, we have been able to pitch the solution to new customers as it seems cheap to customers when we bundle the solution, compared to getting each device for individual functions.
What needs improvement?
- IP SLA tracking
- GRE tunnel support
I believe these are the major improvements in the pipeline.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using it for four years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
It crashes too frequently for a few boxes, which could be expected from a new vendor as it evolves. The best part is RMA, as you get the box back quickly if you have it in the contract.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
If it is Arrow support, it's pathetic. I wouldn't recommend them. However, if you go directly with the PA team they are the best tech junkies I have worked with.
Technical Support:6/10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to have Netscreen as our favourite, but it went EOL. Being an MSP we have to have expertise with all the devices. Although, Netscreen is our favourite.
How was the initial setup?
I would say that this is difficult to answer, as the setup would be adaptable based on the mode you use, and the way the firewall can be configured. If you ask an expert it would be straightforward. If you ask a newbie, it would be not that difficult to configure if you follow the mentioned steps.
What other advice do I have?
Go forward, this is an amazing device to be implemented if you have the cost to bear.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
IT Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
It can do on-premises sandboxing and detect attacks by malware embedded on files and URLs, but it should handle many more file types without sending .APK files to the cloud for sandboxing.
What is most valuable?
It can do sandboxing on the premises, and it can be directly integrated with Palo Alto NGFW. The malware information on the file that has been sandboxing will be directly updated to the Palo Alto NGFW, and added to the Palo Alto Networks NGFW malware signature library. Also, the credential data within the file that has been sandboxing still be kept on the premises.
How has it helped my organization?
Palo Alto Networks WildFire can detect many types of attacks that are using malware embedded on files/URLs with minimum time, and it can increase the effectiveness of resources (time and people) to prevent the malware.
What needs improvement?
In my opinion, it could be developed to be dependent not only on signatures, but also on patterns and behavior of malware. What I would like to see in the next version/release is to be able to handle much more file types on premises during deployment, because now on premises deployment a .APK file must be sent to the cloud for sandboxing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I can't remember exactly, but probably more than six months.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
For now, I have no issues with the deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For now, I have no issues with the stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For now, I have no issues with the scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Both customer server and technical support are very good.
In our case, before we contact Palo Alto Networks technical support, we can contact the Palo Alto Networks local distributor, who provide Palo Alto Networks technical support locally.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I forgot what the name or product that used previously, but the reason I choose Palo Alto Networks wildfire is it integrated with Palo Alto Networks NGFW that already used on the network environment
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Palo Alto Networks WildFire is simple.
What about the implementation team?
We’re the ones who implement the Palo Alto Networks WildFire in our customers environments.
What was our ROI?
It’s not about what we will get directly from having Palo Alto Networks WildFire as an ATD device, but it’s all about the loss of resources you suffer if you don't have it implemented.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are Palo Alto Networks partner and reseller.
it_user333885EMEA Corporate Sales - Advanced Cyber Security Solutions at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Please refer to hybrid cloud deployment for WF500, with this setup you may pass the APK files which is not likely to have any confidential information to Wildfire Threat Intelligence Cloud and get the verdict. www.paloaltonetworks.com
Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Different deployments available, highly scalable, and plenty of features
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is completely integrated with all the other Palo Alto products. I think that it is the best part for endpoint protection. The firewall features include URL and DNS filtering, threat protection, and antivirus."
- "The threat intelligence that we receiving in the reporting was not as expected. We were expecting more. Additionally, we should be able to whitelist a specific file based on a variety of attributes."
What is our primary use case?
We are using the solution for our zero-day advanced persistent threats(APT). Additionally, we are using it as our only sole network distribution.
What is most valuable?
I have found that there are many good features found with this solution. There is the option of cloud and an on-premises version.
The service-level agreement(SLA) provides the ability to converts the unknown to the known in less than five minutes.
The environment analysis runs in multiple areas and does not just execute in one area, such as the virtual hypervisor.
The solution is completely integrated with all the other Palo Alto products. I think that it is the best part for endpoint protection. The firewall features include URL and DNS filtering, threat protection, and antivirus.
What needs improvement?
The threat intelligence that we receiving in the reporting was not as expected. We were expecting more. Additionally, we should be able to whitelist a specific file based on a variety of attributes.
In a future release, they could make the solution be a stand-alone deployment, one that does not need another Palo Alto solution and can integrate with any other solution from another company. For example, we could use this solution together with other solutions, such as Fortinet firewalls or endpoint solutions.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and reliable. Since it is on the cloud we do not have to worry about this much.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. We have approximately 400 users using the solution. We currently do not plan to increase the capacity because our maximum amount of users would be 500 users and we only have approximately 300 on-premise users at this time while the rest of them are working remotely.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have found the technical support responsive.
How was the initial setup?
Since it is a cloud-based version the setup was straightforward and easy, we just have to activate the license to use it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are on an annual subscription. When we purchased the firewall, we had activated this solutions license for a minimum of one year. The price of the solution is fair.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a ten out of 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
Network Security Engineer at Data Consult
With this product, we receive the best monitoring and reports
Pros and Cons
- "Installing this product as a datacenter firewall for segregation and segmentation, and also configuring policies between zones has improved my organization."
- "With this product, we receive the best monitoring and reports."
- "The VPN and decryption need improvement."
- "They provide a medium level of technical support."
How has it helped my organization?
Installing this product as a datacenter firewall for segregation and segmentation, and also configuring policies between zones.
What is most valuable?
Threat Prevention and WildFire features should be enabled in Palo Alto. With this product, we receive the best monitoring and reports.
What needs improvement?
The VPN and decryption need improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No, I did not encounter any issues with Palo Alto's firewall. The product is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No, but you should do the rightsizing before buying the product.
How are customer service and technical support?
They provide a medium level of technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Cisco. Palo Alto is better for datacenter and Cisco for perimeter.
How was the initial setup?
Straightforward to use.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
More expensive than other firewalls.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Cisco Firepower.
What other advice do I have?
My advice is to install Palo Alto's firewall as a datacenter. You should enable the features (Threat Prevention (AS, AV, and Vulnerability Protection), File Blocking, URL Filtering, WildFire, etc.).
Palo Alto's firewall is the best firewall right now. I have used Palo Alto since 2014.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
Sr Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Application encryption is useful, but it's somewhat pricey
Pros and Cons
- "WildFire's application encryption is useful."
- "The system performance degrades after the solution has been deployed for some time. The data that it gives us becomes a little bit slow. When you try to get some data for troubleshooting, it seems like it's working hard to extract that data."
What is our primary use case?
We use WildFire for malware protection in our customers' companies.
What is most valuable?
WildFire's application encryption is useful.
What needs improvement?
The system performance degrades after the solution has been deployed for some time. The data that it gives us becomes a little bit slow. When you try to get some data for troubleshooting, it seems like it's working hard to extract that data.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been selling WildFire for more than two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
WildFire is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Wildfire is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Palo Alto support is very slow in this region.
How was the initial setup?
WildFire is easy to deploy. I have been working on these solutions for quite some time, so I don't foresee any issues.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
WildFire is a little bit pricey. Sometimes it's difficult to sell it to customers at the current price.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We sometimes use Fortinet FortiGate for clients. It depends upon the requirements, which vary from customer to customer.
What other advice do I have?
I rate WildFire six out of 10. To people considering WildFire, I recommend that they understand their own needs. They should do the proper due diligence. Right now, everybody's cutting costs because of COVID-19. They're trying to automate most things through the PA, so the cost-cutting is going to be a major factor in the future.
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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Hi Srinivas, I have Pa200 and with 20 nodes connected I'm getting around 46mgps out of 50mbps line with enabling all the security features activated. Best advice would be reaching out to a local Palo Alto Networks partner and asking for a POC. Let me know if you would need help with this. buslu@paloaltonetworks.com