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Network System Administrator at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
It catches modified signatures of known viruses
Pros and Cons
  • "Their technical support is outstanding and top-notch."
  • "It catches modified signatures of known viruses."
  • "They should make their user interface a little more user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We don't want a virus. We don't want people visiting unknown sites and opening us up to any type of malware or any type of virus attacks.

How has it helped my organization?

We haven't had a virus. That is a good thing. It makes my job easier. For the organization as a whole, no viruses mean people keep their jobs, which is a good thing.

It is an outstanding solution. It is one of the top solutions out there from what we have tested, and we have even tested Cisco Firepower.

What is most valuable?

You can see everything that's going on in your network. It constantly updates their signatures and new anti-spyware signatures. That is updated daily.

It catches modified signatures of known viruses. It is an easy interface to use. 

What needs improvement?

They should make their user interface a little more user-friendly.

Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks WildFire
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks WildFire. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
869,832 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We are a decent size organization. If the product can fit our organization, it should be able to fit pretty much any other organization just as well.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is outstanding and top-notch.

How was the initial setup?

They were things that only somebody who had worked with Palo Alto before would probably be able to break down, then tell you how to set up your initial rule sets and explain what exactly they do. The vendor helped us look at what we have going out versus what is coming in.

What about the implementation team?

They provided in-house support when we initially set it up. They made sure that we were supported from start to finish. Any questions we had, we had someone that we could reach out to, and we had an answer within a matter of minutes to hours. They are very responsive and easy to work with.

What other advice do I have?

Test it in your environment because everyone's environment is different.

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor:

  • Price matching up with features.
  • Support
  • SLA agreements
  • Customer relationship management.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Network Security Engineer at Data Consult
Real User
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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks WildFire
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks WildFire. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
869,832 professionals have used our research since 2012.
PeerSpot user
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant
Top 20
Strengthens existing protections, provides significant visibility into files and apps moving through the company's systems
Pros and Cons
  • "Detailed reporting on analysis of content. The inspections are easily applied to security policy profiles and profile groups, and may be assigned on a per-rule basis."

    How has it helped my organization?

    This product/feature is an enhancement to traditional company/corporate AV and VP solutions, not a replacement. As such, it strengthens existing protections and provides significant visibility into files and applications that are moving through the company's systems.

    What is most valuable?

    Detailed reporting on analysis of content. The inspections are easily applied to security policy profiles and profile groups, and may be assigned on a per-rule basis.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    One to three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    No stability issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    No scalability issues.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have never accessed PAN (Palo Alto Networks) technical support regarding this feature.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    This is a fairly unique feature offered by Palo Alto Networks (may be comparable to FireEye). As such, it was an addition to our existing protection suites.

    How was the initial setup?

    Very straightforward. Basically, a few check boxes and desired behaviors.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    It is expensive, a feature more accessible to enterprise class customers, but provides an enhanced possibility that Zero- or near-Zero-day threats may be identified and mitigated. The cost of the product weighed against the potential impact of even one successful crypto malware-type exploit may justify the expense.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    No, again this "WildFire" is a fairly unique feature. The closest comparison may be FireEye, but I have not used that product.

    What other advice do I have?

    Consider your level of exposure to exploits of any nature. Also, consider the impact (cost and loss of business) of even one successful exploit to help make a business decision regarding this product.

    I would also advise that the decision should be considered with regard to the company's ability/willingness to provide the assets to keep abreast of these types of products and features. There are no set and forget type functions.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Deputy Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    The IDA and IPS system filtering provide an enhancing network and endpoint security for the client
    Pros and Cons
    • "High availability with active-active and active-passive modes."
    • "The data analytical system for deployment needs to improve."

    How has it helped my organization?

    It provides the enhancing network and endpoint security for the client through its IDA and IPS system filtering.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are:

    • High availability with active-active and active-passive modes.
    • Redundant power input for increased reliability.
    • Fan-less design.

    What needs improvement?

    The data analytical system for deployment needs to improve.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is excellent, I would rate it a 10/10.

    How was the initial setup?

    It is quite easy to set up.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing and licensing option should be categorized for various countries such as for Bangladesh.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We looked at Forcepoint NGFW.

    What other advice do I have?

    Technical support is excellent and it is a promising option.

    Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user531378 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Network and Security Engineer
    Vendor
    Was instrumental in blocking new threats before other anti-virus tools were able to detect them.
    Pros and Cons
    • "WildFire has been instrumental in blocking a number of new threats, before common desktop anti-virus tools were able to detect them."

      How has it helped my organization?

      WildFire has been instrumental in blocking a number of new threats, before common desktop anti-virus tools were able to detect them. When Wannacry first came out, wildfire was detecting it and dropping incoming threats within seconds. We were dropping over 10,000 files per day with no additional firewall load at all.

      What is most valuable?

      Dynamic analysis.

      What needs improvement?

      I am very happy with WildFire and can see no obvious areas of improvement at this point.

      What do I think about the stability of the solution?

      This product is rock solid in terms of stability.

      What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

      There were no problems with scalability. We have rolled out more firewalls to clients, and no scalability issues were found.

      How are customer service and technical support?

      Technical support is fine. We have never needed to contact them regarding WildFire.

      Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

      We previously used Fortinet. However, we found it to miss a lot of incoming viruses, because at the time, they had no sandbox style service.

      How was the initial setup?

      The setup was very easy. Simply license the feature and enable it within your scanning profiles.

      What about the implementation team?

      This feature is implemented in-house.

      What was our ROI?

      As soon as it began dropping incoming threats, measured in days, that desktop scanners could not find, it hit its ROI.

      What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

      It's not particularly cheap, but it is absolutely worth it.

      Which other solutions did I evaluate?

      We evaluated Fortinet and Cisco.

      What other advice do I have?

      Do it.

      Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
      PeerSpot user
      PeerSpot user
      Senior Systems Administrator/Network Engineer at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
      Real User
      Provides credential-based attack prevention.
      Pros and Cons
      • "Whole team can use the firewall and understand it."
      • "The GUI is better in 8.0, but I still feel it lacks the fast response most of us desire. Logs are much quicker."

      How has it helped my organization?

      • Much more visibility during an attack lifecycle; found a lot of infected hosts and vulnerabilities.

      What is most valuable?

      • App-ID
      • Easy migration
      • Credential-based attack prevention
      • PBF easily configured
      • Whole team can use the firewall and understand it

      What needs improvement?

      The GUI is better in 8.0, but I still feel it lacks the fast response most of us desire. Logs are much quicker.

      What do I think about the stability of the solution?

      We have not encountered any stability issues.

      What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

      We have not encountered any scalability issues.

      How are customer service and technical support?

      Customer Service:

      Customer service is excellent. Their support is top-tier for sure.

      Technical Support:

      Technical support is excellent. Their support is top-tier for sure.

      Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

      We previously used legacy Cisco ASA. We switched because it was buggy and had no visibility; it was not easy for the rest of my team to use.

      How was the initial setup?

      Initial setup was straightforward.

      What about the implementation team?

      A vendor team implemented it. They were amazing.

      What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

      It IS a bit expensive, but I think you get what you pay for. Value is there.

      Which other solutions did I evaluate?

      Before choosing this product, we also evaluated Check Point, Cisco, and Fortinet.

      Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
      PeerSpot user
      M.K. Goyal - PeerSpot reviewer
      M.K. GoyalAsst General Manager(C&IT) at NMDC Ltd
      User

      It is a good solution leaves other vendors far behind

      See all 3 comments
      PeerSpot user
      Architect - Cloud Serviced at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
      MSP
      Top 10
      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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
      PeerSpot user
      it_user333885 - PeerSpot reviewer
      it_user333885EMEA Corporate Sales - Advanced Cyber Security Solutions at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
      Real User

      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

      See all 4 comments
      PeerSpot user
      Presales Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
      Consultant
      The way that the product process or handle the traffic, is one of the best in the industry.​

      Valuable Features:

      It has one of the best WebUIs that I have used, because at a glance looks simple, but offers us a lot of options to secure all the traffic that is passing through the device (or all traffic that the user decides to pass through). Besides, the way that scan the applications to detect what kind of application is do not affect anything about the device's performance. The way that the product process or handle the traffic, is one of the best in the industry.

      Improvements to My Organization:

      Well, I work as a security consultant, so one of my functions is to help and provide to the end users with recommendations about technologies or process to secure their network. So, one of my customer decide to migrate from TMG/UMG to Palo Alto, it took a while, but during this process, I showed them many ways to improve their current security with Palo Alto, and after a while, they are very comfortable with the technology, for them now, it is easier to apply some kind of web filtering or application filtering than the past.

      Room for Improvement:

      I'd like to see a wizard to create IPSec VPNs. They need to  improve the graphics to show the network behavior.

      Deployment Issues:

      Deployment is easy.

      Stability Issues:

      The stability is acceptable.

      Scalability Issues:

      It depends about the project, but offers a good HA option.

      Other Advice:

      Always show to the customer what the product can do for them and what not, is a good practice, because they can open their eyes and to be sure what are the benefits of that technology. Always analyze the network topology, using the customer's network diagram and ask every doubt that you have, for my experience a good analysis and deployment plan give us a successful implementation.

      Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
      PeerSpot user
      it_user326337 - PeerSpot reviewer
      it_user326337Customer Success Manager at PeerSpot
      Real User

      What would you like to know about network behavior that you currently cannot know/see?

      Buyer's Guide
      Download our free Palo Alto Networks WildFire Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
      Updated: September 2025
      Buyer's Guide
      Download our free Palo Alto Networks WildFire Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.