This solution has been great for our use case, and we deploy it on-premises.
Co-Founder & CTO at 2M Corp
An excellent solution with a valuable web filter and good stability
Pros and Cons
- "We find the web filter very valuable."
- "The storage is minimal, so we have to set the system to delete data after seven days."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
We find the web filter very valuable. In this part of the world, bandwidth is expensive, and we don't have too much bandwidth. So, the web and application filters are used a lot to block these torrents.
What needs improvement?
The primary issue we have is the two-week wait time for replacement hardware parts when we need to replace them. The hardware barely crashes, but when it does crash, it is because we do not have stable electricity in this part of the world. Secondly, the storage is minimal, so we have to set the system to delete data after seven days. This may not be ideal because we will have issues if we want to analyze for an extended period, as some of the clients we deployed the solution for use the data that is derived from Untangle NG Firewall for part of their bonus payment. For example, they analyze staff visiting R&D-related sites and how often they spend on them to see whether the individual is progressing. However, due to storage limitations, these clients have problems properly analyzing. Additionally, the package's branding and documentation can be improved as the interface is a lot easier to allow less script because we've been trying to use fewer script certificates and continue to face difficulty.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for approximately four years.
Buyer's Guide
Untangle NG Firewall
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Untangle NG Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the scalability a six out of ten. We have 13 users utilizing the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service and support are not very helpful. I rate them a three out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Negative
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It can be set up in less than an hour.
What about the implementation team?
We are resellers, and we also do the integrations and monitoring for our users. So, for example, Untangle NG Firewall has a way of connecting remotely. We do the remote management for the Untangle NG Firewall, review their locks, and then send them a lodge if we believe they need to pay attention to certain things.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Depending on the market you are in, the pricing may be expensive. We consider it expensive, so I rate the pricing a five out of ten. However, not every company will go for it because we don't have many big companies here.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We made a comparison with one of our clients that is running Sophos. However, Untangle NG Firewall had better ease of maintenance, configuration and deployment.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution a ten out of ten. The solution is good, but its storage and documentation can be improved. Nevertheless, I recommend the solution to people considering implementing it.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
Network Admin at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
A reliable and stable solution that is easy to deploy and provides good security
Pros and Cons
- "Application Control and filtering features are valuable."
- "The product must improve its reporting features."
What is our primary use case?
I am using the solution as a firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
The tool provides a very reliable protection for my school.
What is most valuable?
Application Control and filtering features are valuable. It's valuable to have cloud management. VPN is also a valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The product must improve its reporting features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for about five years. I have used versions 150 and 500.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product’s cost is moderate to high.
What other advice do I have?
The product provides us with good protection. I recommend the solution to others. Overall, I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
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.
Buyer's Guide
Untangle NG Firewall
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about Untangle NG Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director at Kisii County Government
Flexible, affordable, hardware agnostic, and protects against zero-day attacks
Pros and Cons
- "What I like about this product, which is the reason that we continue to use it, is that you can install the software version on your own hardware. In case there is a problem with the hardware, we can just install the firewall in another machine and restore the configuration."
- "The biggest challenge that we have with this solution is local support. The local support is a problem in our area."
How has it helped my organization?
We have discussed areas of improvement with the vendor in the past and over time. The good thing is they regularly give us updates and each time one comes, it includes some of the changes that we discussed.
This is a product that improves day by day, with the addition of features that are being demanded in the market. We have applications hosted locally that this has a positive effect on. One example is that they have improved their email security, which is something we have configured in our environment.
At times, the vendor has given us notifications on zero-day attacks and information about things we need to do.
What is most valuable?
This firewall has a lot of features and we are using all of them.
What I like about this product, which is the reason that we continue to use it, is that you can install the software version on your own hardware. In case there is a problem with the hardware, we can just install the firewall in another machine and restore the configuration. This is unlike using a device with hardware that is vendor-specific. We had such a problem one time, and it required that we had to purchase more hardware.
What needs improvement?
They do not offer 100% of the features that we need.
The biggest challenge that we have with this solution is local support. The local support is a problem in our area.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Untangle NG Firewall for approximately seven years, since 2014.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Nowadays, stability is good. In the past, there were problems with stability but this is something that the vendor has worked on to improve.
We have still had issues but when we looked at the details, we found that it was a problem with our hardware. It wasn't optimized to work in that environment. Once we increase the hardware to match the requirements, it was fine and started working well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is a scalable solution. We are using the Complete version, which means that we automatically receive any new feature that comes out. Furthermore, if we want to add more users or devices, it is just a matter of communicating that, and the system automatically adjusts to the capacity that we need.
How are customer service and support?
The local technical support does not understand the product very well. It's very hard to find a technical support person that can fully configure the system. At times, we find it easier to learn it ourselves and improve it internally.
How was the initial setup?
In terms of configuration, it's straightforward. It's not complex, except when a new solution comes out because you really need to have time to learn it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This is not an expensive product. It is affordable and there are different packages available depending on the features that you need, or the sector that you are in.
We use a version for the public sector. There is a version specific to the education sector as well as other industries. Feature-wise, you can choose what you need. For example, if you want only to handle a gateway or maybe an SD-WAN, as a package, then that is an option. If you want to handle web filtering, you'll only handle web filtering. The package that we use is Next Generation Complete. We chose this because we use all of the features, including bandwidth control, in terms of load balancing.
What other advice do I have?
Untangle NG Firewall is something that I recommend, although we have only tried the software version. We have not tried the hardware appliance. That said, we have used the software version for approximately seven years and it has worked well. It is flexible, and if you want to choose to upgrade automatically then it will do the updates by itself, as long as it's connected.
This is a good product but in the security field, you can't simply just say that everything is fine. There is always room for improvement. Although they do not offer 100% of the features that we need, we are not interested in changing to another solution at the moment.
I am somewhat hesitant to discuss features that this product needs because we have not learned the entire solution. We do not understand all that it has to offer and as such, we might suggest that it needs a feature that is already there.
My advice for anybody who is implementing Untangle is to fully understand their needs. Then, compare their requirements against what the solution is offering. It works well for us but our needs may not be the same as someone else. Companies and business entities are always different.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Owner at ThinkEzIT
Good VPN features, helpful reporting and alerting, built-in content filtering, and excellent support
Pros and Cons
- "They have a command center that makes it easy to log into and see all of your appliances nationwide."
- "They don't have any feature that allows you to drop the session."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for small offices with 12 users.
Most of our clients are small businesses with approximately four to fifteen users. We have one customer with approximately 20 users.
What is most valuable?
We do a lot of Voice over IP, which is one of the features that I like about it. The firewall works really well with Voice over IP.
They have a command center that makes it easy to log into and see all of your appliances nationwide.
The reporting is wonderful. You can run reports and they are very helpful.
The alerting is great. It will send you alerts when there is any nonsense going on. For example, you will get alerts on DDoS types of attacks.
It has wonderful content filtering built into it. They also have a cap portal feature that is pretty good. It has several useful interesting features included.
The VPNs are great too, they are wonderful.
We set up RDP on our clients, but it's Atlanta LAN, the LAN RDP. If you get on the VPN, then the allow group, you can actually RDP, you make the VPN connection to it. You can also then do a site-to-site VPN and they make it very simple. Overall, the VPN features are wonderful.
The zero deployments are wonderful with this. With Zero deployment, you don't have to touch the firewall. When the firewall arrives on-site, you have a smart hands technician to unplug the old one and you plug in the new one. It automatically downloads the configuration offline. No technician will ever have to physically touch that firewall. It can all be done through the command center once the firewall connects to it. Everything is automatically added once you purchase it and it will download the proper configuration for that site.
What needs improvement?
They don't have any feature that allows you to drop the session. If you log in and you see your ARP table with many connections and you want to drop one for some reason or another, such as troubleshooting, or It's an employee that shouldn't be online and you want to remove them, you don't have the ability to click on a session and terminate it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Untangle NG Firewall for two years.
We use the most up-to-date version.
All of our firewalls are always up-to-date through the command center. We always update them as soon are they are released.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Untangle NG Firewall works great. I have no issues with the stability and I have yet to replace a box.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's fully scalable. It's great for large corporations and it's great for small businesses.
They even make a version of their Untangled box for residential use.
Overall, scaling is pretty easy.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is wonderful. They are all US-based out of Colorado.
When you need help, you are not talking to a level-one technician; you are speaking with an engineer.
They don't have to remote into your computer, they can enable the back end. They have the ability to enable a remote session to where they can remote inject to the firewall and see what is going on and try to help you.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used SonicWall. The reason why we stopped using SonicWall is that it is expensive to get a single pane of glass with SonicWall to have the heads-up on issues.
I like the licensing model and the pricing model that Untangle has compared to SonicWall.
I like the hardware as a service feature that Untangle has. SonicWall didn't have it at the time that I was using it but they may have it now.
I like the general use of the appliances. It is a little easier to navigate through, in my opinion, than it is with SonicWall.
The site-to-site VPN is just as easy to set up between SonicWall and Untangle. They both make it easy to do site-to-site VPN.
They both make it easy to set up regular VPNs.
The difference between Untangle and SonicWall is, SonicWall has an SSL VPN, where you go to a website versus Untangle that has an application installed on the PC for VPN. If you have a lot that you need to deploy, you have to touch the client's machines and set it up for them, versus just having a website to go to, to sign in. That's one of the major differences between the two.
How was the initial setup?
You can have templates that simplify the process.
They will back up the firmware for you to configure. Your firewall is backed up all of the time on the command center. If you make a change and it's bad, you can push the bad config down, and put the old one back into it. Or before you make a change, you can back up the config into the cloud and the controller, then you can make the change.
With Zero deployment, so you can have a general template that you push onto all of the devices. If you need to dropship one to somebody somewhere that's not local, just get a smart hands tech. They can plug it in and once it hits the internet, it automatically downloads its config off of the server.
We maintain this solution ourselves, but technical support will help if we need help with anything.
One person can maintain a whole fleet. You can have thousands of them out there and one person could easily maintain them because it's all in one portal, and all of the alerts get generated.
If there is an issue then you get an email with an alert or a text message letting you know that there is something wrong. It makes it easy to deal with.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing model is better than with SonicWall.
I am not able to discuss the pricing specifically because pricing with every partner is different.
What other advice do I have?
The reason we chose this solution is because of their support. It is hands down the best support that I have had with a firewall. I don't have to open a case first. With SonicWall, you have to call a level one, they open a case, and they transfer you to an engineer.
With Untangle, you can call or email support, or the community. They have wonderful community support for everything. They have a log of knowledge-based articles.
I would rate the support a ten out of ten.
It doesn't matter what company you go with for our firewall. They're all going to have their caveats that somebody isn't going to like.
There are features that you might like on one that you may not like on the other, but I look at the overall simplicity of it, the overall usability and ease of use, and also that it's easy to train a technician on how to set them up. They are not that difficult.
I would rate Untangle NG Firewall a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Product Manager - Backup & Utilities at NovaStar Software & Consulting GmbH
An easy to use product with a simple interface and good stability
Pros and Cons
- "The interface is very good."
- "The pricing is not as good as it was some time ago. They've since skipped offering a lot of individual features."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as a firewall.
What is most valuable?
The interface is very good.
We use the web sensor, the virus blocker, the spam blocker, bandwidth control, application control, and firewall options. We're quite happy with all of it.
What needs improvement?
The pricing is not as good as it was some time ago. They've since skipped offering a lot of individual features.
In the future, Untangle should offer a web server feature. That's the only application Sophos gave us which Untangle doesn't have.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There have been no issues with stability. I've been quite surprised.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We don't have many users, so I'm unsure about the product's scalability potential.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've never had to reach out to technical support, as we have yet to face any issues using the solution.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've used multiple solutions. We were previously using Sophos, but we switched because of its high price tag.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment took about 45 minutes. You only need about one person for maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay $350 USD per year for the solution. There are no additional costs. As long as you're not using a physical appliance, that's all you need.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing this solution we tried both Sophos and WatchGuard.
What other advice do I have?
It's very easy to use the product. In comparison, Sophos has a bigger learning curve.
I would rate the solution ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Founding Partner - Technology Director at VSN LATAM
A reliable and user-friendly solution with good detection, antivirus, filtering, and VPN features
Pros and Cons
- "Its detection, antivirus, and filtering features are the most valuable. The facility to connect by using the VPN connection is also a very valuable feature. It is very strong, secure, and reliable. We have implemented the Untangle solution in all hardware. It is also a user-friendly solution. It is easy to learn and easy to configure."
- "The common center facility that Untangle provides should be available on-premises. There are great corporations here in Mexico that like the Untangle solution, but they don't like the fact that the monitoring and access to the appliance are in the cloud. They request for the common center facility to be available and installed on-premises."
What is our primary use case?
We are an implementor. Most of the use cases are for the detection and filter facility that Untangle provides. Most of the clients use VPN connection site-to-site, and in the last year, all the access has been through VPN. With the home offices becoming a new way of working, we are implementing this kind of solutions.
What is most valuable?
Its detection, antivirus, and filtering features are the most valuable. The facility to connect by using the VPN connection is also a very valuable feature.
It is very strong, secure, and reliable. We have implemented the Untangle solution in all hardware. It is also a user-friendly solution. It is easy to learn and easy to configure.
What needs improvement?
The common center facility that Untangle provides should be available on-premises. There are great corporations here in Mexico that like the Untangle solution, but they don't like the fact that the monitoring and access to the appliance are in the cloud. They request for the common center facility to be available and installed on-premises.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. I love this solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its scalability is great. It is simple to scale. You just create the backup, and you can increase it as you need it. We love this facility. It is not like Fortinet where you need to change the hardware, license, and features.
In terms of the number of users, the average number of users our clients have is between 100 and 150. We have some clients with less than 50 users. We also have three clients with more than 3,000 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We contacted them for technical support only once, and the issue was resolved in less than two hours. Their support was very good.
How was the initial setup?
It is straightforward. Our target market is the small and medium companies that don't have IT departments and a firewall specialist. We provide the Untangle solution and the management of the solution for a quote.
Most of the implementations are simple. However, we have implemented Untangle solution to replace Fortinet in a financial group in Mexico. This was the most complex configuration that we have handled. There were 65 locations with voiceover IP and some other features. We had to create balance and recovery from the cluster.
Our last implementation took less than a week. You need just two people for its deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is not expensive. It is cheaper than Fortinet.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Our clients evaluate Fortinet and pfSense. The flexibility to grow, the user-friendliness of the interface, and the common center facility are the advantages of Untangle NG Firewall. We can do everything in one console.
Fortinet is very expensive. pfSense is free, but it is not as strong as Untangle. We have also experienced problems with the configuration of the HTTPS filter.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. It is a user-friendly, cheap, and strong solution. I would advise others to try this solution and not make a decision based on the information given on the paper. All vendors are going to tell you the features and the problems that their solution can solve, but the best way is by testing. Ask them to provide demos and test the solution yourself.
I would rate Untangle NG Firewall a ten 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
Solutions Architect at Terrific Tech
Offers reliable web filtering and is easy to administer
Pros and Cons
- "Web filtering is very reliable."
- "The hardware can be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We are using a lot of applications which are running on Untangle. We use web filtering, application control, firewall, and VPN services.
What is most valuable?
Web filtering is very reliable. I can say all the features are very useful. We haven't been using much ad blockers or phish blockers. We've bee using web filtering, application control, policy manager, IP filtering, and VPN. They have been very useful.
What needs improvement?
The hardware can be improved. Now, we're using hardware appliances. In terms of processing power, I think it can actually be improved further, because, in terms of the number of requests, especially if you are using web filtering, the number of requests that should be coming onto the appliance is quite large and it needs a bit more processing power.
If the solution included a unified device tracker and management, that would be great. So that we could actually include other endpoints, like our laptops, or mobile devices. We need something to help in terms of mobile device management. I think it's one critical feature which is required by another interface because people are now bringing their own devices to the workplace to get services. I think MDM is quite critical to be included in that.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Generally, in terms of the administration, it's a team of about five users who administer the appliance. In terms of using the functionality or the features, there are about 800 users. All are accessing the appliance through various means, through the web filtering, and through the access VPN.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are planning to actually activate a number of additional features and see if we are going to be able to fully utilize additional features from one failover and one balancer so that we can actually then put them in a cluster and be able to fully utilize all our internet service provider links.
How are customer service and technical support?
In terms of technical support, the service is excellent. Considering that there is a command center where you can actually just draw a ticket and they get in through the command and will be able to assist you even on the appliances, remotely, and be able to resolve the issues is great. I would say the only major issue is only the time difference between us in Zimbabwe and America because we are on different time zones. Generally, the support is very good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we had been using various other solutions from Cisco. I've seen that Untangle is quite easy to administer and quite straightforward in terms of how to configure the various features which are found there. The main reason was to try to get a simplified solution that is resilient and able to scale up, and have all the solutions on one portal.
In this instance, using one appliance, which can actually give you all of these applications, is a plus for enterprise organizations like us. We are required to have just one appliance to be able to address various issues, like web filtering, spam blockers, application control, load balancer. I think it's easier rather than having various vendors with various technologies. In terms of reporting, you would need to get to all those appliances to get different reports of what is happening.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very straightforward. It's very simple. You just plugin and then you use the web interface and it's quite straightforward for a tech guy. In terms of deployment, because we are deploying two firewalls, it only takes about two days to do the configuration.
What other advice do I have?
In terms of distribution, maybe it's because we're in Zimbabwe, it's a bit of a challenge. It's a hassle. It's not very visible here in Zimbabwe and Africa. It's something which we got over the internet. There is only one distributor, locally, but now, we are dealing directly with Untangle.
This is a very good product. In terms of sizing, you really need to understand your requirements at the outset and be able to get the correct appliance. Especially in terms of the number of functionalities. You should be looking into that in particular so that you get the correct appliance and be able to utilize it.
I would rate this solution a 9.5 out of 10. Having various solutions in one appliance, one portal, that's easy to implement, with excellent customer service makes for a sound solution. And it's not harsh on the pocket, in terms of the budgets, in terms of the license renewals etc. It's quite affordable. It's quite reasonable. It makes sense. I would say it's a very good product when you are comparing all those metrics.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Business Owner at Anyshape
It is the easiest and most cost-effective product to use
Pros and Cons
- "None of my clients has had a ransom or breach using Untangle."
- "It would be much easier if there was a mobile app."
What is our primary use case?
It performs very well, because you can deploy it on any hardware. You don't need to use an appliance from the company. We can use any server the company currently has, saving them money, or we can get an appliance from Untangle and deploy it.
How has it helped my organization?
None of my clients has had a ransom or breach using Untangle, whereas my Cyberoam and Sophos clients have been breached.
What is most valuable?
It is the easiest product to use. Features include:
- Phishing
- Spam filtering
- Web filtering
- Application filtering
- Web cache
- SSL filtering.
What needs improvement?
It would be much easier if there was a mobile app.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. The last three versions have been stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. With my Untangle box, I can easily stick in 4G of RAM and I add 500 users.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support is very good. With all the licenses, they give you free 24-hour support. If the system gives an issue, you just click on the support button, type in your error, and click submit. Then, in the cloud, they log on and fix the error for you immediately.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
My clients wanted to switch because they had been breached and/or their VPN did not work like it should.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is the most cost-effective to use.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
On our shortlist was Untangle, Fortinet, and Kerio Control.
- WatchGuard is useless.
- Cyberoam can't get their VPN to work, so it crashes all the time.
- Salesforce is amazing, but it costs you an arm and a leg. Then, you have to get a technician and spend a fortune to train someone just to read the reports.
- Check Point is great, but only if you're a bank.
What other advice do I have?
Don't listen to media people who promote products because they get kickbacks or are paid by companies to promote products.
Most important criteria for selecting a vendor: price to performance.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: POPI Certified Partner.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Untangle NG Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2024
Popular Comparisons
Fortinet FortiGate
Netgate pfSense
OPNsense
Cisco Secure Firewall
Sophos XG
Meraki MX
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls
Azure Firewall
Check Point NGFW
WatchGuard Firebox
SonicWall TZ
Sophos UTM
Juniper SRX Series Firewall
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
Sophos XGS
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Untangle NG Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- What do you recommend for a corporate firewall implementation?
- Comparison of Barracuda F800, SonicWall 5600 and Fortinet
- Sophos XG 210 vs Fortigate FG 100E
- Which is the best network firewall for a small retailer?
- When evaluating Firewalls, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- Cyberoam or Fortinet?
- Fortinet, Palo Alto or Check Point?
- If you could go back, would you change your decision to buy that firewall and why?
- Sophos XG vs Fortigate UTM
- Can you recommend a solution to replace Cyberoam 200ing Firewall?
Blocking website content was becoming more difficult for NSSA, and more websites are now routing traffic through HTTPS. Blocking unwanted traffic especially social media sites during working hours on the network and optimizing internet access for employees was a key requirement for us. With Untangle NGFW Web Filter, our team of network administrators have complete visibility into and control over all traffic flowing through the network.