Untangle NG Firewall Reviews

We are using a lot of applications which are running on Untangle. We use web filtering, application control, firewall, and VPN services.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I am using the solution as a firewall.

The tool provides a very reliable protection for my school.

Application Control and filtering features are valuable. It's valuable to have cloud management. VPN is also a valuable feature.

The product must improve its reporting features.

I have been using the solution for about five years. I have used versions 150 and 500.

I rate the tool’s stability a ten out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The initial setup was very straightforward.

The product’s cost is moderate to high.

The product provides us with good protection. I recommend the solution to others. Overall, I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

This solution has been great for our use case, and we deploy it on-premises.

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.

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.

We have been using the solution for approximately four years.

The solution is stable. I rate the stability a nine out of ten.

I rate the scalability a six out of ten. We have 13 users utilizing the solution in our organization.

Customer service and support are not very helpful. I rate them a three out of ten.

Negative

The initial setup is straightforward. It can be set up in less than an hour.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I primarily use the solution for internet and email filtering.

Right now the network is well maintained. Initially, we were blacklisted because of spamming, but that was by our ISP and that is now corrected.

The features I have found the most useful are the web filter, the captive portal, the SSL inspector, and the ad-blocker. They're awesome.

There quite a number of modules I've not used. For the web filter, I think they can do better especially on the free model. They have a free and a licensed model. If you use the free model, is not that effective. You have to use the commercial module for you to get effective results.

Functionality wise, they should try to put more options on some of the modules like web filtering capability. I know it has the capability to block specific IPs but I have not seen the capability to block a specific range of IPs. For example, you want to block a range of between 50 and 100 of an IP, I haven't seen that capability. I believe there are more functionalities which they can improve and prevent for security and management of internet within a corporate environment.

For example, I've seen firewalls where, let's say for example there's an infected machine within your network, they give you an alert or automatically block it from your network or mailing system. There're a number of functionalities missing in Untangle. It needs improvement but I believe every solution needs improvement.

The solution is very stable. I've never had issues with it.

The solution is pretty scalable. We have about 50 people using the solution.

In terms of customer support, so far I've not needed to contact them because I've not had any issues with the solution.

Previously, I didn't use a different solution.

The initial setup was straightforward.

I can't remember how long the deployment originally took. It was less than an hour, most likely. I downloaded then contacted Untangled NG directly. I did it myself with the help of support.

We actually have 30 staff, that's why I have 50 licenses. The modules are licensed on a yearly basis, and it's not really expensive. But the only problem is they sell it in a modular form. If you want the web filter, it has its own cost. If you want the captive portal, they sell that too. If you want the active directory connector, it has its own cost. So, if you were to bundle all the modules, it will end up being very expensive.

Before choosing, I just did a bit of research on the internet to try to figure out how I can be able to use some of these products to sort out my issues and I bumped into Untangle. I know about other products, like Check Point, but I chose Untangle in particular to solve the problem and the issues I was having at the moment.

For the NG firewall, it works better for just filtering and managing the internet, but it will not work on other security areas. It will not act like a perimeter firewall. For the users who are looking for that kind of solution, I think there are different solutions out there for every security issue you're looking at. It has worked perfectly for the need I was looking for. But I wouldn't use it as the main firewall for the network.

I would rate the solution a 7 out of 10.

We primarily used the solution for filtering features. 

The Untangle firewall is a software firewall, so it runs on generic hardware. We found that was probably the best feature, and it's why we chose it when we started using it three years ago.

The web content filtering needs improvement.

The solution is very stable.

The scalability is a bit limited.

We never had to use technical support. We had engineers in-house who could keep it running without needing external help. As we've never used support for Untangle, I would not be able to comment on any general experience with them.

The initial setup is straightforward.

I can't remember the cost because I'm not in finance. I know my company's very cost-conscious, and therefore the cost must have been very reasonable. Otherwise, my organization would not have taken that product.

We stopped using the solution in April 2019. The web content filtering feature of Untangle was not giving us what we wanted. The reason we moved away from Untangle is that it was not giving us the features we needed for our internal use.

I would rate the solution seven out of ten. I would recommend the solution for small or medium-sized enterprises.

My company, Kaizen Internetworking, has been deployed multiple types of firewalls, and we have found Untangle to suit SMB and some enterprise deployments.

It has improved and secured multiple clients. We have very good retention on maintaining our clients who run Untangle.

It is not attached to an appliance, meaning if you get a good PC/server, then you can already run a firewall.

The product needs to have a better support group for its online support, specifically for its help desk. 

The management console for partners is a bit tricky (buggy).

It is very easy to deploy and monitor. 

It is up-to-date and can compete even with the more expensive firewalls.

We are using this product internally, for intrusion prevention.

The most valuable features are IPS, MAPI, NAT, and VPN. These features are simply awesome.

This product has some unique features that are very good.

The pricing should be reduced because it is expensive.

I have been using Untangle for about one year.

Untangle is quite a stable product.

We use the software-based version, which is scalable. I am not sure about the hardware-based version so I cannot comment on it.

We have about 100 users.

We have not had a problem for the past couple of years so we have not been in contact with technical support.

We are also using FortiGate and Check Point.

The initial setup is very simple. Any layperson can set it up within an hour.

You can configure it and forget it.

One person part-time is more than enough for maintenance.

This is an expensive product.

This is a product that I can recommend and if anybody implements it and wants support, we would be open to providing technical support for it. This is something that we would be happy to do.

In summary, this is a good product and my only real complaint is about the pricing.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

• Effective Web Filter
• Easy VPN setup
• Load balancing
• SD-WAN
• Antivirus, etc.
  

We have had incredibly good results with all of its features. Web Cache has saved us a lot of bandwidth and Web Filter can block all Windows 10 updates.

• Web Filter for its effectiveness
• Web Cache for its bandwidth savings
• Easy VPN setup (including OpenVPN) takes just a few clicks.

In general, this solution is easy to learn.

The ability to setup a DDNS for each WAN independently would be a very handy feature.