Top 5 Web Content Filtering Tools 2022

PeerSpot’s crowdsourced user review platform helps technology decision-makers around the world to better connect with peers and other independent experts who provide advice without vendor bias.

Our users have ranked these solutions according to their valuable features, and have also discussed where they see room for improvement.

You can read user reviews for the top 8 web content filtering tools here, to help you decide which solution is best for you.

Users compare and give feedback on web content filtering tools that they’ve used — based on product reviews, ratings, and comparisons.

#1 Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway was ranked as the #1 web content filtering tool of 2022. PeerSpot users give Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway an average rating of 8 out of 10.

Baljeet S., Subject Matter Expert at Hitachi Systems, Ltd., says, "The feature that I find to be most valuable is the flexibility of the single endpoint." He also mentions that he likes that the solution “provides URL filtering, and [that] the reporting is good.” However, he says that the “Stability needs some improvement” and expresses that on occasion they have experienced some delay when it is synchronized.

A Managing Consultant, Sr. DLP Security Engineer at a comms service provider says that while the product has great analytics and "The GUI is quite nice," Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway has weak support.

In addition, a PeerSpot reviewer who is an Infrastructure Support Officer at a government states, "It has got a really good URL categorization database. It is simple to set up. It is also easy to use and quite intuitive. It has got a nice utility for troubleshooting." While the user is generally satisfied with the solution, he also warns that “It needs firewall capabilities for UDP filtering. Its upgrades can be quite complex, and they don't always go as per the plan. Its reporting could be a bit more granular."

#2 McAfee Web Protection

McAfee Web Protection was ranked as the #2 web content filtering tool of 2022. PeerSpot users give McAfee Web Protection an average rating of 8 out of 10.

Daniel C., Lead: Incident Response, Investigation & Vulnerability Management at a government says "The most valuable [feature] is the blocking of blacklisted sites, a URL that is, either by intelligence or by McAfee, detected as a malicious site." In terms of room for improvement, he mentions that his company had to use a consultant to help set it up, and he was disappointed with the service they received.

PeerSpot reviewer Jean-Luc D., Owner at JLDG, says what he finds most valuable is that "It doesn't seem to take too much system bandwidth, and I also like its reporting. Once a month, it gives me a reminder of the activity. It reminds me that the protection is on, and if there are any issues, it summarizes those minor issues. During the month, it only notifies when there is something special." He also notes that "The True Key version for mobile phones should be improved. The password manager is not as seamless as on the desktop. Once implemented, on the desktop, when you go to the site, it automatically fills and connects you, whereas, on the mobile phone, it doesn't do that quite seamlessly. You need to open the True Key application and then select the password you want to use. It then opens in the browser. There are fewer steps in the desktop version as compared to the mobile version."

#3 TitanHQ WebTitan

TitanHQ WebTitan was ranked as the #3 web content filtering tool of 2022. PeerSpot users give TitanHQ WebTitan an average rating of 10 out of 10.

An Infrastructure / Database Lead at a healthcare company explains how the solution “saved us many times from malware payloads, and helps productivity by blocking general browsing.” He goes on to mention that "It's extremely stable. I would say it's flawless. We did have some concerns that, if it did fail, all internet access would stop for our people because the proxy wouldn't be there. That concern has subsided over the years because it's proven that it doesn't really fail." Regarding room for improvement, he says, "For security, it's very restrictive. For us, it blocks a lot, even too much, so we have had to create exceptions. A new implementation takes a bit of time to train it up, to put in all the exclusions, but once you have that done, it's just a matter of adding things as they come up."

#4 Barracuda Web Security Gateway

Barracuda Web Security Gateway was ranked as the #4 web content filtering tool of 2022. PeerSpot users give Barracuda Web Security Gateway an average rating of 8 out of 10.

Brian R., Solutions Engineer at a tech services company, says the best feature is "The ease of use. It's pretty easy to use and navigate the UI... to either block or whitelist a web address." Although Brian is mostly satisfied with the product, he mentions that he did in fact have trouble scaling it for their new platform.

Solomon A., CTO at GCET, exclaims that the product offers “Fantastic support for a stable and scalable solution.” However, he also notes that "The AD agent is an issue which my customers and I have encountered. Sometimes it refuses to start and, only as time goes by, does it become apparent that things are not working the way they should."

#5 SonicWall CFS

SonicWall CFS was ranked as the #5 web content filtering tool of 2022.

PeerSpot reviewer Darshil S., a Consultant at a tech services company, says the solution is very stable and has “Reliable content filtering but needs more traffic control.” He believes the malware, scanning, capture, and integration should be included with the content filtering.