Check Point IPS Reviews

I use it on a perimeter with the internet-facing services, so the traffic will pass through Check Point IPS, which will secure connectivity and communication.

The most valuable feature of the solution is called tunneling. Tunneling is one of the major security features that hackers cannot penetrate through. The hashing and SSL are also some of the valuable features of the solution.

The area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required consist of support availability. The tool's complete operating system architecture is being designed in such a way that it looks a little complicated compared to the tool offered by its competitors. The tool's complete operating system architecture needs to be simplified for the users, especially from an administrative and troubleshooting perspective, so that it can be used quickly or with speed whenever there is a crisis. If the aforementioned areas are considered, the product will be much stronger. The tool's support is a major issue because it has not been quick in certain areas compared to the ones offered by Check Point's competitors.

The product's scalability has certain shortcomings where improvements are required. The product should be able to handle and compete with competitors and their services as well as updates, which are much faster than Check Point.

Check Point IPS has been used in my organization for two decades. My company has a partnership with Check Point. My company also has customers at Check Point. My company can be described as a direct consumer, and we even deal with Check Point directly.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

I rate the technical support a six out of ten.

Neutral

Mainly, in my company's branches, I have Check Point. For my core data center, I use Cisco and some other solutions. Palo Alto is also a product I use in my company. The aforementioned area consists of the IPS tools I use internally in my organization.

The product's initial setup phase was okay.

In terms of ROI, I would say that Check Point IPS is able to meet the purpose for which my company purchased it. I rate the product's ROI a nine out of ten.

I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one means it is very cheap and ten means it is very expensive. The product is expensive.

A few integrations with Check Point IPS are a bit complicated, especially the cloud-based ones. The product's integration part is complicated because its users need a lot of support and HA so that it can work in a high-level architecture while also being integrated mainly with cloud platforms and considered a reliable source.

If I speak about objects in Check Point IPS, specifically in terms of the screening, sometimes it will go into the deepest screening which one may not be able to see the logs and for that we need to enable search specific logs, and it needs to be validated. For the aforementioned process, it should be simplified, and similar to other products. There should not be areas that are invisible and it should be transparent.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Initially, the requirement was just to have a stateful inspection firewall to control traffic entering our network. Later, we needed deep packet inspection to look into packets deeply to identify any kind of malicious content. This led us to start using Check Point IPS to have visibility across all the seven layers of traffic entering the network.

The solution is consumed by our SOC to ensure we have visibility into traffic entering our network. With IPS's logs, we began to get a lot of visibility into the type of traffic flowing into our network. It fulfills our SOC's need and has become our standard for deep packet inspection, which is easy to deploy.

Check Point IPS is very easy to configure. It's part of Check Point's blade architecture, where firewall, VPN, and IPS configurations are identical, making the learning curve minimal. The feature can be enabled with a straightforward process, allowing default or customized configurations.

From the product perspective, there have been instances where the signature download caused issues. However, it happened only once, and some QA is needed on signatures. Overall, the product is robust.

I have had experience with Check Point IPS for ten years now.

The stability of the solution is excellent. There haven't been any issues after enabling certain features, and it hasn't caused outages in traffic. During certification, we considered exceptions to avoid IPS inspection for legit traffic.

Scalability depends on hardware platform certification. Check Point's Maestro solution allows up to thirty-four firewalls in a load-sharing configuration. Properly sizing the appliance for IPS makes it a scalable solution.

Customer service is a significant drawback. Support is challenging during weekends, and support personnel often require unnecessary details, slowing resolution processes.

Positive

We use both Check Point and Palo Alto. Palo Alto is more expensive, with a front-end focused design lacking on the CLI. Check Point provides flexibility with Linux commands, reducing deployment hassle.

Setup is straightforward, rated as ten on a scale of one to ten. Configuration involves enabling the IPS feature and publishing changes, identical to setting up a firewall.

Three engineering team members worked on solution certification. The operations team, supported by four to five people, ensured deployment across global firewalls during limited change windows.

The solution fulfills the SOC's need for visibility and easy deployment of deep packet inspection, with no operational impact reported.

As a global customer, we receive decent discounts and expand our infrastructure using the solution. There have been no pricing issues.

We also evaluated Palo Alto and previously worked with Juniper long ago. Palo Alto has a steeper learning curve with proprietary terms not aligned with industry standards. Check Point follows standard conventions, simplifying deployment.

Check Point IPS is a preferable solution for its price, stability, and deployment ease compared to more complex solutions.

The primary use cases include application security control, comprehensive security management, and proactive protection against a wide range of threats. It serves as a crucial component for safeguarding applications and ensuring overall security effectiveness. It contributes to proactive protection and plays a pivotal role in firewall protection strategies.

The focus is on safeguarding the departmental environment, and it is effectively fulfilling its role in environmental protection.

It offers robust protection with features such as Next Generation firewall capabilities, mobile solutions, and proactive threat prevention.

Enhancements are necessary for the proficiency of notifications in the event of a Social Security incident, whether through email or alternative channels such as SMS.

I have been working with it for ten years.

It offers excellent stability. I would rate it ten out of ten.

I would rate its scalability abilities nine out of ten. Currently, 1,800 users within our organization actively use it.

I would rate its customer service and support nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup can be somewhat intricate, involving coordination with the OEM and service provider. I would rate it a six out of ten.

For the deployment, we conducted a refresh last year, which took approximately two to three weeks to complete. It is essential to have at least two individuals involved in the process, with one requiring additional expertise. This team typically consists of a Check Point specialist, an expert, and an administrator.

The pricing is quite reasonable.

It is highly efficient and it provides a mobile solution for various devices, including cell phones and iPads, catering to mobile workflows. The system is not only efficient but continually improving. I would certainly recommend it. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

We use the Check Point IPS for intrusion prevention. It was installed inline. This solution enabled us to stop all threats and intrusion activities across the data center. The IPS uses a signature-based approach to control traffic, allowing only authorized traffic to flow outside. However, it can also identify the traffic behavior and enforce the policy based on that behavior, protecting against even new and unknown threats.

The docking of the IPS engine can be improved.

I have been using Check Point IPS for three years.

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability a five or six out of ten.

Technical support is awesome.

I’ve used Cisco. It is very hard to configure and manage the day-to-day operation. It was entirely controlled by the CLI, like the command line interface. Compared to Check Point, it was wholly managed using the GUI. We can finetune and customize the signature. This feature is available in the Check Point.

The initial setup is not so difficult. It takes two and a half months to complete.

I rate the initial setup a six out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

I recommend using the out-of-path installation of this tool. Then, find the desired signature and fine-tune the exception based on your specific environment, including the port involved. Once done, bring the tool line into the traffic. Finally, enable the signatures one by one instead of relying on a single group containing older signatures.

The solution has the inherent complexity of managing IT infrastructure and configuring Check Point IPS. The Signature Management requires manual customization to adapt to your network traffic conditions. Building and customizing signatures is a complex and demanding task.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Our primary use case is to protect the workstation. The IPS blade is integrated into our Check Point environment. We have many blades in Check Point IPS representation, each with a specific function.

The most valuable feature is very good and easy to use. Configuration is straightforward, and support is fast, usually within one hour. The IPS blade is integrated into our Check Point environment and is used for intrusion prevention.

There is room for improvement in the pricing model, and it can be more competitive.

Moreover, another area of improvement is in the maintenance of the solution because it requires a lot of people to maintain the solution. Some tasks can be automated, and I would like to see a feature where we can automate the tasks.

The company has been using Check Point for around 20 years, and I have been with the company for two years. The IPS blade is integrated with Check Point, and we use R81.20.

The initial setup is straightforward. It is easy to configure.

The solution requires proper maintenance because there are several tasks to check for updates and more. We have five people on the maintenance team. Our company has many firewalls since it is big, and the number of endpoints is more than 5000. Moreover, we have various roles like engineers, system administrators, or network administrators.

I would give Check Point IPS a seven out of ten. We started using this product a year ago, and it has worked well for us.

We wanted a more robust solution for controlling access to our cloud environments (AWS and Azure). In addition, we wanted our control to be cloud-based. 

Our thought was to find a solution to aid us in being proactive as well as reactive. We have multiple environments in multiple clouds with some areas having delegated administration. The solution we needed was one to reduce the need for administrative headcount to continuously review any misconfiguration. Beyond that we were looking to find a solution for SASE.

The product has allowed us to proactively mitigate any network access misconfiguration resulting from delegation. 

We didn't have to hire an additional network administration resource to focus on detecting any misconfigurations. Dome 9 has assisted through the pre-canned compliance templates. 

We are able to define our own rules for detection. 

In addition to the Harmony Connect Endpoint bundled VPN, the Harmony Connect SASE is continuing to reduce reliance on traditional VPN to the point we will likely discontinue the use of the bundled VPN.

In terms of valuable features, it's hard to choose one. Dome9 and Harmony Connect have both been great in detecting and solving access issues.

As mentioned elsewhere in this review, the Harmony Connect SASE has been extremely valuable in improving our security posture and moving us to a zero-trust mindset (organizationally speaking).

Also, as mentioned, Dome9 has paid for itself through the cost savings of additional headcount. If we didn't have Dome 9, we would keep an additional headcount for the single purpose of detecting network changes within the environment. 

Support is the biggest area for improvement. Check Point is responsive, however, their support agents seem to be very siloed in their ability and/or product knowledge. It takes time and escalation to get through most tickets as they are passed from one group to another and then back again. We are able to navigate our support issues with the aid of our account team, so I want to underscore that support is indeed responsive. However, the processes support techs have to follow seem to be the root cause of the support response issues. 

I've used the solution for two years.

This is where Check Point needs to get operations ironed out. Stable Check Point products are items that haven't been acquired recently. Recent acquisitions seem to lack cohesive functionality.

From what we've encountered, scalability isn't an issue.

Support seems siloed in knowledge, As a result, most support requests require additional management. 

Neutral

We previously used a different solution, however, it was costly and didn't provide the same functionality.

The setup was difficult given the number of products and the lack of a cohesive user experience.  

We implemented the product in-house with the aid of support as part of a POC.

We noted ROI after one year.

It seems, as with other services of this nature, opting-in on the bundled licensing is the best bet. I'd suggest looking at the Infinity Plan. 

We evaluated Cisco, Juniper, and Palo Alto.

Make sure you have a good vibe from your sales team. They tend to support you in the long run. 

I primarily use Check Point IPS as the second layer of security. The first layer includes routers, DDoS protectors, and access lists on other network devices. Check Point IPS is used for threat prevention in the network, not for web applications. I also rely on other solutions for web application firewalls.

The integration of IPS with the firewall is quite efficient. It's easy to implement, monitor, and prevent certain situations on the same platform, which is very useful for me. Also, the real-time update function is beneficial. Check Point provides new versions of IPS policies and indicators of compromise, which help us maintain an up-to-date security posture.

Currently, the solution is good for my needs, so I don't have any particular improvements to recommend. However, a reduction in price would always be welcome.

I have been using Check Point IPS for over ten years.

The stability of the solution is very high. I would rate it as ten out of ten. It has been consistently reliable.

Scalability can depend on the environment. In my setup, using a hardware version, scaling is not easy. There's a limitation on the power because it's not a modular harmonic system. Others might find it easier to scale if they use the Harmony solution.

Customer support used to be very good, rating at nine or ten out of ten a few years ago. Recently, it's not as strong, more around six or seven out of ten due to the quality of solutions provided and support handling of cases.

Neutral

I have used many platforms for Check Point, including Nokia and Splat, and now I use a dedicated platform for Check Point IPS.

The initial setup was simple, though it was a long time ago.

The price could be lower. It's always better for an end user when prices are reduced. The cost makes it difficult to implement in smaller companies.

I have used many vendors and platforms, such as Nokia and Splat along with Check Point, for various security needs.

Overall, I rate Check Point IPS a nine out of ten. I recommend it to other users for its integration capabilities and stability.

I have been using the product as an antivirus. It acts like a security guard, stopping bad things from getting in and ensuring only the right stuff gets through.

The tool's most valuable feature is its detection panel. Managing and updating policies within Check Point IPS is easy and without issues. It provides a secure network. 

The tool's pricing could be better.

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

The solution is 100 percent scalable. My company has 150-200 users, and we plan to add 100 more users in the future. 

The tool's technical support is good. 

The setup process itself is straightforward, but configuring it can be complex due to the complexity of our network. It can be completed in two days. 

The tool's deployment can be done in-house. 

We can get 100 percent ROI from using the product. 

The tool's licensing model is good. The licensing costs are yearly. I rate it an eight out of ten. 

The solution exceeded our expectations. The Check Point IPS works with other security solutions, such as Ubiquiti and Bitdefender. Each product has its role in securing our network, devices, and users. We also use Microsoft Active Directory. I rate the tool a ten out of ten. You need to spend time and understand the product's capabilities.