Check Point NGFW Reviews

We are using these Next Generations Firewalls to segregate and protect our data center and business-critical data from the user LAN. 

We have some of the resources behind these firewalls which should be allowed to a certain set of users only. This is done using the authentication against the Active Directory groups and only the designated users are allowed to access the contents based on the firewall rules. 

Along with this, we use IPS and Antivirus features to protect our most critical network.

The solution is great and simple to implement. It has improved the security posture and overall management of this segregated network.

We have this deployed globally across multiple sites and it's very easy to manage compared to other vendors. 

We have been using this solution now for a few years and never came across any issues. 

The documentation is simple to understand and is easily available. 

The support is also observed to be good and we never had to escalate the cases due to support issues.

We have been using Check Point NGFW to protect the business-critical data from the other networks and provide secured access to the users best on the authentication, integrated with the Active Directory. 

We have been using packet filtering, stateful inspection, and VPN awareness along with user authentication and have not observed any performance issues in the last several years. If you are looking for a solid solution that is very stable in nature, this is the best choice.

We have been using CheckPoint NGFW for quite some time now, and the only thing that could be improved is the upgrade procedure and the frequency of the hotfixes we get. 

We have this deployed in multiple sites globally and managed via the central management server. The upgrade is something we would like to be improved in the future as the frequency of hotfixes is too much, and by the time we finish the one round, we already have the new version released and are required to upgrade. We would like to see some improvement in this area.

I've used the solution for 15 years.

The stability is rock solid.

The solution is easily scalable.

It's been a long time since we started using this. When we decided to expand several years before and we decided to go ahead with Check Point and continued with Check Point. We reviewed a lot of other products from different vendors, however, his was chosen as the best by our engineering team and we decided to stick with this.

The set up is very simple and more straightforward than we thought.

The setup cost is pretty much the same as compared to the other vendors. The initial pricing could be slightly better, however, the licensing and maintenance cost is much better compared to the other similar products in the market.

Cisco and PaloAlto were the other options evaluated.

We use the NGFW to give security and protection to our local network and internet user from internet threats like viruses, worms, bots, and intrusion. 

We also use it to control the internet URLs accessed by the user. We subscribe to two internet service providers with total bandwidth available of 450 Mbps and we have more than 700 internet users connected. 

Check Point's firewall does a good job of protecting the user from malicious threats. It is able to run smoothly without being a bottleneck in the network. 

Check Point NGFW helps us to secure our user's computer and our server and therefore helps us to maintain business operations. It has important features like an intrusion prevention system, anti-virus, and anti-bot capabilities. 

It also helps us manage bandwidth efficiently by managing what website is allowed to access by users. 

We're limiting user access to websites with high bandwidth demand like video streaming and social media, of forbidden websites like adult websites. 

We can manage which users have access to certain websites.

The antivirus, antibot, and intrusion prevention systems are great. It's very important due to the fact that to prevent is better than to recover. The features play a critical role in preventing any security incidents from happening and minimalizing them before they become bigger problems. 

Its URL filtering feature is great. We can manage which users are allowed access to which websites at a certain time. We can also manage which application is allowed and forbidden for the users. 

Check Point has a vast list of applications it is able to manage - from torrents to games, social media, etc. 

The product could provide an easier user interface and management, by combining all functions (network and policy configuration) into one single application rather than splitting it into different applications. 

Users will also really appreciate it if Check Point provides a free management and logfile analysis module. In the existing setup, a user must pay an extra subscription fee to have access to the firewall management module. It makes the user without a subscription unable to fully gain insight from the firewall log file so they are unable to fully utilize the device

I've used the solution for four years.

It's stable. The system runs with minimal problems. I said minimal because yes there were problems. In 4 years using checkpoint, we have maybe 2 major problem. One was hardware modul failure, that replaced as soon as possible by support team, and the other was software/configuration problem, that get solved also with the help of support team

It has the ability to scale depending on the product model.

They provide good support, depending on your troubles. For more complicated requests, maybe you will have to pay.

Neutral

Check Point is the company's first NGFW.

The initial setup is simple, however, customizing it could be complex.

We implemented the solution through a vendor team. The score I'd give for their expertise is seven out of ten.

if you pay for the setup cost, make sure you get it set up exactly as you need it to be.

We looked into Sophos, Sangfor, and Palo Alto.

We use the solution for the DMZ firewall. It's very common and very easy to make configuration, Having IPsec for tunneling solutions with third-party routers and firewalls with other branch offices is very helpful. 

It offers support for segmentation networks. 

The geolocation feature makes it so that our company can easily allow or block a location of IP and can integrate with our SOC or our log management system. 

URL filtering is very powerful for blocking malicious connections. 

The user interface is very cool and easy to use. It has anti-DDOS protection which is very useful too.

The solution is very helpful. Using Check Point helps our security team with mitigation and prevention with an easy user interface and configuration. 

Anti-malware and URL filtering can mitigation many malicious activity and log for event easy for us to send to our security operation center team, for internet solutions we use load balancing method with a round-robin algorithm which is very very helpful for internal user solution for accessing the internet with redundant availability.

URL filtering and anti-malware protection at=re the most useful as those can mitigate many malicious events and make connections between users and the internet safe. It's faster with the load balancing method and supports a round-robin algorithm. This firewall in our environment has high availability or cluster system which makes our availability higher, especially for business continuation plans. Support for troubleshooting and maintenance cases is great. They are very helpful and fast at solving many problems.

The network automation and security automation could be better. We need integration with more third-party security solutions.

We need two-factor authentication solutions for the virtual private network solution. We need a firewall or NGAV/EDR with lightweight resources that is still powerful for blocking and preventing attacks and malicious activity. 

We need enhancement for our perimeter for our security zone, especially for network access control with portal authentication. 

I've been using the solution for five years.

We did use a different solution. We switched as we need more enhancements. 

We also looked into Fortinet.

We use the solution for securing all of our servers facing the public network, site-to-site VPN, and SSL VPN like the webserver, e-services, and many other such applications. I have been using the below-mentioned modules:

• Application Control
• SSL Inspection
• URL Filter
• IPS/IDS
• Virus Scanner
• ATP
• DNS Sinkhole
• File Content Scan (Archived Content)
• Link Protection
• Safe Search
• VPN
• Anti Bot/Anti-Spam
• Threat Emulation/Extraction

I can say each and every module has benefited my organization and I would highly recommend others to deploy Check Point solutions.

We have good peace of mind now, after deploying this solution. We could easily defend against zero-day attacks and day-to-day vulnerabilities.

Since the time we deployed the solution, we are 100% safe and secure.

At present, the newly deployed solution is being used for reverse proxy, the site-to-site VPN, and SSL VPN along with the proxy for a few of the machines.

Their threat emulations and Bot Services are a must-try. 

You can just deploy it, sit back, and relax without any issues.

The most valuable features include:

• Application Control
• SSL Inspection
• URL Filter
• IPS/IDS
• Virus Scanner
• ATP
• DNS Sinkhole
• File Content Scan (Archived Content)
• Link Protection
• Safe Search
• VPN
• Anti Bot/Anti-Spam
• Threat Emulation/Extraction

Each and every module provides 100% accuracy. 

Their threat emulations and Bot Services are excellent.

Additionally, they have an excellent support team working around the clock. The engineers have excellent knowledge and provide us with a resolution in a very timely manner.

I have been using Check Point technology since 2011 and recently I have deployed new NGFW, the upgraded version, in a cluster along with the management box.

Check Point updates and upgrades are in a timely manner. There is nothing more that I need in terms of improvement.

Additionally, they have an excellent support team working around the clock. Check Point engineers have excellent knowledge and have provided us with the resolution in a timely manner.

I have been using Check Point technology since 2011 and recently I have deployed the new NGFW. It's the upgraded version and we have it in a cluster along with the management box.

I've used the solution for the last ten years.

The solution is highly stable.

The solution is highly scalable.

Customer service is excellent.

Positive

We did use a different solution originally. We changed to Check Point for achieving high levels of security.

The initial setup is straightforward.

We implemented through a vendor team and I would rate them at a 10 out of 10.

It's excellent and the management is very satisfactory.

It's a very economical option.

We evaluated Palo Alto and Cisco.

It's an excellent solution and offers the best support.

We use Check Point to protect our two data centers under an active scheme. It allows us to protect our customer information while preventing cybersecurity events that put our customers at risk. We use threat prevention and extraction, VPN, firewall blade, VSX, and the entire Check Point management suite. Our setup includes two firewalls in a high availability and VSX environment, respectively. We also take advantage of Check Point's load balancer, which works very well. The failover is performed automatically, without any flashing or noticeable impact on the user. 

Check Point NGFW enabled us to switch from a decentralized solution with seven firewalls to a solution that's easier to manage with high-availability firewalls and capabilities that were previously lacking in NGFX. It helped us connect our users working remotely during the quarantine while maintaining our security policies and avoiding zero-day attacks. 

The solution makes administration more straightforward because we can replicate the policies in both data centers with a single click, helping us to deploy quickly in both gateways without problems.

Check Point's most useful feature is threat prevention and extraction. It was tough to manage seven firewalls and a perimeter solution for IPS, anti-malware, anti-bot, and sandboxing. 

Integrating everything in Check Point allows us to see all the attacks that are blocked with our perimeter countermeasures every day. Check Point's high detection rate improves our overall security posture, and we can achieve a low rate of false positives through a few adjustments to the configuration.

It could be easier to access the installation of the Hostfix for VSX solutions. The CLI commands help us understand how virtual firewalls behave in terms of processor, memory, and other aspects. More graphic visualizations of CPUSE commands would be a welcome improvement, and Check Point could expand scripts to run within the solution for multiple tasks.

I've been using Check Point NGFW for seven years

Check Point works well in a high-availability setup, and the failover is fast. We had very few instances of unavailability. It happened once when we had hard disk issues, but the RMA process was quite simple, and the replacement part came quickly.

We added new Check Point firewalls twice this year, and it was relatively simple. You can quickly migrate the configurations, and your new firewall is ready to go after a few adjustments to the settings.

Check Point's support has been excellent, and they respond immediately via phone, chat, and email. In particular, I think the chat support was great. 

Positive

Previously, we were using seven open-source firewalls, and we decided to go for a solution with good ratings from NGFW users. We wanted something well-positioned in the market that had good support.

Migrating from an open-source, decentralized setup with seven firewalls to centralized management was complex, but it was less complicated than we expected thanks to Check Point’s management features. The ability to perform a parallel startup helped a lot during deployment.

A vendor team helped us, and the migration was smooth. The Check Point engineers who worked for our partner were well trained to handle the implementation.

Check Point NGFW can be expensive compared to other competitors, but the price matches the functionality and efficiency of the solution.

We considered Fortinet, Palo Alto, and SonicWall before settling on Check Point

We are using Firewall Intrusion Prevention and URL Filtering, and we just purchased the Endpoint Protection package for our workstations.

It is deployed on-premises. We have two Check Point systems in place. We have one that's between our business network and the outside world, and we also have one that's between our business network and our internal SCADA system.

We haven't updated to version 81, so we're still at version 80.

It has provided us with great protection from threats. I've been here 30 years, and we've had two incidents, and none of them were within the time we've used Check Point.

The console or the single interface on the blades is most valuable.

The only thing that we've seen is instances where console and administrative interfaces get locked up or freeze, and we have to get the machine rebooted.

I have been using this solution for probably 10 years.

I would rate it a nine out of 10 in terms of stability.

Its scalability is very good. Our entire force is about 190 people, and most of them use it at some point just because they are going out to the internet and have that protection for the workstations. 

It is being used extensively. Everyone is using it, and we do have plans to increase the functionality on the device.

They provide really good support. I would rate them a five out of five. 

I can't remember the product, but what we had initially was an entry-level device. It was a single-purpose firewall. We went up to an enterprise solution that had additional features.

It was pretty simple to transfer the old firewall configuration to the new one. So, it was pretty straightforward and easy. I would rate it a four out of five in terms of effortlessness.

It took over a month. We ran two systems. We built a new system for a couple of weeks before switching over completely.

We used a consultant. Our experience with them was very good.

For deployment and maintenance, we have five people on our staff. We have to do some maintenance on it. It's pretty much scheduled to rotate between us so that we keep our skills fresh.

We've not done an initial study on any kind of ROI. We rarely do. In positives, we try to perform a yearly risk assessment of our systems, and we find very few vulnerabilities. So, it is doing what it's supposed to. It is keeping us safe.

Its cost is a little higher than other products.

We evaluated other options, but I don't remember their names. We basically went to the consultant we deal with for security-related things and said, "What's out there? What do you recommend?" He gave us three and recommended that the Check Point was probably the lead one.

I would advise comparing it to the other products.

I would rate it a nine out of 10. It has served us very well and given us very few headaches.

Checkpoint Firewall provides advanced security for the organization and its connection to the members/participants. The Check Point FW controls access and traffic to and from the internal and external networks. The Check Point Firewall rule base defines the access control and network performance to help our organization achieve the below security goals:

• Only allows authorized connections and prevents vulnerabilities in a network
• Gives authorized users access to the correct internal networks
• Optimizes network performance and efficiently inspects connections

Check Point Firewall provides advanced security for the organization. The FW controls access and traffic to/from the internal and external networks. The Firewall rule base defines the access control and network performance to help our organization achieve the below security advantages:

• Only allows authorized connections and prevents vulnerabilities in a network
• Gives authorized users access to the correct internal networks
• Optimizes network performance and efficiently inspects connections
• Protection of all assets from internal and external threats

The following features are most valuable: 

• Threat prevention
• Malware prevention
• IPS
• IDS
  

Check Point should improve services related to the cloud-based solution. Due to these challenging times, most organizations seek to move to cloud-based implementation to minimize the cost and for easy deployment, access, and remote support. 

The Next-Generation Firewall should also be focused on zero-day threats as attacks have improved the past few years. They need to ensure that all connections and nodes are being protected. 

Sandblast technology is also a good tool as it offers enterprise solutions on malware detection and prevention.

I've used the solution for five years.

The solution is stable and can support all OS deployments. It's easy to manage.

We recommend the product as it is excellent and very scalable.

There have been no issues regarding the support from Check Point and the local vendor.

Positive

We previously used Fortinet.

The initial setup was straightforward. 

We did the deployment in-house and with a vendor team. The level of expertise was a 10/10.

The solution is easy to deploy. The pricing is lower than other solutions. We've had no issue with licensing.

We looked into Watchguard, Palo Alto, and Sophos.

We need more information on the ability to collaborate enterprise support.

We are using this product as a firewall which does have the capacity to block the IPS signature as well. 

It is highly accurate for the IPS engine and has the best-in-class log monitoring and report generating facility in the firewall. 

It is easy to manage, as it has a centralized management console. We are using the firewall as a VPN service as well. It is very easy to troubleshoot the issue with the VPN. We are using IPSEC features where we can enable tunnels with the client and we can safely communicate with vendors due to encryption.

Checkpoint NGFW improved the security posture of our network infrastructure to the point where we can use antivirus, IPS, and antibot features to tighten up the security. We can also use URL filtering where we can block malicious URLs in communications. We can easily stop and detect Day-Zero attacks. 

The throughput of the firewall is very big for data transitions. The antivirus also includes DPI (deep packet inspection), which examines the data within the packet itself rather than only looking at packet headers. This enables users to identify, categorize, or block packets with malicious data more effectively. 

The IPS feature is the most valuable feature. We can block zero-day attacks within stipulated time intervals. The up-gradation activities are much simpler when we are dealing with Check Point firewalls. 

If there is a critical issue observed, the Check Point support team can create a custom package that we can deploy on the gateway to mitigate critical issues/bug fixes. 

The support reachability is very promising, as we can directly connect with them via call or chat from the support portal.

Sometimes the KB article does not include all the steps. There is a chance for improvement in the content of global KB articles. It's nearly impossible to add an exception for threat prevention services - such as antivirus and anti-bot. You will be stuck with Indicators of compromise marked as detecting only, caching issues, and random effects. There is no clear way to report incorrect classification to support. 

Sometimes we need to find a resolution by ourselves as the solution's knowledge base is not enough.

I have been using this solution for five years.

The stability is good.

We can easily scale the gateways with a few simple clicks. 

Technical support is great.

Positive

We did use a different solution. Check Point provides better visibility where security is concerned. 

The setup was very straightforward

We can implement it by ourselves.

The ROI is double annually.

It is pretty cheap as far as the setup cost, pricing, and/or licensing are concerned.

We looked at Palo Alto firewalls.