Check Point Remote Access VPN Reviews

Since SARS-COV2, most users went to work from their home office, so we needed to have an robust, secure, and stable VPN connection. We implemented Check Point VPN and we have had no problems with it. We are almost 50 users working from home securely. Also, the access rules based on VLANs have helped many users get access depending on which connection they have. For example, some users with VPN connections can only access some specific servers and ports, however, when they are on an internal LAN, they have access to the entire network.

We have more control over the activity that users have on the internal network, thanks to the monitoring offered by Check Point and the security provided by the gateway. 

I'm the IT manager for the company, and my work has been improved due to the fact that, in conjunction with VPN, we implemented the Endpoint Security client so we can manage our client's computers even if they are not physically in the office. When we need to remove some users from a VPN connection we just need to lock the account and use the assets console to disable the feature from the client's computer.

The combination of the user accounts for the VPN with the access rules provided by the security gateway gives you more control and specificity about who has access to what. For external users, we can offer a solution based on the internet needs and we are able to share information on a secure channel. We can specifically point to the desired resources in the organization without the need to install any additional software on external client machines.

It needs to improve the capability of the Secure browser VPN connections. Some in-house applications didn't work due to the use of JScript and the backend and front end technology for the applications. In the case of URL translation of the VPN Web portal, the requests made from the front end to the back end weren't valid (due to the use of dynamic subdomains). In the case of host translations, the request was made to the same host, however, we cannot specify the ports, which, in our case, are used to redirect to different servers.

I've used the solution for over two years.

It's very stable, however, I recommend some scheduled restarts for cleaning connections and processes.

It is very easy to manage the solution and also the integration.

I have had a good experience with the support tickets that I have dealt with.

Positive

Previous to Check Point, we didn't have any gateway security.

The initial setup was a little complex as it was the first time working with Check Point.

The implementation was handled by an in-house team.

We expect that investments is recovered in two years.

The pricing is fair and the support team is good.

We were evaluating Fortinet as well.

Check Point is very reliable and secure.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this solution has helped us a lot. We had to move around 6000 people so that they could work from home. It was a challenge for us, however, it was something we managed to do successfully in collaboration with other areas by providing them with a certificate created by Check Point with a .p12 extension and with the peer configuration in their VPN client. 

Now, we are integrating this solution with a 2MFA solution in order to provide better security for authentication of people as day by day the threats and new viruses are always a risk. Sometimes, people do not have that instinct of having to secure their workstations, therefore, we do it for them through the VPN connection.

Connection through VPN has helped us with the connection to corporate. This type of connection has been very useful to us since, as infrastructure personnel, we can establish a connection to our corporate to make a connection either RDP or directly to services in order to be able to carry out any work activity or review any report by the operational part in order to speed up response times. We can connect to our network equipment by SSH, RDP, or via the web, however, only when we have this type of secure connection.

One of the features that has helped us the most with our solutions has been the P2P connection through an IPsec VPN. It has allowed us to extend our infrastructure and grow with new clients. Previously, we had around 15 corporate clients. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have managed to grow and now have around 35 new corporate clients and more than 6 people connected by VPN. This has forced us to increase our infrastructure to be able to support all these connections and to have a stable, reliable, and, above all, scalable solution that can interconnect more clients.

We have not migrated to the R81 version and I do not doubt that it will have some improvements compared to the version we use today. 

Without a doubt and with the new trends in technology, Check Point should already have a blade with a 2MFA solution and not through some other vendor. This type of integration would undoubtedly give it a better reach and greater market with new security trends top of mind. 

I know that everything is moving to a cloud environment, however, for all those corporates that still do not trust such an environment, it would be favorable to offer a 2MFA service in a solution tested through a blade or in the cloud. 

I've used the solution for more than five years.

The remote workers were experiencing issues like disconections, no IP avaliables from the DHCP, or unable to connect because the server didnt responde to a ping, however this issue was fix after we instlalled the JHF 125 on each gateway and after the upgrade, everythig has been working OK, but before that Check Point didn´t have a fix for that manner.

Scalability is great. We have been able to grow as a corporation due in part to this type of solution.

They have been with us when we needed help. We don't have any complaints about their level of service.

Positive

We did use a different solution and we switched due to the fact that Check Point is more secure and has more features for the type of connections we need.

It was a straightforward setup.

The product was integrated with in-house personnel.

We've seen about a 40% ROI.

Check Point is an expensive solution, however, it has more features and is more secure than other options.

Ae evaluated AnyConnect and Palo Alto.

We would like them to add a 2MFA feature in the future. This is our direct request.

With this solution, we can:

1) Securely and privately access our data from anywhere with the Check Point VPN. 

2) Connect securely from any device and any asset.

3) Have 2FA enabled while connecting to the VPN in an official mail. If any person has your VPN credential, he can initiate contact for security codes to connect to the VPN.

4) Integrate our data.

5) View VPN events from the console.

6) Easily install and connect the VPN. 

7) Provide colleagues with secure and seamless remote access to the corporate network.

8) Get a full picture with complete network visibility.

The product has improved the organization by:

1) Deploying high performance. Check Point's private VPN gateways can secure our colleagues/teams working remotely with dedicated IPs and provides private resource access. It empowers our personnel to connect with relevant access permissions to access corporate resources.

2) Ensure a user of our organization aligns with traffic privacy with one of many tunneling protocols so that all transmitted data is completely encrypted. The level of security provided by Check Point ensures that only authorized connections are established, so if users are connected, they are protected.

The solution's most valuable aspects include:

1) Ease of install and ease of use.

2) 2FA Security.

3) Seamless access.

4) Integration with our data.

5) The ability to view VPN events from the console.

6) The ability to manage all our devices from one platform and easily secure and segment their access to resources. 

7) Providing authorized least privileged access for all devices.

8) The ability for our entire global organization to work more securely and to allow us to deploy private and dedicated networks in more than one location.

9) The level of security provided by Check Point. It ensures that only authorized connections are established, so if users are connected, then they are protected.

This is the best version we are using, however, if some changes can be made in the next release, I'd like to see adjustments to the time period and internet connectivity. 

For example, when my internet is not working properly, then the VPN disconnects all of sudden and if I want to connect again, I need to do so with credentials and 2FA. In the next release, if the product could program in a hold time then disconnect the VPN due to the internet's fluctuation, that would be ideal as it would improve the way we can monitor our network visibility.

I've been using Check Point Remote access VPN from a Client perspective for eight months.

It is perfectly stable as far as the VPN is concerned because when I used the older version(R.77) of checkpoint Remote VPN then that time there was points of stablility concern but after the upgradation checkpoint VPN(R.80) perfectly worked on stability part and now it is stable for windows and MAC OS.

The solution offers high scalability as far as adding more users. I don't see that as being an issue.

We have 330-350 users in our company who are using the Check Point VPN.

Technical support is good and helpful when needed. Whenever I was stuck, I was able to get a solution. This was provided by the Check Point TAC support and services team and they were helpful.

Positive

I used Forticlient VPN also. However, the Forticlient VPN had no visibility on traffic and we required better security for our organization.

The product is easy to download, set up, and configure. The official site documentation is pretty good and helps you to understand the process in order to get the VPN connected.

I implemented it myself both in-house as well as for our client.

In terms of the cost:

1) It's easy to set up and download from the official Check Point site.

2) It's easy to connect the VPN by putting in the gateway address, credentials, and the 2FA. 

3) I don't know about exact pricing as it's not a part of my job. I'm a technical person. Our sales team knows all the pricing and licensing details.

I did not really look at other options. My first experience was with Forticlient, however, I wanted more security so I chose the Check Point VPN solution and I'm happy with using it. 

We use Check Point Remote Access VPN to provide access to our corporate network and resources to remote users in a secure way. Users have access that is limited or defined by the server.

Access is granted for identified devices post-posture validation. 

Access should be provided via VPN using multifactor authentication other than username/credentials. Users are able to connect from anywhere at anytime using both mechanisms (i.e. User VPN client or browser). 

This solution mitigates or minimizes data leakage issues.

It is stable and scalable and requires minimal management and access provisioning.

This solution has improved our organization by providing access to corporate resources in a secure fashion. It uses complete end-to-end encryption from the end-user machine to the VPN device.

Access policies are created on the firewall for restricting access to resources and applications based on the user profile/policy.

Our security gateway is integrated with Active Directory and access to resources/applications is provided based on the security group created in Active directory.

This product has inbuild/native integration with MFA solutions.  

It does not require any additional hardware in cases where the organization already has the Check Point NGFW. The mobile access blade and remote access VPN can be enabled on the same security gateway. Check Point provides a common dashboard and management console used in conjunction with the NGFW.

Multiple access can be provided using multiple realms, based on the user ID or security group, and access can be provided accordingly. Each realm will have a pool of IP addresses for which access will be provisioned on the firewall.

Organizations that already use the Check Point NGFW Solution do not require any additional hardware, which makes the implementation straightforward and reduces the time to go live. The only requirement is to purchase an additional license from Check Point, and then enable the mobile access blade. After this, the solution is ready to roll out and provide access based on the configured policy. 

Access is restricted based on user ID, security group, and device type. 

Access is provisioned post-posture policy validation and it offers protection against users connecting to the corporate network from non-corporate devices, which minimizes data leakage possibilities. 

Access is available from browsers or VPN clients using MFA. This is helpful in cases where the machine does not have the client installed or the client is corrupted.

We are able to restrict access based on geo-location and device type. Devices can be Android, iOS, Windows, or Linux.

It provides threat prevention capabilities while uses connect via VPN for Windows devices.

Access is provisioned based on a single L3 tunnel being established between the endpoint and the VPN device. If an attacker gains access to this session then all of the tunnel traffic is compromised. It needs to move to next-generation style access, provisioning such as per-app VPN.

The GUI interface for configuring the SSL VPN is not user-friendly and requires expertise. 

Devices are exposed over the internet and it can lead to a security threat.

When a critical patch needs to be applied to the VPN, downtime is required for the entire NGFW. This can impact the business when it has a single security gateway.

This product cannot manage sudden user growth, as each security gateway has limitations in terms of performance and throughput.

The fully-featured security module is only supported on Windows and Mac systems, which means that organizations with Linux will face issues providing secure access. Specifically, modules such as Threat prevention, Access control, and Incident analysis are supported only on Windows and Mac.

It's very stable in terms of downtime, although it required updates.

The solution can be easily scaled by adding a security gateway.

The Check Point technical support is excellent.

We used Aventail SonicWALL as a standalone product. We switched because it was expensive in terms of management and maintenance. As we already had Check Point NGFW, it was easy to enable the VPN on the same device.

Enabling the VPN was simple and straightforward with the purchase of an additional license from the OEM. Once we acquired the license, it involved enabling the module on the security gateway. The solution was ready to go live within 10-15 minutes.

The implementation was completed by our in-house team with the assistance of the OEM.

Organizations that already have the Check Point NGFW need to purchase an additional license to have access to the VPN functionality.

We evaluated Pulse and Citrix before choosing this option. 

Traditional VPNs that work on L3 or L4, with a single VPN tunnel, are typically hosted on-premises. As organizations are adopting cloud computing, it makes sense to have a VPN solution hosted on the cloud for better control and security.

We use the solution for our customers. Whenever the users work from home, they connect to the solution and are redirected to their network. It is very simple. They install the client, and the client makes a tunnel to the product. Once they are connected, they can enter into the network.

The policies are easy to use. Once we are connected, the entire infrastructure is safe, irrespective of the device we are using. There is no need to worry about safety. It's a secure tunnel that helps us access the network. It is a very useful feature. We can access the internal resources once we are connected to a VPN. We need not be in the office. The solution performs well.

The product’s architecture is a bit distributed. It should consolidate the architecture to make everything available on a single dashboard.

I have been using the solution for two and a half years.

The tool is stable.

The tool is scalable. We may need to opt for higher boxes. We work with enterprise customers.

The technical support is hardly good. The support team must improve its response time. It should also improve follow-ups through email.

Neutral

I have worked with Sophos and Array Networks. Check Point’s stability is better compared to other tools. I have frequently faced disconnection and other issues with other products.

The initial setup is not easy. We need to be skilled in Check Point to install the solution. The time taken for deployment depends upon the number of boxes we install. If we install one or two boxes, one or two weeks is sufficient.

Our customer needed to install more than 100 boxes in every region. It takes months to deploy the product at that scale. We need a team of 20 people to implement the tool for an enterprise. Once the installation is done, maintenance is easy. The product runs smoothly.

I recommend the solution to every vendor with Check Point as a firewall because it has great stability and security. We can terminate our VPN services to the same box if we're already using Check Point VPN. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

This functionality is very practical to be able to connect to the business network from anywhere; the monitoring that can be provided and the granularity in the VPN to provide control to users is really good.

It offers excellent performance to be able to connect our users to business applications outside the company perimeter.           

It is easy to use and has an easy-to-use connectivity agent, and can be integrated with MFA to provide an additional layer.

In these times when the priority is telecommuting or working from home, it is essential to provide accessibility to the company safely. Through Check Point it was possible to provide this essential comfort to users who work in this modern format.

One of the features that draws a lot of attention is the integration of the remote VPN application in our Check Point gateway and management server, where it is easy to use.

The granular control and access under the Check Point policies made applying a zero trust policy much easier, providing greater security.

The integration with MFA through a configuration and integration with Azure is quite good, providing security to the user's identity. It is a very important feature where everything is tried to shield against modern vulnerabilities.

The license is included with gw licensing, however, in terms of the number of users that can be activated for use.                                                                                       

In our case, we quote additional licensing and it is quite expensive for remote VPN, other manufacturers are not so expensive.

The support provided is slow, in addition to the fact that the service hours are contrary to ours, which generates slower problem solving, I think it is important to improve this area.

This is a not-so-new tool that can be used in our gateways and management products. We have used these VPNs since we started using our environments with this manufacturer.

On a personal level, I had previously used Cisco and Azure VPN, among others, however, the control generated with Check Point is not the same. It is much better.

It is essential to validate how many remote VPNs are required, check costs, and see if they are within the scope of the company.

We validated the scope against other manufacturers and were satisfied with the security features provided by Check Point.

On a technical level, the tool is very good, and safe, in addition to providing a lot of control.

We use Check PointVPN to securely connect to our main office systems, which are behind a firewall. This ensures that all incoming and outgoing traffic is encrypted and secure.

The security of the solution is a good feature, the stability is a valuable feature, and the customization is also a nice feature.

The provisioning of VPN users has room for improvement.

The solution can improve by providing an option to centrally manage and upgrade client applications on a PC.

I have been using the solution for five years.

We found the previous checkpoint version to be quite unstable, as it would occasionally cause issues with the VPN caching every two months. However, we have since updated the solution and the stability has improved significantly, with no further occurrences of this issue.

The solution is licensed-based, so to scale up we only need to add more licenses.

The tech support isn't great. They take a long time to get to our ticket. Their initial response was fast, but after we provided the information they asked for, there was a month of silence before we updated the ticket again. Ultimately, the problem was resolved with newer versions without any response from tech support.

Neutral

I previously used Mikro Tik VPN which is cheap and includes enterprise features but is hard to configure.

The initial setup is straightforward if we are knowledgeable about the task at hand. However, it is recommended to consider a few things and to have a reliable technical support team to assist with the initial deployment. For a small company, the first step is relatively straightforward. However, if we are looking to scale up, we may need to enlist the help of a consultant to properly configure the necessary parameters, as there are many of them to consider.

Once we have configured users, access lists, written firewall rules, and deployed clients to endpoints, the next step is to educate employees on how to use the solution.

On average the deployment took around two weeks to configure all the certificates. This included preparing laptops and PCs. For just the VPN with central management deployment, it would take one week.

Our deployment was completed by two people.

I give the price of the solution a five out of ten. 

We have a subscription-based license.

I give the solution a seven out of ten.

We have 250 people using the solution in our organization.

Managing updates to endpoints can be a bit of a hassle, but there isn't much maintenance required.

We came to need a solution that would allow us to connect quickly and easily from our homes or from anywhere, and it was at this point that we integrated and enabled the Check Point Remote Access VPN. With it, our employees could log in from anywhere at any time. 

This solution allowed them to have the same experience that they had in the office, and they could access all the resources that were necessary for their work. 

This solution helped us mainly with the shift to remote work. Before the pandemic, everyone worked from the office. Today, more employees have become digital nomads. 

In terms of infrastructure, we can say that we have benefited since employees are happier being able to work from home. They make better use of their time and have become more productive. 

In the case of the organization, the impact is in being able to have to rent fewer square meters. This helps with annual returns since those operating costs have been reduced.

Everyone has told me that it is simple and easy to use. 

One of the most outstanding features is the ability to deliver third-party services and achieve double authenticity with integrated identities. We have SSO (Single Sign-On). It is a 'unified' or 'single authentication' which can be integrated to improve security in startup services. This is an advantage due to the fact that you can use the integrated services or the third-party services that you already have, and you will not incur more costs. 

I would like this service to be easier to manage when you integrate it with third parties. 

Although it is complex to configure, I cannot complain that it is complete and it is worth being able to use and integrate it. However, any administrator would welcome any changes that made configuration simpler. 

We would like the ability to perform remote access with the VPN in the future with any type of device. Lately, Android applications tend to have more errors. I hope that this will be solved in the future. 

I've used the solution for one year.