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Check Point Harmony Browse vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

iboss
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (3rd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (11th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th)
Check Point Harmony Browse
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
21st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Browsers (5th)
Symantec Secure Web Gateway
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
30th
Average Rating
6.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 2.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony Browse is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
 

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford - PeerSpot reviewer
It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless
One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured
CLAUDIO SANTOS - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides browser protection and has an easy deployment
You only need to create one policy in Microsoft Active Directory. This policy can be applied to all workstations and will manage access using your credentials across the network. The implementation depends on the number of employees. For smaller organizations with 100 to 400 employees, it's straightforward and quick. The process becomes more complex for larger organizations with 3,000 to 6,000 employees.
Malik Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
Has an easy deployment process, but the data center's capability to manage the traffic could be better
We use Symantec Secure Web Gateway to apply URL policies for cloud security, data protection, and SSL The product is easy to deploy. It has a faster implementation process compared to other products. The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic. We have been using…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The security aspect of the solution, particularly the malware behind it, is excellent. That's something that really helped us out. It's not just a simple proxy that just blocks the insights of potential threats that come on behind it. They do malware detection and that helps us a lot."
"I would definitely recommend iboss for web filtering purposes to other organizations or individuals."
"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."
"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."
"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"
"iboss is among the few products providing inline filtering where no application is needed on the device. It operates on the network side and is not device-based. This feature was one of the main reasons why we stayed with them for so long."
"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."
"Technical support is pretty sharp and very responsive."
"It provides end-to-end encryption for the communication between the user's device and the remote browser, which helps to protect against eavesdropping and other forms of man-in-the-middle attacks."
"It completely restricts and blocks phishing attacks and any threat entry into the system and keeps the work pace fast and secure without showing any signs of lag or latency."
"The product is stable."
"Its potential features of Threat Detection and Threat Emulation have helped businesses to browse securely hassle-free without any tension."
"Its content filtering is great."
"Check Point Harmony Browse has a feature that allows users to check the extensions installed in their browser. This feature is valuable because hackers may install malicious extensions on a target computer without the user's knowledge. When browsing, users are often less aware of the extensions installed in their browsers, making it easier for malicious extensions to go unnoticed. By providing visibility into installed extensions, Check Point Harmony Browse enhances security by allowing users to identify and remove potentially harmful extensions."
"It gives our customers a sense of security they might not have found anywhere else."
"It analyzes and verifies in detail how secure or insecure a file, document, or object is that is being downloaded."
"In terms of most valuable features, I like the ICAP capability and URL filtering the most."
"The most valuable features are the website blocking capability and SSL interception."
"Typically, Symantec is more or less like any other platform that performs proxy functions."
"It's nice to have it in the cloud where we can pull the reporting together for it so we can see what's happening in machines at different locations."
"The most valuable feature is the endpoint security."
"It is quite scalable. If a user needs to do more deployments, they can just add them."
"I find the product to be very straightforward."
"It is a stable solution."
 

Cons

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"I'd like to see them accelerate development on the security side, particularly around data loss prevention."
"One thing I would like to see differently with their Zero Trust platform is that some of the AI aspects related to high-risk activities have more false positives."
"Our iboss subscription access should be more secure with an OTP or VPN etc. It is easy to gain access if, for example, hackers obtain my username and password."
"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."
"File integrity monitoring would be very advantageous as an additional feature."
"If they could implement an extra security layer preventing access to iboss from the open internet, it would be great."
"Its pricing could be better."
"One of the new features I would like to see is the possibility that these tools can be brought to mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones in iOS or Android applications."
"The ease of handling should be improved, as it is currently intrusive and some users don't like it."
"They should focus on new areas of product. In the last year, they have not released any updates with improvements or extra options."
"security solution for users Devices and Access" What is our primary use case? The application is good as its lightweight and its functions are really similar to a browser extension. It offers real-time protection for internet users by addressing active concerns. Moreover, it incorporates a reputation feature to ensure swift access to websites within a second. The effectiveness of Harmony Browse’s capabilities is really an advantage. What is most valuable? The installation process is simple. Once initiated, the process is quite straightforward and seamless, making it easy to complete. What needs improvement? Regarding the Harmony Browse, I call it "Kuna" which is accurate. The quantum product serves as my primary focus due to its project cost, and I aim to introduce support in this area. This is because firewall implementation holds significant importance for organizations. I want to improve more on the quantum losses. There's a concept I'd like to include in Harmony Browse, known as automatic catching. This mechanism comes into play when an individual closes their browser while possessing sensitive information, like monetary data. To counteract potential risks, we employ a browser cache-clearing process to minimize the cache's accumulation. This action ensures that malicious entities can't exploit the cached data for attacks. To enhance this further, there's potential for the implementation of a self-cleaning technology. For instance, when a user exits the browser, an automatic action could be initiated to clear the browser cache, serving as an additional layer of security. This can be helpful if added."
"Support must be faster in solving problems."
"The solution needs greater automation to reduce the need for manual configuration and management."
"More focus and emphasis is required on customization and real-time notification and alert system."
"Having local support everywhere in the world would be helpful."
"There's a need for increased firewall functionality and capabilities. I'm not seeing a competitive Symantec cloud product. Specifically, functionalities with security as filtering from the cloud. I am aware that there is a product, a proxy in the cloud but I have compared it with other vendors and I don't find it that powerful. I think the worst thing that we're experiencing is very poor and inadequate technical support. It seems to me that tech support engineers aren't qualified to fulfill their job duties."
"It needs to be easier to set up rules for what sites it should allow or not allow us in certain areas of our computer for programs. It would also be nice really nice to have it give you better information about what it's finding. A lot of the alerts we get are very difficult to understand what it's actually telling you. It's too generic."
"AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear."
"It's not user-friendly, and we end up making too many phone calls to get things fixed."
"The interface could be made more user-friendly."
"The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic."
"I find that the technical support is mediocre, at least for the Middle East. I frequently face challenges when contacting OpenStack through the distribution channel."
"Depending on the severity of the issue, I think they can be a bit slow - a few days for the low severity cases, but for the severe cases normally they contact you back in a couple of hours."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."
"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."
"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."
"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"We had the cost of purchasing a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs. However, the following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs."
"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."
"The price is not very expensive for our organisation, but for others, it might be a little expensive."
"The product has a reasonable pricing."
"Pricing and licensing is stunted and licensing is expensive. We have many customers who are now thinking about other solutions due to the cost."
"Symantec Secure Web Gateway is less expensive than one of its competitors."
"There is an additional charge for advanced security features."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Web Gateways (SWG) solutions are best for your needs.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
30%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Security Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
16%
Real Estate/Law Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?
Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.
What needs improvement with iboss?
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctl...
What is your primary use case for iboss?
We used it for student and faculty filtering on campus.
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Browse?
When you purchase Check Point Harmony Browse, you can access this feature. For example, if an employee works from hom...
What do you like most about Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
It has a faster implementation process compared to other products.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
I believe that pricing is on par with peers. Symantec and other vendors offer discounts when cutting a deal with a cu...
What needs improvement with Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
AI-driven security could be helpful, yet how effective it will be remains unclear. I plan to evaluate whatever new fe...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
No data available
Symantec Complete Website Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony Browse vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.