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Cisco Web Security Appliance vs Kaspersky Security for Internet 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)
Cisco Web Security Appliance
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
14th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Kaspersky Security for Inte...
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
8
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 Cisco Web Security Appliance is 2.5%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway is 0.5%, up from 0.4% 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
IgnitiusMolepo - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures security for remote workers
The Cisco Web Security Appliance provides DLP to organizations. It helps prevent the unauthorized transmission of sensitive information by blocking such attempts. Additionally, it safeguards against malware attacks, particularly on websites not authorized by our company. Its role in protecting us from malware is pivotal. The organization itself handles the configuration and management of Cisco Web Security Appliance. Cisco assists in deploying and configuring the appliance and managing all associated services. Integrating the Cisco Web Security Appliance with other solutions is quite challenging. For instance, when we tried to integrate Netscape KSP, we encountered difficulties retrieving logs. Additionally, our solution failed to interact with the Web Security Appliance. Overall, the integration process remains problematic, hindering the effectiveness of our security infrastructure. We have both the cloud version and the on-premises version. For clients who require data sovereignty, we offer the on-premises version, which includes a data sovereignty tool. This allows them to enforce policies that prevent the transfer of logs to third-party data centres, ensuring compliance with their country's regulations. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.
Teeranun Srihong - PeerSpot reviewer
Schedule the timing for the kids to get onto the internet and easy to use
In different locations, they're priced differently, but that's mainly marketing rather than the product features. I managed to get a cheaper one, so I'm fine with that. Maybe they have too many packages. It's very difficult to differentiate among their own packages. They should have guidance on how the customer would decide. Kaspersky do has some information, but to me, it's not explanatory. Moreover, people are getting internet smart homes and all that. So total security that would cover all those would be good. We have all the connected devices right now. I'm not sure how they're gonna do it, but having a way to help me scan and expose vulnerabilities on those devices would be great. Right now, it protects the PCs, not the IP cameras that we use. And all those things in your home are connected. I don't see that. Maybe I'm not aware if they have any offering, but they probably should think about it. So, I would like to have total coverage for the individual household that would include all of the connected devices.

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."
"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."
"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."
"The console is cloud-based, which is something I really appreciate."
"Its initial setup was straightforward."
"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."
"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."
"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."
"It also allows you to decrypt SSL traffic, and that's a really important feature as well, which is something I also configured."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance has very good security benefits for any company and is easy to integrate."
"The tool has good Umbrella DNS security."
"It's a scalable product."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Web Security Appliance is the provided anti-malware functionality and URL categorization. I can block access to malicious websites. 99 percent of the cases are related to a malicious website. If I cannot browse those malicious websites, then we are 99 percent protected."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the functions of proxy for the users who use the internet and the security it offers against the not-so-secure web pages."
"Cisco Web Security Appliance can integrate with Active Directory, enabling us to manage all the end-users within AD. It's helpful for setting rules based on individual users and groups. For example, you can configure policies for inbound and outbound traffic."
"I would recommend this solution to others."
"I would recommend it to others as it's easy to use."
"When it comes to threat detection, it is very strict with file downloads and uploads. It sends reports and quarantines suspicious files."
"The password thing is very good, and the overall URL protection."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the antivirus and child protection features."
"The most valuable feature of Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway is the antivirus."
"The most valuable aspect for me is the user-friendly interface."
 

Cons

"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."
"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."
"Fold that in with the risk intelligence they're getting from all of the different subscriptions they are a part of. Now, these security companies subscribe to things like emerging threats, databases, etc. You can fold all this intelligence to decide what's happening on an endpoint. I would love to see them start moving into that space. That would compete directly with Microsoft. Maybe that's why they haven't. Having that ability native within the solution would be great. The other area in which I would love to see improvement is more detailed descriptions of why they block websites."
"SSL decryption: We had issues with learners using apps instead of using web browsers. This type of encryption is tough for any appliance in a BYOD environment."
"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."
"Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device and filtering did not always work correctly."
"The reporting feature needs improvement."
"The reporting feature needs improvement. It doesn't give you the expected results. It is quite difficult to get the specific reports needed, and it is not as intuitive as the rest of the platform."
"Technical support needs to be improved because they take a very long time and there is no communication or notification."
"Sometimes reporting is a little bit short."
"The transparent proxy is quite difficult to enforce on smartphones and tablets."
"Cisco lacks a GUI-based troubleshooting feature compared to products by other vendors."
"We would like to see a security service head, where we can combine all the security into one solution."
"The solution is priced high."
"As Cisco Web Security Appliance is eight years old, though it's simple to access its UI, the UI needs a little bit of updating. If it could be more interactive similar to the latest gen solutions, that would improve the product. Adding a few more integrations would also make Cisco Web Security Appliance better."
"There are certain shortcomings related to the product's management capabilities, where improvements are required. The solution needs to provide better management of the category of web pages."
"The customer support of the product is an area with shortcomings where improvements are required."
"In different locations, they're priced differently, but that's mainly marketing rather than the product features."
"I believe the absence of a procedure is the main issue."
"The initial setup of Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway is complex. The full deployment took approximately two weeks."
"There is room for improvement in terms of the pricing."
"It might be helpful to have notifications on mobile devices, especially if the same browser profile is used on both mobile and laptop."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"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 overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."
"The solution's cost depends on how many users you purchase. It was maybe $3 or $5 per user, which is a bit expensive."
"I know from the manager that the price is too high and that other solutions offer the same features for less."
"There is a subscription-based license needed to use this solution."
"This is an expensive solution."
"When you compare the price of this solution to the price of FortiGate, it's high."
"The tool's licensing is yearly."
"Regarding Cisco price-wise, it is always on a bit on the higher side."
"Licensing fees are based on the number of users."
"It is expensive."
"I rate the product's price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"The cost is relatively high, and as a licensed product, there are restrictions on the number of users permitted per license."
"I am okay with the pricing."
"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with ten being very expensive and one being cheap. It's neither too cheap nor too expensive."
"Personal computer licenses can be expensive if you were to scale the solution extensively. However, large companies will most likely use Endpoint solutions and not this one."
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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
19%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Non Profit
9%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
59%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
4%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

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 do you like most about Cisco Web Security Appliance?
The most valuable features of the solution are the functions of proxy for the users who use the internet and the secu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Web Security Appliance?
Comparing with other products, Cisco has more functionality, but pricing is a challenge. Cisco is not a product for s...
What needs improvement with Cisco Web Security Appliance?
With the WebAssign integration, it is not easy when I am integrating policies within the company, especially with NAN...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway?
I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with one being very cheap and ten being very expensive. I'm fine with the ...
What is your primary use case for Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway?
It's just for protecting the PCs that I use in my home internet network and also to protect the data inside. It does ...
What advice do you have for others considering Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway?
My recommendation: First, others need to make sure they understand the type of security they want. There are so many ...
 

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform
Cisco WSA, Cisco Web Security
No data available
 

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.
New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Caixa Seguradora
Tael, Insolar, Goods.ru, Republic of Serbia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Web Security Appliance vs. Kaspersky Security for Internet Gateway and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.