Watchguard Firewalls Review

If you thought of your business computing network as a front door to your house, it is easy to understand why you would want to secure that network with a firewall similar to the lock on your front door. The door lock allows you to open the door for those you want to enter your home. Everyone else is not allowed in. A firewall works in a similar fashion by allowing only the types of network traffic you want on your network; disallowing all others. In most neighborhoods across the world, it would be unthinkable to most to not have a lock on the front door of your home. Business owners should think the same way about their computing networks. Even the smallest businesses should implement a firewall to help safeguard their networks.

Transcendent IT often installs Watchguard firewalls for our customers. Watchguard has earned its name as one of the major players in the field of network security. Their firewalls offer both basic and advanced levels of protection and are very competitively priced, able to accommodate various types of customers.

Easy to Use Graphical User Interface (GUI)

In our experience, the best part about implementing a Watchguard firewall has been the ease of setup and ease of use. Creating and modifying firewall rules is very straight forward. Upgrading to the latest versions of operating systems is very easy and can be done very quickly. Watchguard continues to develop it operating system adding new features. We’ve even seen new features based on feed-back we’ve given them on their product.

Entry level devices

Watchguard offers a line of entry level devices designed for smaller businesses with less computer systems. They are referred to as table top devices. The T15, the T35, the T55 and the T70. Even though these are smaller devices they still offer a robust set of features including VPN, wi-fi and high throughput ports.

Advanced level devices

For businesses with higher throughput and feature requirements, Watchguard offers many options including the M270, M370, M470, M570, M670 for mid to large sized customers. It also offers the M4600 and M5600 devices for large and enterprise customers. These devices offer great performance and flexibility to meet the needs of very dynamic environments.

Basic Features

Watchguard’s WebBlocker service allows businesses to control what kinds of websites their users are able to access while in the office. This service protects users from risky content by blocking malicious websites. It Increases employee productivity and enforces corporate policies by blocking unsuitable workplace content. Customers can choose from over 130 blocking categories and sub-categories and filter on both HTTP and HTTPS. Administrators can also allow or restrict URLs and set policies by user, group, and schedule.

Watchguard’s Gateway Anti-virus service scans all major protocols to prevent malware. It runs both signature-based and behavioral-based scanning. It continuously updates the signature database to include the latest threats and it is optimized for industry-leading network performance.

Watchguard’s Intrusion Prevention service examines network behavior to identify and block malicious traffic. It allows for automatic signature updates are applied without interruption. The signature database delivers protection from over 2,000 threats and can set instant notifications for when IPS detects threats.

Advanced Features

Watchguard’s Data Loss Prevention service protects confidential data transmitted via email, web, and FTP. Contains a built-in library of over 200 rules for 18 countries, including common compliance mandates such as PCI DSS and HIPAA. The DLP service automatically updates available rule sets to stay current with data definitions and compliance mandates around the world

Watchguard’s GEO IP service allows businesses to block all traffic from specified countries. Known bad actor countries can easily be neutralized with this capability. Country subnets and IP addresses are automatically updated.

Watchguard’s Advanced Persistent Threat Blocker service provides advanced protection against ransomware, zero-day threats, and evolving malware. This service thoroughly analyzes a wide range of executables and documents, including office file types. Average analysis time of less than two minutes and it can configured to deliver Instant threat responses with automated alerts.