Likelihood to Recommend I like how easy it is to manage the filtering software from the web portal. It's super straightforward to set up my networking equipment with clear instructions. I like that it automatically blocks threats without me having to do anything. It also lets me remotely manage both of our locations and networks from the same portal with the same policies. Very useful for saving time setting up content filtering.
Read full review In a large environment, this is the perfect system. If you do not have constant changes, it easily becomes a system you drop in place and rarely have to think about. Our units have been rock solid and have never experienced any unexpected downtime, and upgrades are just a couple button clicks to deploy, or roll back. For small offices, with minimal traffic this may be using a sledgehammer to put in a push pin. It will work great, but the devices is likely over engineered for small offices (<50 people). That being said, price-wise it's still a great solution when compared to competing products and being from Symantec, you know it's going to be around and support for the long term.
Read full review Pros Content Filtering Threat Protection Detailed Reporting on Network Activity Read full review Almost real time protection from all ongoing threats with their DLA inspection Great visibility into web filtering policies using the dashboards and reports No patching or downloads needed, immediate protection is provided as clients are always cloud connected Read full review Cons Improved scalability: As an organization's needs grow and evolve, the software should be able to scale up and handle an increasing number of users and devices. More granular controls: The ability to set more detailed and specific policies, such as the ability to block certain types of content for specific groups of users, would give organizations more flexibility and control over their internet usage. Advanced threat protection: Increasing the software's ability to detect and protect against advanced threats such as zero-day exploits and APTs would provide a more comprehensive security solution. Read full review The admin interface would be better off not using Java Setting up SSL properly can be a bit challenging Could really use a better source for training, like a library of how-to videos Read full review Usability I really like the system, it's easy to use and mostly intuitive. I would have gone 10/10, but the management interface uses Java, and that seems to always make things a bit harder to start. Once everything is loaded and running, it's great - but it does require me to maintain a compatible version of Java on the machine I use to access the system, I'd be much happier with some kind of HTML5 interface. I also deducted 1 point for the functionality of the refer filter - it works as expected, but if the site isn't coded with the correct refer header, like Microsoft's site - then some page elements get stripped and pages only render about 98% correctly. I know that's not in Symantec's list of responsibilities, but having a filter that doesn't fully understand CDNs is worth the 1 point ding.
Read full review Support Rating I've had exactly 1 problem in 8 years, I contacted support via the customer portal, less than an hour later I found myself in a screen share with a support tech who not only fixed my configuration error, but also took the time to ask about my usage and offered some great tips on changes. It was just one support incident, but I was impressed by the speed of response to a non-critical issue as well as the depth of product knowledge the support engineer had.
Read full review Alternatives Considered When compared to
Kerio Control we found Central Management of filtering to be much easier, it also allowed us to apply filtering to remote devices like laptops and had better logging. We found DNSFilter to be much easier to deploy then
Webroot DNS Protection because Webroot required the Anti Virus to be installed before deployment was even possible, and reporting features were very lacking.
Read full review Symantec WebFilter / Intelligence Services solution was a simple 1U appliance that does everything we need, compared to the
Forcepoint solution which required a virtual appliance, a database server, a log server, and a management server - the licensing costs alone make the Symantec WebFilter / Intelligence Services solution a clear winner. The
Forcepoint solution is really good, it just requires such a big footprint without delivering much beyond what the Symantec WebFilter / Intelligence Services solution does with a single unit.
Read full review Return on Investment We used to deploy Cisco Umbrella before switching to DNSFilter. I feel like you need an advanced degree to set up and manage Cisco Umbrella. Not the case with DNSFilter. You will save time and money by leveraging a very easy to use product. Read full review Boosts business productivity with having secured systems Globally available threat protection adhering to our own security policies User may sometime find it difficult to deal with - so there can be a feature to make it more user friendly in terms of user experience. That is a bit of negative we have seen. Read full review ScreenShots