Jamf Connect is a Mac device authentication solution, that lets a user unbox their device, power it on and access all of their corporate applications and resources after signing on with a single set of cloud identity credentials.
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WatchGuard AuthPoint
Score 9.0 out of 10
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AuthPoint Total Identity Security provides businesses with a solution to protect user accounts and credentials. With
multi-factor authentication and dark web credential
monitoring, AuthPoint mitigates the risks associated with workforce credential
attacks. AuthPoint adds an extra layer of security by monitoring for
potential credential exposure in the dark web for both personal and corporate
accounts.
Jamf Connect works particularly well in our lab environments where the central "source of truth" for student accounts is our Okta IdP. As Apple has recommended moving away from Active Directory binding (which was our previous source of truth for authentication) we needed a new central way to manage this function. Okta worked well for other services on campus, and it was a smooth integration to make it work with Jamf Connect for virtually all use cases on campus (we still have a couple of NAS/SAN systems that require Active Directory).
We use multiple authenticators at my company. We use WatchGuard AuthPoint just for our VPN for security purposes. The app works very well and over the past year we've only had a handful of issues with the authentication service, and these were resolved relatively quickly. We do have to remind people to enable push notifications from the app, or have the app open when they need to use it to authenticate, otherwise they won't get the push to approve. The biggest issue I've found is that people will forget to do this and then say that the VPN isn't working - the VPN is working, it's just that they didn't get/approve the push from AuthPoint in time.
Works well with the free Authpoint client and the OpenVPN clinet.
Token management is simple and hosted completely in the cloud to reduce overall complexity
Setup was simple and and staighforward
Suppports several authentication methods we have used both RADIUS and SAML effectively, but ADFS, IDP, RDWeb, and RESTful API, and other custom apps are supported.
Geofencing for RDP has been very useful as it is independant of our firewall geofencing. This is quite useful for organizations like us who do not Geofence at at the firewall level so as to provide global access to resources on the DMZ.
Email support is SLOW unless I want to allow a stranger to access my production firewall. That is never allowed here, so our hands are tied in terms of being able to get support in less than 48 hours.
Again, support takes far too long because you refuse to employ any staff that works in US time zones during normal business hours.
There has to be another option besides: 1) you take full control of my systems or 2) I wait on SLOW email support that isn't that great.
It is almost a certainty that we will continue to use Jamf Connect, even with Apple coming out with Platform Single Sign On. Jamf Connect provides several features that PSSO does not, such as "just in time" local account creation and automatic synchronization of enterprise credentials. It is unlikely that we would investigate other options at this time or in the near future.
Today to ensure our ISO 27001 certification it is important that we maintain this solution. Today it is part of the way any employee within the organization works, we no longer have any other way of working and it is the simplest way to ensure that access to the workstation is done with MFA.
Jamf Connect is quite easy to use and has the necessary options on the login screen (such as WiFi network connection) for getting connected and authenticated. It has a simple to use menulet that allows password changes and resets as well as temporary elevation, all with very clear workflows. It also allows us to assign field staff to their client users' computers so that they can provide support without having to resort to LAPS accounts.
After initial setup, it practically runs itself. Onboarding new users is fast and easy as it should be. The AuthPoint mobile app is small and simple to use. The only reason I do not give it a 10 is that I frequently get complaints from end users that the AuthPoint app is "constantly downloading". In fact, it's not downloading anything and that what the users are seeing in the app is a timer for the 6-digit code that changes every minute.
WatchGuard support is always quick and reliable. They have urgency levels that you are able to select when creating your support ticket, and they respond in accordance to the severity that you have set. I have never had an issue with getting someone on the phone in the same business day, even for very low priority issues.
It was an Onsite demo at the ditributor with the benefits of Watchguard Authpoint. Was very nice to see the abilities of the product. This Demo was a few years back, since then Authpoint changed allot. It is very nice for partners that you can get this demo without any aditional cost.
We use the online training for all our employees. There are both sales and technical trainings available and there even is a technical certification. You can use this for the Watchguard Partner Program which can give you aditional benefits. Every now and then you have a webinar that discusses multiple Watchguard products.
the first time it takes more effort. It is helpful to already understand how each authentication type works. Then it's much easier to understand the MFA solution that you implement. It is useful to check the release notes from time to time and update the key parts of the Watchguard Authpoint. Authpoint Gateway, Logon App, RDWeb... Also, it's useful to set up notifications when something goes wrong or sometimes check the statistics of how many requests are being approved/denied, etc.
The only other product we evaluated was Xcreds from TwoCanoes software, which is essentially a one person shop. We already were Jamf Pro customers, and Jamf Connect fulfilled all of the requirements for this function along with providing professional customer support. Since we already had a relationship with Jamf, it made perfect sense to add this product to our toolkit, and keep technical support contained within one organization.
I would slot Authpoint (as a product) as better than ESET but not Duo. ESET has the same limitations as Watchguard in the OTP support. It also is an on-prem installed console rather than a cloud, which increases cost and maintenance requirements. The duo now supports standard OTP for admin accounts, so it can be managed by a team. Duo support however leaves a lot to be desired and gives Watchguard the edge
We currently have 300 users on Authpoint, and most of them use insecure passwords. Authpoint gives us peace of mind that we don't have to police individual employee passwords.
In line with the comment above, with so many people in our organization using insecure passwords, I'm sure that Authpoint has already saved us from many potential security breaches.
Security breaches can cost a lot of money. Preventing them saves the company money and helps to achieve our bottom line.
