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Forcepoint SWG

Forcepoint SWG
Formerly Forcepoint Web Security

Overview

What is Forcepoint SWG?

The Forcepoint ONE Secure Web Gateway (SWG) is one of the three foundational gateways of the Forcepoint ONE all-in-one cloud platform. Forcepoint ONE SWG monitors and controlsany interaction with any website, including blocking access to websites based on category and…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway has proven to be a valuable tool for organizations in various departments, ensuring secure browsing of the …
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Forcepoint Security

10 out of 10
December 10, 2020
Incentivized
It's a good solution and works for us in hybrid as well as central proxy. We are currently using this solution throughout the …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Product Demos

Mac OS Endpoint Installation | Forcepoint Web Security Cloud

YouTube
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Product Details

What is Forcepoint SWG?

The Forcepoint ONE Secure Web Gateway (SWG) is one of the three foundational gateways of the Forcepoint ONE all-in-one cloud platform. Forcepoint ONE SWG monitors and controlsany interaction with any website, including blocking access to websites based on category and risk score, blocking download of malware, blocking upload of sensitive data to personal filesharing accounts, detecting shadow IT, and optionally providingRemote Browser Isolation (RBI) with Content Disarm andReconstruction (CDR).

Forcepoint SWG Features

  • Supported: Shadow IT discovery and risk ranking
  • Supported: Cloud Application Control and full CASB upgrade
  • Supported: Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
  • Supported: Cloud Sandbox

Forcepoint SWG Video

Forcepoint Web Security Cloud Features

Forcepoint SWG Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

The Forcepoint ONE Secure Web Gateway (SWG) is one of the three foundational gateways of the Forcepoint ONE all-in-one cloud platform. Forcepoint ONE SWG monitors and controlsany interaction with any website, including blocking access to websites based on category and risk score, blocking download of malware, blocking upload of sensitive data to personal filesharing accounts, detecting shadow IT, and optionally providingRemote Browser Isolation (RBI) with Content Disarm andReconstruction (CDR).

Zscaler Internet Access and Netskope Public Cloud Security are common alternatives for Forcepoint SWG.

The most common users of Forcepoint SWG are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(136)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway has proven to be a valuable tool for organizations in various departments, ensuring secure browsing of the internet and addressing a range of security concerns. Users have reported that the application effectively blocks malicious threats while allowing users to browse the internet, providing an effective layer of security. This has helped organizations protect their computers and laptops from potential threats, giving IT departments peace of mind.

Additionally, the software has been instrumental in managing productivity, as it enables different departments to access specific categories of websites and allows managers to review internet activity. HR teams have found value in the user site visit data managed by Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway, which has proven helpful in certain cases. Moreover, the ability to quickly generate standard reports from the report catalog has made it easier for organizations to monitor web traffic and measure internet usage.

In public-sector organizations, the software ensures that users and staff are accessing websites aligned with mission goals. Libraries have leveraged its functionality to enable filtering of staff and patron internet usage, meeting requirements for CIPA compliance and qualifying for E-Rate funding.

Customers have also praised Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway's scalability and ease of deployment across multiple locations. The granular delegation of administration via active directory has allowed local departments to implement their own rule sets, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.

Overall, customers have found this product to be a reliable solution for securing web traffic, preventing threats, managing productivity, and ensuring compliance with organizational policies.

Helpful and Clear Help Articles: Reviewers have praised the clear and helpful help articles provided by Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway. These articles were found to be a valuable resource in understanding and utilizing the software effectively, with some users mentioning that they served as a comprehensive reference point for various tasks and functionalities. The availability of these detailed and informative articles not only contributed to a smoother learning curve but also helped troubleshoot issues independently, reducing the reliance on customer service support.

Time-saving Feature: Users appreciate the time-saving aspect of Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway's clear and easily accessible help articles. With these resources readily available, reviewers mentioned being able to find answers to their questions quickly, allowing them to continue working without interruptions. This feature has been particularly useful in minimizing downtime caused by seeking support from customer service or navigating complex user manuals.

Commitment to Customer Satisfaction: The inclusion of clear help articles demonstrates Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway's commitment to customer satisfaction. Reviewers highlighted how this comprehensive resource eliminates unnecessary back-and-forth communication with customer support, as it provides extensive information upfront. By offering detailed guidance through these articles, Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway ensures users have access to reliable self-help options, enhancing overall user experience.

  1. Poor User Interface: Multiple users have expressed frustration with the confusing and non-user-friendly interface of Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway, making it difficult to navigate and causing difficulties during installation.

  2. Limited Configuration Options: Some users feel that the software lacks flexibility in defining usage, as the options for configuring policies and exceptions are limited compared to other available options in the market.

  3. Slow Support Response Times: Users have reported slower support response times compared to other vendors, with issues taking 3 to 5 days to resolve, indicating a need for more efficient and responsive customer support from Forcepoint.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-2 of 2)
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Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is used across the organisation. It addresses web security for our users and allows certain departments to be able to access certain categories of websites (e.g. PR has access to Facebook while others don't). It enables Internet usage and bandwidth usage to be measured easily and to keep track to see if any additional bandwidth for staff is needed.
  • Check bandwidth usage, e.g "bandwidth vampires"
  • Control internet access with policies
  • Robust reporting!
  • Easy to use interface and very user-friendly "User Administrative" interfaces
  • Extremely stable and no sudden issues
  • Complete Active Directory integration. Users have to be manually removed if they have been deleted on Active Directory, therefore you can have some users who still exist but have been deleted from Active Directory and consume licenses
  • Some configurations are only available via Linux CLI which can be intimidating for Windows or "GUI users" on the appliance configurations
  • There are three parts of the system and some people don't know that and that can be confusing, i.e. Web Security, Content Management Gateway and Appliance Management. It can be simplified to be one system or at least have it be more obvious that there are three "parts"
  • Some sites struggle to be accessed and some have to be "bypassed" because of some known issues with the sites
It is very appropriate when dealing with sites such as Office365 as you don't have to "open" any related sites which are many. You don't have to do any configuration for access to Office365 sites/applications. It is appropriate for scenarios where an organisation has users with different needs in terms of Internet access e.g PR users having access to social media sites and other departments not having access, Technical divisions having access to YouTube and other streaming sites while other departments do not. It is very appropriate in terms of reporting Internet use in the organisation and proper action taken to "bandwidth vampires" which affect the productivity of other users. It is good at reporting as it can keep data for a long time depending how long it is kept (for us it is 3 years) and can be used during IT audits
  • Control of internet usage with organisational policies.
  • Secure internet access for users even when not in the office network.
  • Have a management view of how the internet is used in the organisation, e.g productivity versus productivity loss.
It downloads database updates more frequently therefore always on the lookout for threats. Easy to use policy assignment. More robust reporting and able to keep records for many years. It doesn't have deep analysis of links on a page.
The web interface wasn't user friendly and not "straight forward."
410
They are all Internet users (i.e. all staff) who require protection to access the Internet.
3
Networking skills
Active Directory
Internet site categorization
Web Caching fundamentals
Access Control Lists
  • Secure Internet Access anywhere
  • Protection of organisation machines/laptops regardless of location
  • Control of Internet Usage
  • Identify losses in productivity
  • Different user Internet access needs catered for
  • Identify unproductive users.
  • Identify Internet "bandwidth vampires" which affect other users' Internet speed which could be for the organization's productivity.
  • Able to identify a user's IP Address on the system (real-time access tab by hovering on their name) to be able to identify their machines for support by Help Desk.
  • Use in IT audits (e.g how many threats within a time frame were blocked, what are the top users being blocked etc.).
  • Add the Advanced Malware Protection Module to add another layer of security.
  • Increase the number of users who use laptops to further use the Hybrid deployment where the web security policies still apply everywhere and anywhere regardless of your Internet connection.
It is very stable, the organisation has "locked in" the product and has no plans to change or try another product. We have already renewed our 2019-2020 licenses. It is user friendly and people catch on easily when they first use it. The only downtime is when we install Microsoft updates!
It has excellent reporting which help in determining how the organisation's Internet is used and also during both internal and external IT audits.
Not Sure
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Vendor Reputation
Product Features, the organisation being able to provide IT audit reports, control and manage Internet usage,identify anomalities on Internet access and better troubleshooting if there are any issues. To be honest the organisation made the right decision as we don't struggle with the product as it is stable and hardly a problem!
Look at the pricing of the product and licensing fees. As much as it is the best decision the organisation has made regarding it's features and stability the licensing I think is a bit expensive for us.
  • Third-party professional services
It was first done by Netfusion for the initial setup which was up to 7.8.4 and for the upgrade from 7.8.4 to 8.5.0 was done by Performanta and they are now our prefered vendor as they are certified Forcepoint Partners
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled
I'll be talking about the upgrade as I was there: It takes many stakeholders to make things happen. We needed cooperation of other departments as this upgrade impacted the whole staff of Mascom Wireless and it took three days which required no Internet for staff in the evening. This resulted in users understanding the reason for the upgrade and there were no complaints as a result of this
  • First night the upgrade failed and had to seek Forcepoint Support help
  • There were known issues in the upgrade that were not researched prior to the upgrade
  • The upgrade took longer than anticipated (as the first night it failed and we rolled back)
Research known issues with upgrading from the Support Knowledge base, this will enable you avoid road blocks along the way and reduce your dependence on Forcepoint Support
Yes
Because not all three of us are actual specialist of the product and if there are issues that we fail to resolve (quickly) then we escalate to Forcepoint Support who offer a good 2nd level support and this makes issue resolution turnaround times less.
No
When suddenly all users were being resolved by IP Address instead of Active Directory usernames, this made policies assigned to users not apply as the system apply policies to users by Active Directory username. Users were complaining that they were being blocked on sites they normally access and the issue was resolved and answered very quickly (didn't log the call by phone by the way) by Forcepoint Support. It was quickly determined that the service account which made the Active Directory usernames resolution was changed the day before (not realising that it was going to affect the Forcepoint Web Security). We immediately reverted the changes we made to the service account and everything returned to normal
The is a quick first response to acknowledge your issue and the Engineers never take more than two hours to fix an issue and we hardly get issues looking at the fact that the system is pretty stable. There is also a robust Knowledge Base in the site for known problems.
  • Getting Reports
  • Assigning User Policy
  • Monitoring system perfomance and using module perfomance dashboards
  • Troubleshooting user access policy issues
  • Able to determine issues whether it is the Internet or the product having problems
  • Knowing that the system has three parts; appliance, web security and content management gateway
  • Having to sometimes use a Linux shell on the when you are more skewed to Windows. Most troubleshooting tools on the appliance are Linux CLI based
  • When a user is deleted in Active Directory, you have to delete that person again on Forcepoint Web Security
Despite the intimidating Linux CLI when you use the appliance for troubleshooting, the web security usability compensates as most of the Administration of the system is done there. It is GUI based and has an easy to use UI where one can navigate around rather easily like getting reports, checking alerts, looking the whole setup under deployment to check if all services are running in one place though there are other parts to the system.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Within our company, we use Forcepoint Web Security as part of our total online security strategy. It is used in our entire EMEAR-wide organization. All of our main user internet traffic is proxied through the Forcepoint Web Security program. Forcepoint Web security is used as an SSL inspecting proxy, scanning all traffic (inbound and outbound) for malicious content. The main advantage for our environment is the granular delegation of its administration which is assigned via the active directory. We allow local departments to implement their own rule sets besides the mandatory rule set which is dictated at a corporate level.
  • Delegated administration.
  • Single management interface for web, data and email security.
  • Cloud integration.
  • New products are sometimes released to market before they are fully evaluated.
  • The first implementation requires a lot of attention, especially the sizing of the platform, but once it's all set up its smooth sailing.
Forcepoint Web Security can be used in all environments where you would want to make sure that your users don’t spend time browsing malicious sites or downloading malicious content. It can also be used to prevent access to other unwanted resources like streaming media, file share locations, etc. In my opinion, it's less useful if you rely on old technology like Java, or proprietary software, which cannot handle authenticating proxy servers. Also, if you rely heavily on end to end encryption, it needs more configuration and maintenance.
  • Forcepoint Web Security requires investment in purchase and time spent to gain knowledge on how to implement and manage the product.
  • We cannot say for sure how much is saved, but in the reports, we see that a lot of malicious content is blocked and that access to non-business related sites is restricted where it is needed.
In the past, we have tested other products as well, but they all missed one or more key functions like:
  • Real delegated administration
  • SSL inspection
  • AD integration
  • Ease of management
  • Cooperation between email, web, and DLP
3500
All trades in a company, from manufacturing to sales and finance.
10
We have two persons managing Forcepoint Application on a management level, The other persons involved are Service desk members supporting the user request for exceptions and alterations
  • We have basically one main use case: Protect internet access for our users.
  • None that i'm aware of currently.
  • We would like to extend the implementation of DLP.
We are really satisfied with the Forcepoint product line and we are very likely to renew when the time comes!
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