WatchGuard Network Security

We are an SMB and have been using WatchGuard products across Canada to secure our headquarters, branch offices, and remote workers. …

WatchGuard 2024

10 out of 10

April 22, 2024

We use WatchGuard as our network firewall both for ourselves and for about 50% of our managed services clients. The device serves as the …

The right value!

9 out of 10

April 22, 2024

As a managed service provider, we've used WatchGuard Network Security fireboxes as our "platform" of choice for our customer firewall …

WatchGuard Security Services and Firebox

9 out of 10

April 19, 2024

WatchGuard provides one of the most complete firewall products I've used. We use their products as our primary offering to clients to …

WatchGuard Systems Security

9 out of 10

April 19, 2024

Between our company and our clients, we have over 15 WatchGuard Firebox systems setup in various locations across the country. Have always …

Loving my WatchGuard

10 out of 10

April 15, 2024

WatchGuard's Total Security Suite features intrusion prevention, spam blocking, and DNS filtering, offering me enhanced network visibility …

WatchGuard appliances

10 out of 10

April 15, 2024

These devices provide the first line of defense for all web traffic into and out of the offices I manage. Traffic is scanned for viruses, …

Best Firewalls for the $$

10 out of 10

April 15, 2024

We are an MSP and utilize WatchGuard firewalls at many of our client's locations.

WatchGuard Network Security Implementation for Mid-Sized Businesses

9 out of 10

April 15, 2024

We utilize these WatchGuard Network Security devices at each of our locations, with a redundant cluster at our primary location. The sites …

WatchGuard Network Security Review

9 out of 10

April 14, 2024

We use WatchGuard Network Security Fireboxes to secure the boundary of our networks. These provide good security for cost, and with the …

Great Product

9 out of 10

April 13, 2024

Use several NGFW clustered in different countries, physical and virtual appliances as well. Same interface, with no learning curves. Used …

WatchGuard Network Security Review

9 out of 10

April 13, 2024

We are an MSP that supports around 30 businesses with WatchGuard Network Security firewalls. In most cases, we do not support the internet …

WatchGuard Network Security Review

9 out of 10

April 12, 2024

We use WatchGuard Network Security System Manager for all of our clients. I would say some of the problems would be that it is not the …

A Review of WatchGuard Cloud Products

10 out of 10

April 11, 2024

We use WatchGuard Network Security in our organization mainly to protect attacks on our network. We know using WatchGuard will prevent us …

WatchGuard should be your go to when choosing network security.

10 out of 10

April 11, 2024

We utilize the network security features to secure our internal network and to secure our user logins with firewalls and AuthPoint. We …

Read all reviews

How WatchGuard Network Security Differs From Its Competitors

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

It's good but some of our old devices are not compatible and this makes management more difficult

WatchGuard Cloud

If all our devices were compatible it would be great!

WatchGuard Partner

We started working with WatchGuard because they had become partners with Pax8. We tried a demo unit from Pax8, liked it and became silver partners with WatchGuard ourselves. Now we push their products almost exclusively in business to business scenarios. So basically it was a referral from Pax8 …

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I have not used the WatchGuard cloud much yet. I expect that it would give me the ability to do various programming and policy building and management, alerting as to when things are going wrong and extended logging that the watchguard won't do itself without building a log server for it.

WatchGuard Cloud

I haven't used too many of the cloud products. I have spent some time using dns watch which works really well as a DNS filter that works in conjunction with the WatchGuard. Otherwise, I haven't used any of their products and I am really not sure what it is they consider to be a cloud product.

WatchGuard Partner

The Managed Service Provider of my organization is a WatchGuard Network Security partner, so we did not need the services of an outside organization.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

We have not yet utilized this feature. We have been reluctant to use the unified cloud platform, since as a part of our SOP we have on-site devices to automate setup and monitoring. I believe that in the future we may find that this will help us to be more nimble.

WatchGuard Cloud

The only cloud product we currently use is the DNSwatch platform. This has allowed us to ensure that our user base is fully protected even when they are not on a WatchGuard Network Security protected site. We use the DNSwatch Go softare for those particular users.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

the WatchGuard cloud isnt as easy as the on-prem firebox managment. However, the ability to manage multiple tenants and services from one place make our job a lot easier.

WatchGuard Cloud

WatchGuard's cloud solutions are all in one place which saves us a lot of time.

WatchGuard Partner

I am very happy with the partner, and they did a great job setting up the device, they were there after the fact to assist in initial troubleshooting and training.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I can see all, devices from 1 console, I can also push out Firmware updates after hours with zero down time for the users and zero after hours for me.

WatchGuard Partner

I am a reseller so didn’t work with a partner directly

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

It is really nice to have a single dashboard to be able to manage all the different devices I have spread out among all the different offices I manage as well as the NFR devices I use for my home office.

WatchGuard Cloud

The cloud based management console works really well and is pretty fast. It isn’t that intuitive though so it takes some practice to learn.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

We are managing several fire boxes and the cloud console makes it a lot easier to navigate between devices and see a global picture.

WatchGuard Cloud

We were able to pull less suited and antiquated equipment and replace it with WatchGuard pretty seamlessly and it gives us better insight into the networks that we manage.

WatchGuard Partner

We have worked with JSCM Group in ordering our WatchGuard Network Security devices and services. We have worked with them on the implementation of different services such as the WatchGuard MFA Logon app. They are always keeping us up to date on security risks, new products and services, as well as …

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

We are not fully integrated with the cloud service yet. However, it holds promise for us to be able to update single policies that can be applied to the dozen or more sites that we manage. This is particularly useful in the management of the Geolocation exception list. Being able to update a …

WatchGuard Cloud

We introduced the WatchGuard logon app last year to our system, which is a cloud integrated service. This integration allows us to create logon polices for the app to use, based on Active Directory groups, and firewalls that have been added to the cloud. This does allow our on-call staff the …

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

We have used the WatchGuard Network Security system manager for years to manage the devices. The new cloud has been tested and the functionality at the time was great for reporting (basic subscriptions are limited to 1 day on the logs 30 days for the full), however, the cloud configuration at the …

WatchGuard Cloud

We are using the WatchGuard Network Security Cloud for reporting. The WatchGuard Network Security management is not fully in use but has been tested. The functions during testing were missing a bit, but are new, and still being developed.

WatchGuard Partner

We work with Axido and they are amazingly perfect, and professional from the beginning to the end, even after the end. :-) It's a trusting relationship where we never get disappointed, they always do their best to satisfy our demands and in the end, how they work with us gives Watchguard a very …

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

If the solution is on-premise go for it, if it's cloud-based, not with me. It greatly depends on what type of device, where they were implemented, on what perimeter, country, etc. For heavily sensible machines, I use WSM on-premise, it's perfect to manage all the world devices around the world …

WatchGuard Cloud

I use it only for what is used by us as a "roaming device". For example, NV5 which goes from site to site for a short period of time is easy to manage through Watchguard Cloud with rapid deployment. You prepare the configuration suited for the site and voilà, as soon as the box is connected it …

WatchGuard Partner

We work directly with WatchGuard representatives. The service is good. I am happy with our contacts in WatchGuard and what they offer, etc.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

As an MSP, this is very valuable to us. It helps internal efficiencies and allows us to address problems quickly.

WatchGuard Cloud

We have moved all our Fireboxes into the Cloud portal. It helps with monitoring and reporting, and our engineers can perform standard maintenance like Firmware upgrades easily.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I believe it will make overall management of our clients even easier than before. This is exciting because we sometimes have issues with not everyone being able to manage our clients well because of lack of overall experience with WatchGuard Network Security and their platform or services. I hope …

WatchGuard Cloud

It is all we use, it has had a massive impact. To how we work with WatchGuard Network Security and apply their tech into real world scenarios.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

The unified security platform is one of my favorite features . This makes monitoring and reviewing concerns very simple and easy to use. I like the ability to manage multiple devices as well on the Cloud while I can also manage a single device through the web portal. The real time log reports is …

WatchGuard Cloud

WatchGuard Cloud's centralized platform for managing security solutions streamlines operations and reduces management overhead. I use the cloud to monitor network activity, detect threats, and am able to take action from a single interface. I am confident by using WatchGuard Cloud products …

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

From the MSP perspective this is huge. We are able to manage a number of customer firewalls without navigating customer by customer or individually connecting.

WatchGuard Cloud

They do the job as designed. The vast majority of products line up with our use case.

WatchGuard Partner

We did not work with any partner, we found their website easy to access and navigate. I was able to find the appliance that suited us and was able to size it up for potential further expansion

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I believe I will notice a great value from being able to have all of our security implementations under one umbrella, not having to bounce from platform to platform will be greatly helpful.

WatchGuard Cloud

WatchGuard Cloud products are designed to scale according to the needs of our organization, whether they are small businesses or large enterprises. The cloud-based architecture offers flexibility to adapt to changing requirements and easily accommodate growth without significant infrastructure …

WatchGuard Network Security Partner

We work with Interwork Technologies for all our WatchGuard purchases. I couldn't be happier with them and their staff, they are very attentive and knowledgeable.

WatchGuard Network Security Packaging and Licensing

The licensing is very simple to understand and they have 3 tiers for you to choose from. Standard support basically just covers warranty issues so we don't choose that. We go for the Basic Security Suite which covers most everything we need. They also offer a trade up program so we can get the …

WatchGuard Network Security Partner

As a reseller of WatchGuard, I always work with the client's IT team for product recommendation to implementation. When I need support, WatchGuard tech support provides professional support within hours in most cases. One time I worked with tech support hours to solve the problem continuously …

WatchGuard Network Security Packaging and Licensing

It takes a lot less time to set up a functioning firewall from scratch. Also when your budget it makes it a lot simpler to identify TCO. Also, annual maintenance is a single price for both license and hardware.

WatchGuard Partner

I do not recall working with anyone specific for our implementation. We got the firewall delivered, and from there we set up our policies with the help of our IT team and network administrator.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I have noticed a lot of value in being able to manage all of our policies from one spot. As I mentioned before, we gain most of our value from the VPN abilities of the firewall. From a VPN perspective, it was very easy to set up and control once it was up and running. This was the best value I …

WatchGuard Cloud

We by no means use all of the potential capabilities of WatchGuard Cloud. As I said, the main things we are able to use in conjunction are the standard policy manager along with the VPN capabilities all from one location.

WatchGuard Partner

Just replacement of the power cable. I was satisfied, even though, it would've been better to clarify I was just receiving the power cable, not the device's full package.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

Great value. I love having a single place to manage our network and traffic.

WatchGuard Cloud

Providing live data, traffic monitoring, and access is essential to rapidly take care of the issues at hand to achieve our company goals.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

The unified security platform has obvious benefits but we have to date stayed on the legacy management because it avoids retraining and works very well in our environment. We plan to move to the cloud-based unified management platform this calendar year, but we are just not there yet.

WatchGuard Cloud

The cloud-based endpoint security product has helped us have a centralized place to evaluate the security health of our end users' systems. The ability to have role-based profiles we can assign to specific user's machines means we can simplify our management significantly and gives us a high level …

WatchGuard Partner

Brian W. is great. He is very helpful and knowledgeable. I have nothing but respect for him and have no interest in looking elsewhere when I need assistance.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I only have the one Firebox so not something I've noticed. I'm sure if I had multiple devices/products I would find it very helpful.

WatchGuard Partner

We worked with Sonit Systems and they were amazing on setup and training so I could take over control.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I have used some of the Unified Security platform just not all of it. From what I have used it is setup well and documentation to use it is easy to follow.

WatchGuard Cloud

Worked really well as long as you do it in the correct order so each piece talks.

WatchGuard Partner

We worked directly with WatchGuard to license, deploy and configure. The purchase was through a reseller, CDW. From request for a quote to approval to having license in hand was less than a day.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

Being able to manage several devices at different locations is a huge time saving benefit. It helps keep configurations similar and prevent surprises later.

WatchGuard Cloud

WatchGuard keeps up more secure and saves us time with easy deployment and management. I highly recommend for others in the market for a similar solution. The true benefits are when you have multiple devices.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

Having the platform tools in one place makes it easy for maintenance, configurations, and updates.

WatchGuard Partner

Worked with NETWORK DESIGN & MANAGEMENT for purchase. They were good to work with. Have used them to upgrade WatchGuard appliance and add mobile VPN licenses. We did implementation ourselves as part of a move so had time to configure and test before going live. Was a good learning experience …

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

We don't use the unified platform, we are too small and have only one WatchGuard appliance.

WatchGuard Partner

Yes, for purchase - BlueAlly / Virtual Graffiti<br>They were vewry good to deal with. Quick and pleasant.

WatchGuard Unified Security Platform

I love being able to access everything from one spot... Until it doesn't work.<br>You beed to build in a safety feature so you do not 'lock' yourself out of the cloud by doing something wrong.<br>Example, when you do ANY submit changes, it has a 5 min verification response and if …

WatchGuard Cloud

I am a SMB and run office and my backup sites with minimal users, so this works very nice for me.<br>My remote sites do not have anyone there...

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

Popular Features

View all 11 features

Policy-based Controls (415)
8.7
87%
Firewall Management Console (409)
8.7
87%
Content Inspection (402)
8.6
86%
Reporting and Logging (406)
8.0
80%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons

Traffic management
Reporting

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology

Human Resources Company, 51-200 employees

Web Filtering
Web filtering exceptions need to be entered twice due to the format

Steve Martin

Senior Systems Administrator

Devoted Technology Services (Information Technology & Services, 1-10 employees)

Features

Firewall

A firewall is a filter that stands between a computer or computer network and the Internet. Each firewall can be programmed to keep specific traffic in or out

8.6

Avg 8.5

8.6
Identification Technologies
(382) Ratings
Policy-based visibility and control over applications, users and content
7.5
Visualization Tools
(378) Ratings
Visualization tools present administrators with data on applications traversing the network, who is using them, and the potential security impact.
8.6
Content Inspection
(402) Ratings
Inspecting permitted application traffic by means of threat prevention, URL filtering and data filtering
8.7
Policy-based Controls
(415) Ratings
Firewall policy controls enable administrators to create firewall policies controlling what data is allowed to traverse the firewall
8.5
Active Directory and LDAP
(349) Ratings
Integration with Active Directory and LDAP directories
8.7
Firewall Management Console
(409) Ratings
Either command-line or web-based interface for centralized control and management
8
Reporting and Logging
(406) Ratings
Custom and summary reports, and log files enabling analysis of security incidents, application usage and traffic patterns
8.9
VPN
(399) Ratings
VPN's implement encryption and anonymize IP addresses
8.7
High Availability
(359) Ratings
Built-in capacity to prevent exposure if primary firewall stops working
9.1
Stateful Inspection
(376) Ratings
Stateful inspection analyzes packet headers and contents of packets
9
Proxy Server
(269) Ratings
A proxy server changes your IP address and masks the origin of your network traffic

Product Details

About
Competitors
Tech Details
Downloadables
FAQs

What is WatchGuard Network Security?

WatchGuard Network Security is a network security and firewall software. WatchGuard's advanced network security platform offers IT security professionals enterprise-grade security and threat visibility tools suitable for all organization. In addition to network security, WatchGuard includes secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence products and services.

WatchGuard Network Security Features

Firewall Features

Supported: Identification Technologies
Supported: Visualization Tools
Supported: Content Inspection
Supported: Policy-based Controls
Supported: Active Directory and LDAP
Supported: Firewall Management Console
Supported: Reporting and Logging
Supported: VPN
Supported: High Availability
Supported: Stateful Inspection
Supported: Proxy Server

WatchGuard Network Security Screenshots

WatchGuard Network Security Videos

Watchguard Security

WatchGuard Network Security

WatchGuard Network Security Competitors

WatchGuard Network Security Technical Details

Deployment Types	On-premise
Operating Systems	Windows, Linux, Mac
Mobile Application	No
Supported Countries	Global
Supported Languages	English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Chinese

WatchGuard Network Security Downloadables

Frequently Asked Questions

Fortinet FortiGate, Sophos SG Firewall Appliances, and Cisco Meraki MX are common alternatives for WatchGuard Network Security.

Reviewers rate Stateful Inspection highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of WatchGuard Network Security are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).

Comparisons

View all alternatives

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Reviews and Ratings

(793)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-23 of 23)

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Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why

February 08, 2024

Great Security products

Verified User

Project Manager in Information Technology

Mental Health Care Company, 1001-5000 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

January 19, 2024

WatchGuard - ultra easy

Tom Davis

System Admin\Network Admin ...Peoplesoft SQL DBA

Kith Furniture (Paper & Forest Products, 201-500 employees)

Score 8 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

Sonicwall

December 11, 2023

WatchGuard

Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Health, Wellness and Fitness Company, 11-50 employees

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

October 27, 2023

I chose.. I chose WatchGuard.. simply the best!

simone menegatti

Account Manager

ALLSAFEIT sas (Information Technology & Services, 1-10 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

I had some competing products

July 06, 2023

Keep your WatchGuard up in todays cyber threats

Verified User

Professional in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

Replaced an old CIsco ASA and a barracuda web filter box

May 02, 2023

WatchGuard Helps Protect Small Business.

Jack Switzer

IT & Marketing Administrator

Mike's Plumbing & Drain Cleaning (Utilities, 11-50 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

October 19, 2022

Overall deployment

Diego Carmignani

IT Infrastructure Coordinator

Cartiere Carrara S.p.A. (Paper & Forest Products, 501-1000 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

October 03, 2022

WatchGuard Network Security offers Best-in-Breed solutions at an affordable price

Zachary Coffman, MBA

Program Manager / Sales Coordinator

Allegiant Technology (Telecommunications, 51-200 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Products Replaced

Yes

We replaced our Juniper Firewall with WatchGuard 12 years ago, and have stayed on the WatchGuard platform since that time. The WatchGuard Firewalls are much easier to use and offer better protection at a lower price point. We have since deployed hundreds of firewalls to customers all over the country.

September 28, 2022

Best Security

Robert Ritzi

IT-Systemkaufmann

Kinopolis (Motion Pictures & Film, 1001-5000 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

September 23, 2022

Watchguard to the Rescue.

Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Financial Services Company, 51-200 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

July 01, 2022

Security that delivers what it promises

Nicolas Doré

Senior Information Technology Manager

TechniPC Informatique (Information Technology & Services, 1-10 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Products Replaced

Yes

The company was using an older style Cisco product that was outdated and nobody had the knowledge to maintain it and configure it after many years with the equipment in place. It was not secure anymore and needed to be replaced. Direct replacement was considered not enough powerful and the decision was made to change the brand.

June 30, 2022

WatchGuard Network Security

Michael Herud

Professional in Customer Service

PC-Rat (Information Technology & Services, 1-10 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

I replace AVG Internet Security for more safety

January 21, 2022

WatchGuard Network Security Review

Duane Ervin

Network Administrator

Anderson McTague & Assoc (Insurance, 11-50 employees)

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

Sonic firewall

January 03, 2022

Watchguard Security is fantastic

Verified User

Consultant in Information Technology

Internet Company, 1-10 employees

Score 9 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

We looked at SonicWALL. It was not as user friendly to use although you could get very granular in settings, this is something we did not need, we also found the configuration to not be as easy as the Watchguard and it does the same features as the Watchguard but with higher operating costs and support costs.

December 24, 2021

Best of the best Network Security

Wildan Haidar

Information Technology Audit Manager

Eminence Hospitality Services (Hospitality, 201-500 employees)

Score 8 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

December 07, 2021

WatchGuard Is The Way To Go!

Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Education Management Company, 201-500 employees

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

We switched from Cisco's ASA series firewall about 10 years ago, and have been utilizing Watchguard ever since. Far more simplistic to setup initially, and maintenance is a breeze. Setting up our needed VLANs and numerous network policies within the Watchguard box is also very straight-forward and is done either with a downloaded software program (System Manager) or through a Web GUI.

November 19, 2021

The perfect security solution from SMB to Enterprise

Giovanni Derosas

Senior Information Technology Audit Manager

SNF Italia s.r.l. (Computer & Network Security, 11-50 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

We replaced SonicWall and Arkoon UTM because the management, the support, the cost and the quality of the subscription service are best in class in WatchGuard in respect of the one provided by Watchguard. And more the possibility to manage both with client or web are a plus really interesting.

November 19, 2021

Security which is obtainable for all. Great solutions and very mature product ranges.

James Barnett

CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

Smart solutions group (Information Technology & Services, 11-50 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Products Replaced

Yes

Historically over 10 years ago we were selling sonicwall and draytek. However a requirement for higher end solutions which were also easy to train staff came about.

November 19, 2021

Totally satisfied

Rodrigo Henrique

Marketing and Product Manager

Gantech Information Safety (Retail, 11-50 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Products Replaced

Yes

The product replaced was based on Linux and the decision was to improve network security and traffic visibility also.

November 15, 2021

Good Firewall for Small and Medium Businesses

Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Environmental Services Company, 501-1000 employees

Score 7 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

SonicWall NSA and TZ series firewalls were replaced as the throughput from these devices were not matching business needs and the higher spec models were not competitively priced.

August 17, 2021

WatchGuard Network Security Outshines the Rest

Wysta Elliott

Network Engineer

Christus EMS (Hospital & Health Care, 201-500 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Verified User

Products Replaced

Yes

We replaced all our Juniper firewalls with WatchGuard firewalls, because we needed better network security features.

December 19, 2020

WatchGuard is Good

Chris Hill

Low guy

Dempsey Business Systems of Louisiana LLC (Defense & Space, 1-10 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Products Replaced

August 07, 2019

10+ yrs experience with hundreds of Fireboxes, WatchGuard review

Felicia King

President

Quality Plus Consulting (Information Technology and Services, 1-10 employees)

Score 10 out of 10

Vetted Review

Products Replaced

Yes

We have tried Cisco ASA, Juniper, Barracuda, SonicWall, PaloAlto, Fortinet, and Netgear. We find all of those options to be lacking in functionality, features, support, management capabilities, or just outright lacking in security effectiveness.