Avast Secure Web Gateway (SWG) vs. pfSense

I have been using [Avast Secure Web Gateway (SWG)] for a very long
time in my organization, it is very easy to use with having the interface
created on a very advanced module. Designed with much-modernized UI and dashboard
is very pleasing to use and to have the best experience on it.

Incentivized

pfSense is incredibly budget friendly and capable for organizations of all sizes. My specific scenario, working for a non-profit organization, requires budget consciences decisions without compromising security and function. pfSense has helped tremendously in accomplishing this. It specifically tackles advanced routing, static routing, remote access, intrusion prevention, in a single platform, mostly available for free.

Incentivized

• I have been using this platform in my organization for securing the network for a very long time and I am satisfied with their services and features.
• It helps me in blocking web threats before coming on the network automatically which saves my network from potential attack.
• Completely functional UI with having all the features to have a fast and secure working environment.

Incentivized

• Easy to use. Good user interface design! Easy to understand and easy to set up.
• Lower hardware requirement. 3 years ago, we used an old PC to run it. Now, we have changed to a router device with Celeron CPU and 8GB RAM. It runs smoothly with a 1000G commercial broadband.

Incentivized

• The major drawback of using Avast secure web gateway that it sometimes slows down the system in blocking web threats.
• Secondly, it is hard to set up the first time as it takes a lot of effort and time to completely integrate with the system to make it fully functional.
• Starting scanning the web application and organizing network in the background which talks a lot of memory and slows down the other processes.

Incentivized

• There is no API for making changes. This can be a hindrance in environments where auto-deploying something needs firewall rules or HAProxy configs updated. Since all settings are stored in an XML file and then configs are generated from that, even manually updating config files cannot be done.
• Beware that some network cards can have issues. pfSense is based on FreeBSD, so it's best to look on their compatibility list before deploying.

Incentivized

pfSense can be a very elementary firewall but can also be as comples as you want, according your needs. I'd always reccomend a HA solution when used in a company and, for bigger companies, commercial license is recommended. It's also very adptable to everyone's needs.

Incentivized

pfSense+ basic provides "As Available" email support. pfSense+ Pro offers 24 hr turn around email support. pfSense+ Enterprise offers 24/7 phone support.

Incentivized

PFSense is not a fully featured and supported enterprise-grade solution; however, it does offer a lot of similar functionality at a fraction of the cost for more minor requirements.

• I am facing a lot on my organization's websites that it shows a lot of ads on the screen which sometimes got a freeze on the page and takes the whole screen to play which is a lot of time-consuming and slows down the work.
• Avast Secure Web Gateway [(SWG)] is one of the best protection solutions available in the market to secure network traffic.

Incentivized

• pfSense has only had positive impacts on our company. We are not a huge company so not having to buy licenses to get all these features have been excellent.
• I was not around when our current sysadmin decided to use pfSense, but I am assuming from day one it was probably a 100% return on investment since it does everything we need it to and it was open source software.

Incentivized