Check Point Quantum Force (NGFW) Reviews

We use the solution as a perimeter and OT demarcation firewall. As we are a large utility company with a distributed network, Check Point plays a vital role in terms of network segmentation. Specifically, we need identity-aware authentication to give us the best VPN compared to other players in the market. 

Centralized management is a major plus of Check Point, which provides us with a better user experience. 

We use it to safeguard our office network on a routine basis. These firewalls protect against external threats, manage VPN access for remote users, and address various security scenarios. 

Our primary focus involves malware prevention, intrusion detection, and ensuring robust security measures to shield our office network from potential cyber threats originating from the internet. It serves as a traditional yet effective security system, providing comprehensive protection against hackers and potential risks associated with internet usage.

Check Point has a Purpose fit solution for our environment A lot of things need to be improved in Check Point NGFW. 

For example, their support team isn't very efficient and useful. The solution itself isn't easy to learn, making it hard for support to provide solutions. The design makes it so pockets (specific teams) have to work together when there's an issue, which creates a mess. Also, Check Point lacks competitive capabilities like SD-WAN and CGM app integration. 

Visibility needs improvement. For example, Fortinet shows all connected devices with IP addresses, MAC addresses, and sometimes usernames. More granular detail is crucial for security. 

Support efficiency, visibility, and adding competitive capabilities are key areas for improvement.

The product offers a robust and intuitive experience, catering to the essential needs of users. 

The Cleanup Rule's ability to discard unwanted traffic and the inclusion of default Autonomous Threat Prevention Profiles does simplify security measures; we're able to cater to various deployment scenarios. 

I was impressed by how easy it was to activate blades and implement them on a security gateway. 

The Smart Console's efficient user interface ensures that the changes to the policy are swiftly made. We're also able to maintain proper audit logs.

The solution requires improvements in the following areas:

- Having the Zone Alarm and the standalone endpoint VPN become compatible products. 

- Having Smart Console in-place upgrades with IP/fingerprint retention 

- A Mac version of the Smart Console.

- Streamlining of the endpoint solution and deployment options.

I've used the solution for ten years.

Technical support is excellent.

Positive

The initial setup was straightforward.

We implemented the solution through a vendor. They offered excellent support.

We use the product for safeguarding our office network on a routine basis. These firewalls protect against external threats, manage VPN access for remote users, and address various security scenarios. 

Our primary focus involves malware prevention, intrusion detection, and ensuring robust security measures to shield our office network from potential cyber threats originating from the internet. 

It serves as a traditional yet effective security system, providing comprehensive protection against hackers and potential risks associated with internet usage.

A lot of things need to be improved in Check Point NGFW. For example, their support team isn't very efficient and useful. The solution itself isn't easy to learn, making it hard for support to provide solutions. The design makes it so pockets (specific teams) have to work together when there's an issue, which creates a mess. 

Also, Check Point lacks competitive capabilities like SD-WAN and CGM app integration. And visibility needs improvement. For example, Fortinet shows all connected devices with IP addresses, Mac addresses, and sometimes usernames. More granular detail is crucial for security. 

Support efficiency, visibility, and adding competitive capabilities are key areas for improvement.

The product offers a robust and intuitive experience, catering to the essential needs of users. 

The Cleanup Rule's ability to discard unwanted traffic and the inclusion of default Autonomous Threat Prevention Profiles simplifies security measures, catering to various deployment scenarios. I was impressed by how easy it was to activate blades and implement them on a security gateway, with the process taking less than five minutes. 

Additionally, the Smart Console's clear and efficient user interface ensures that the changes to the policy are swiftly made, with the added benefit of maintaining proper audit logs.

Places for improvement include:

• Having a Zone Alarm and the standalone endpoint VPN that become compatible products.
• Having a Smart Console in-place upgrades with IP/fingerprint retention.
• Offering a Mac version of Smart Console.
• Integration of CPview and things like fw accel stat in the monitoring blade.
• No more legacy SmartDashboard for some features.
• Streamlining of the endpoint solution and deployment options and also offering the possibility to convert shared policy to unified policy when you run R80.X via some sort of wizard in a layer or so. This is a classical case for people who upgraded their R77 management.
• Offering a fixed deployment schedule for accumulator hotfixes. This would help us foresee maintenance windows in organizations with rigid change management procedures.
• Finding a way to restore the object search like in R77, where you could find any part of an object name and not a word in the object.
• Scheduling policy pushes in Smart Console.

I've used the solution for ten years.

We brought all of our cloud platforms to Microsoft Azure. We needed a tool that would give us the security of regulating access control so that we could monitor our environment in case something was penetrating our internal network.

This was the primary movement for which the Check Point NGFW tool was acquired since we needed our collaborators to have secure access to the company's resources and applications since this tool provides us with the alerts and corrections that must be made when finding a security breach in our environment.

Check Point NGFW also provides a great capacity of features that help us apply them to the organization. It has web filtering limited to third parties, SSL encryption, and the application's administration is very simple and centralized since it helps us a lot in reporting and generating alerts.

The organization needed a tool that would provide various security functionalities in the organization, and so far, Check Point NGFW has helped us a lot. It has helped us by applying access control policies and limiting access to third parties and only those who must enter the organization to use resources and applications.

The application behaved very well with the Azure resources in the cloud; it helped us to prevent several security holes found with web filtering and internal DDoS attack.

Check Point NGFW can quickly identify where the attacks are coming from, provides detailed and complete information on the attacks, and provides zero-day attacks in real-time.

One of the valuable characteristics of Check Point NGFW is that it presents very centralized management. Due to this, it's improved our security throughout the organization and outside of it. Many collaborators work from their homes or different places and help us filter, limit of access to packet inspection with flexibility and speed that was not previously possible.

Other characteristics are the records that it shows us and generates depending on its configuration and they are very visible to be able to attack and correct in time, or when superiors ask us for administrative information in that part it provides great value.

As such, the tool provides what is expected in its security functionality. However, some points must be improved, such as the latency in the GUI entry. It takes a while to register and allow access to the administrative panel.

Another point where customer service should be improved, both in the administrative and technical fields. Support cases have been generated several times, and it takes time for the case to be resolved. In addition to that, the solutions need to attend to us. It takes a long time to coordinate a call since they do not handle a comprehensive schedule.

This solution has been used for approximately one year in the company.

The stability of the tool is good. We have not presented any problem even when an update is made.

The scalability presented by the tool is very good and flexible.

The experience has not been very good. That is one of the points that must be improved.

Positive

There was no type of tool that would supply these qualities.

The configuration of the tool is very simple and quick to install.

The installation was done jointly with an engineer provided by the supplier, and his capacity was good.

The prices are competitive. However, it is worth making an investment since, in the future, the profit will be seen against any environmental attack.

Check Point manages a good cost in its products and it is worth making the investment since this can prevent a collapse in the organization.

Check Point was always our first option. With this type of solution, many security teams are from Check Point.

The tool behaves well. The only improvement that I have seen that is necessary is to improve the latency when entering the application and they must improve the support.

For Check Point, the main cases are just perimeter security, network security, basically detecting threats on the network, antivirus, application control, visibility, login, and data threat prevention.

I like the GUI. In terms of functionality, it used to be the detection capability. Check Point has good security intelligence, which helps detect threats. They have the historical background to do that. But now, Fortinet is a bit better. 

A lot of things need to be improved in Check Point NGFW. One, their support team isn't very efficient and useful. 

The solution itself isn't easy to learn, making it hard for support to provide solutions. The design makes it so pockets (specific teams) have to work together when there's an issue, which creates a mess.

Also, Check Point lacks competitive capabilities like SD-WAN and CGM app integration. And visibility needs improvement. For example, Fortinet shows all connected devices with IP addresses, MAC addresses, and sometimes usernames. More granular detail is crucial for security.

So support efficiency, visibility, and adding competitive capabilities are key areas for improvement.

I have been with Check Point for a very long time. So, it has been almost six years.

I would rate the stability a six out of ten. There is room for improvement here. 

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. My customers are mostly medium-sized businesses, but my clientele also includes enterprises.

There is room for improvement in the customer service and support. 

Neutral

I'm heavily biased towards Fortinet. Check Point is a direct competitor, so from my experience, it's a decent firewall. There are strong points and weak points, but Fortinet is superior for various reasons.

The initial setup is really straightforward. The GUI is very good. However, the issue I have is with the stability. In terms of simplicity, I don't consider Check Point to be a straightforward solution. Another point to mention is my experience in planning within customer environments. The outcomes are not always as expected. 

For instance, when setting up Check Point firewall and flat policies, the policies didn't take effect immediately. There was a situation where the policies took effect after about two hours. Such instances were mind-boggling. Regarding VPN issues, when implementing IP protection between Check Point and other vendors, remote access can be challenging.

In Nigeria, it's predominantly on-premises. Many organizations are moving towards cloud, but many others use a hybrid approach, both on-premises and in the cloud. 

A few are using Check Point in the cloud, but most test with Fortinet due to easier integration with public cloud providers like Microsoft. Public cloud vendors also have their own firewalls, like Microsoft and AWS. In terms of adoption, Check Point is behind in cloud adoption in Nigeria.

Overall, the process is very fast and depends on the type of deployment. For example, replacing a Cisco firewall with Check Point requires converting policies, which can take quite a while, depending on the size of the policy base. In my personal experience, setting up Check Point was very quick.

It's reasonably priced, but competitors offer much cheaper options. It's market-related, so the pricing makes sense for what Check Point offers.

My recommendation is to consider Fortinet as an alternative. Overall, I'd rate it a seven out of ten. There's room for improvement, especially since Check Point doesn't seem too focused on our region. 

In Nigeria, procuring the firewall and bundled services like technical account management and professional services can be challenging. The service delivery is not as efficient as one would expect, which wouldn't be the case for a European customer.

The primary use case is to enhance security by safeguarding the internet connection for both servers and users.

Its greatest asset lies in its user-friendly interface, making it exceptionally suitable and reliable for managing gateways.

When it comes to Check Point's small business gateway series, there might be a need for hardware upgrades, as configuring them can sometimes be a bit challenging.

I have been working with it for two years.

I would rate its stability capabilities eight out of ten.

I would rate its scalability abilities eight out of ten.

Seeking solutions from them can be quite challenging and often takes a while, which then impacts our workload. I would rate it seven out of ten.

Neutral

I have some experience with Juniper, WatchGuard, Cisco, and Fortinet.

The initial setup is relatively complex.

Deployment duration varies based on the customer's specific conditions. On average, an installation might take around twenty minutes.

The best solutions tend to come with a higher price tag. If something is inexpensive, it often implies a compromise in quality. The solution is indeed costly. I would rate it eight out of ten.

Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.

I usually apply Check Point to protect my customer's environment as a main solution boundary gateway, DMZ gateway, LAN gateway, or VPN site-to-site with other Check Point appliances and other vendors. I do a Harmony Endpoint full integration. I use other tools such as threat prevention blades (like IPS and IDS), anti-virus, anti-bot, anti-malware, and the Sandblast solution.

I haven't had any data leaks or vulnerability situations. The NGFW has been working as it should! It's performing well and offers great security for me and my customers by protecting the environment. Administrators can easily follow and monitor security events, or the health status of the environment or appliance using Smarteview, SmartEvent, and the monitoring blade. We can look at CPU usage, disk space, and traffic and can see user history in real-time. 

The threat extraction is the most valuable aspect. It protects the final user and prevents them from falling into the trap of infected files. When a file needs to be downloaded by a machine user, this solution analyzes the file at the same time to send to the user a clean version of this file. If not infected, the real version is available. The threat emulation can scan the computer applications searching for malicious activities and block them according to policy.

It could be easier to manage the licenses on blades and contracts. If you have a large environment it will take too much time for your team to verify if all the licenses and contracts are correct and work well. Although it is possible to manage licenses using SmartUpate and SmartConsole, if there are issues, you can only fix them using an expert shell. Simplifying the process would help simplify the daily tasks of administrators.  

I've been using the solution for two years.

Technical support works well.

Positive

NGFW is not a cheap solution, however, it does guarantee security. If the goal is to protect assets, using NGFW by Check Point helps immensely.

I use this in my company environment. I did not evaluate other options. 

I use the solution in my company since the solution serves as a firewall and functions on a DMZ network while also providing public-facing services. I serve my company's customers as a firewall administrator.

My company's customers have benefited from the solution's performance, especially when dealing with a huge amount of traffic. Check Point is a well-known name in the security industry that opts for functionalities like signature-based detection and beyond.

The most valuable feature of the solution is the Quantum Intrusion Prevention System (IPS). I also like the solution's functionality, like autonomous threat prevention.

The complexity involved in the solution's initial setup phase and deployment process is an area of concern where improvement is required.

I have been using Check Point NGFW for two years. I work as the solution's integrator. Speaking about the version, I use Check Point Quantum 6400 Next Generation Firewalls.

So far, I haven't faced any issues related to the solution's stability.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

If I take into consideration my company's customers who use the solution, then I would have to say that there are around 300 to 400 users.

I have availed the services provided by the solution's technical support. My company engages with the solution's local partner to avail the services provided by Check Point's technical support team.

Compared to Palo Alto and Fortinet, Check Point provides good internal performance, especially for big-scale enterprises and entities, making it a tool that is not just suitable for SMEs or mid-sized companies. Check Point is, however, pricier than other solutions.

The initial setup of Check Point NGFW is quite complex. When it comes to the product's setup phase, the engineer should understand the product, and instead of understanding the firewall, it is important to know how to manage or be an admin.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution's deployment is complex.

My company's customers have seen a return on investment from the use of Check Point NGFW.

I rate the pricing of Check Point NGFW a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price.

I take care of the solution's maintenance part, and I feel that it is a straightforward process.

Check Point NGFW is good for big companies.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.

We use it for our core firewall and also for VPN.

It can be managed by many people. I have a team, and any of them can manage this firewall and make some changes. All the changes are combined into one policy.

Its usability is the best for me. As compared to Palo Alto, Juniper, or Cisco firewalls, Check Point firewall has the best user interface for management, reading logs, looking for some objects, and looking for policies.

It's expensive.

We have been using this solution for more than 15 years.

It's stable.

I don't know about its scalability because I haven't had to scale. I have a flat traffic rate.

I have 500 users. It's deployed across two data centers.

I contacted them sometimes but not very often. It was a good experience. I have contacts with the engineers in Check Point. They provide the right solution every time. I also use the Check Point support portal. They have many descriptions and solutions for some of the problems.

I have previously used Palo Alto, Juniper, and Cisco. Check Point NGFW is better than all of them. 

I changed from Cisco ASA. It was a long time ago. Cisco ASA was an old technology, whereas Check Point NGFW has better performance and better knowledge about applications.

It was easy for me because I have many years of experience. I could see its benefits within two or three months of deployment.

In terms of maintenance, it requires normal maintenance. Its maintenance is similar to other devices.

It's expensive, but its price is reasonable looking at its functionality and power.

Try many solutions and then choose the best one for you.

I'd rate Check Point NGFW a ten out of ten.