Check Point Remote Access VPN Reviews

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this solution has helped us a lot. We had to move around 6000 people so that they could work from home. It was a challenge for us, however, it was something we managed to do successfully in collaboration with other areas by providing them with a certificate created by Check Point with a .p12 extension and with the peer configuration in their VPN client. 

Now, we are integrating this solution with a 2MFA solution in order to provide better security for authentication of people as day by day the threats and new viruses are always a risk. Sometimes, people do not have that instinct of having to secure their workstations, therefore, we do it for them through the VPN connection.

Connection through VPN has helped us with the connection to corporate. This type of connection has been very useful to us since, as infrastructure personnel, we can establish a connection to our corporate to make a connection either RDP or directly to services in order to be able to carry out any work activity or review any report by the operational part in order to speed up response times. We can connect to our network equipment by SSH, RDP, or via the web, however, only when we have this type of secure connection.

One of the features that has helped us the most with our solutions has been the P2P connection through an IPsec VPN. It has allowed us to extend our infrastructure and grow with new clients. Previously, we had around 15 corporate clients. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have managed to grow and now have around 35 new corporate clients and more than 6 people connected by VPN. This has forced us to increase our infrastructure to be able to support all these connections and to have a stable, reliable, and, above all, scalable solution that can interconnect more clients.

We have not migrated to the R81 version and I do not doubt that it will have some improvements compared to the version we use today. 

Without a doubt and with the new trends in technology, Check Point should already have a blade with a 2MFA solution and not through some other vendor. This type of integration would undoubtedly give it a better reach and greater market with new security trends top of mind. 

I know that everything is moving to a cloud environment, however, for all those corporates that still do not trust such an environment, it would be favorable to offer a 2MFA service in a solution tested through a blade or in the cloud. 

I've used the solution for more than five years.

The remote workers were experiencing issues like disconections, no IP avaliables from the DHCP, or unable to connect because the server didnt responde to a ping, however this issue was fix after we instlalled the JHF 125 on each gateway and after the upgrade, everythig has been working OK, but before that Check Point didn´t have a fix for that manner.

Scalability is great. We have been able to grow as a corporation due in part to this type of solution.

They have been with us when we needed help. We don't have any complaints about their level of service.

Positive

We did use a different solution and we switched due to the fact that Check Point is more secure and has more features for the type of connections we need.

It was a straightforward setup.

The product was integrated with in-house personnel.

We've seen about a 40% ROI.

Check Point is an expensive solution, however, it has more features and is more secure than other options.

Ae evaluated AnyConnect and Palo Alto.

We would like them to add a 2MFA feature in the future. This is our direct request.

Hybrid Cloud

The most valuable feature of Check Point Remote Access VPN is its ability to deploy. It follows the same process as their stateful inspection firewall or IPS. If you know how to enable one feature, you can enable and configure others. The learning curve isn't steep.

The product needs to improve its support. 

Check Point Remote Access VPN is quite stable. Once we trained our staff on using and troubleshooting the solution, we could quickly hand it over.

The tool is scalable. If you size your appliance correctly, you shouldn't have software issues. It is deployed with head-end gateways in three regions. From the endpoint perspective, it supports about 1000 end users globally. These users have SMB devices shipped to them that build VPN connections to our head-end devices in the data centers.

This VPN solution integrates with SMB devices. We ship these devices to our end users, who just need to plug them into their network. Once the device receives an IP address, it connects with our head-end and provides connectivity.

A special team helps design solutions, but I can't remember what they're called. It's not the regular break-fix support, which can be frustrating.

The solution's deployment is straightforward. We needed less staff than with other products. Two people were involved in certification, one in verification, and three in deployment (one for build services, one for service delivery, and one for rotation for additional help).

Regarding pricing, as a global customer, we get a big discount. For us, it's a good return on investment. We need to pay for additional features we want to enable. It seems cheaper than other vendors, but I can't say what it would cost an average customer.

During COVID-19, we needed a VPN solution for a specific team that had to use special equipment in the office. We couldn't install this equipment on laptops for home use. The tool helped us deploy a VPN solution in less than 30 days, including project costs and gathering facts. Their support was amazing, especially the R&D team. We worked with someone with experience with similar solutions for other clients, which made it easier. The VPN is still being used, and it's robust.

We mainly implemented the Check Point Remote Access VPN to support our team during the COVID-19 peak. Some employees needed specific equipment that couldn't be installed on laptops at home. The solution allowed us to set up a similar setup to the office for these users so that they could support our clients during COVID-19.

My advice for those considering Check Point Remote Access VPN is that if you're familiar with one solution, the deployment and configuration process is identical for others. There's no learning curve. Just understand your use cases, enable the needed features, and you're ready.

I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten. 

Check Point Remote Access VPN enables us to access on-premise applications while working from remote locations.

The feature that I found most valuable is how conveniently Check Point Remote Access VPN allows us to access our HR system. We use it for the process of logging in and logging out.

I think Check Point Remote Access VPN is good enough to suffice our needs. At present, I don't have any complaints about the tool.

I have been using Check Point Remote Access VPN since the COVID-19 pandemic started.

In our organization, approximately 3,000 users work on Check Point Remote Access VPN. The number may go up if we hire more employees.

I think that the tech support provided by Check Point Remote Access VPN is good. Also, I would add that I have no complaints.

I would say that the initial setup was straightforward. The deployment process took place on weekends and during non-banking hours. In our organization, we only need around 10 to 15 employees, who include network administrators, developers, and project managers, for the deployment and maintenance of Check Point Remote Access VPN.

The deployment was conducted with the help of our in-house team.

I won't be in a position to answer this question. But, I can say that the licensing costs are charged annually.

We evaluated alternative options by using Forcepoint as a benchmark.

I would like the support to be faster. I rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud

Other

We use a Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN client along with Check Point SSL VPN, which allows users to connect to our firewall who don't have the client, e.g., if they have a MacBook, then we don't have a client for them. We allow them to connect to the firewall over the browser. That had a bunch of problems, but they have resolved those this year. 

The use case is to allow people to connect to our firewall on-premise. We also have Check Point firewalls in the cloud, which people can connect to as well. Then they can access resources either in our on-premise environment that they need to access, such as, their computers, the Intranet, Salesforce, or our production applications. Also, in AWS, they can access other types of applications, like WorkSpaces, or our production applications there, which allows them to work. It lets them have access to their email, because they're not able to access their email unless they are VPN'd in, etc. 

We keep everything locked down to the VPN. If that's not working, then our company will not be able to work. It was very finicky last year, and it's working now. It has been perfect this year.

We don't use the Endpoint Remote Access VPN client for too much. We use its local firewall, which is valuable, but we don't really use SandBlast. I know you can add the SandBlast module along with all these other modules. We literally just use it so our users can connect on-prem.

Before we used the Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN solution, we were using a difficult VPN solution. It made us install a certificate on the user's laptop. That was very difficult to maintain for the IT department. When we gave out a new laptop, we would have to go and manually put the certificate on a laptop so they could then connect back to the on-prem. Where now, Check Point allows us to use an RSA token and PIN. It integrates with RSA, which is another solution that we use. RSA is a random generated key done every minute and another factor of authentication. With Check Point having that feature, it helped us a lot when we initially set it up.

The most valuable part would be allowing users to have a seamless connection to the Check Point firewall, which is what we use for controlling access to our on-premise area. Otherwise, we would have to get some other type of VPN solution that I don't know how well would work with the Check Point firewalls. Keeping it in the same ecosystem is good.

Currently, we're using Check Point Endpoint Remote Access VPN R70.30.03. That's the latest version of R70.30. We haven't upgraded to R80 yet, but all of our firewalls are R80. We've been through many iterations of the Endpoint VPN client. I remember awhile ago, it was very difficult to deploy and not have problems, but they've come a long way. Now, it's a lot better. 

I have worked so much on this in the past with Check Point that they actually had their vice president of product development call me. I remember one of the things that I told him need room for improvement, which I still haven't seen: When you want to deploy a new Check Point agent, it is really a pain in the butt. For example, Windows 10 now has updates almost every couple of months. It changes the versioning and things under the hood. These are things that I don't understand, because I'm not a Windows person. However, I know that the Check Point client is installed on the Windows machine, and if the Check Point client's not kept up-to-date, then it's functionality breaks. It has to be up-to-date with the Windows versions. Check Point has to update the client more often. Now, the problem is that the Check Point client is not easy to update on remote computers and it's not easy to deploy a new client. 

They need to improve deploying a new Endpoint Remote Access VPN client and updating existing Endpoint Remote Access VPN clients. Especially if you want to deploy a new one, it's not an easy process. Their software doesn't really support creating a new Endpoint Remote Access VPN client. There is a lot of manual activity. They need to automate it better. You have to create a generic client, download it to a computer, and install it to the computer. Then, you have to find a file deep inside the directory that it creates. It's like a text file, then you take that text file out and edit the settings in it. For example, I have to tell it to connect to a site which contains our firewalls or else it's like a phone with no phone numbers and I have to put in the phone numbers. This should be done when I download the client the first time from their GUI, but it is not. Instead, I have to install a generic blank version on a computer, find a text file, and edit the text file with the sites of firewalls that the users have to connect to specific to my company. I have to make other setting changes in that version, save it, reboot the computer, find the file again, take that file out of the computer, upload it to GUI, and deploy a new version. Then, I install it after I uninstalled the old one. Of course, all the uninstalls require reboots. So, I am rebooting it like five times now. After that, I have to install it and check the settings. Half the time they don't save the way you want them to save. It is very tedious and terrible. 

Even learning that process was a nightmare, because it's not like they have a nice article that explains it to you. They don't. I was bumping my head up against the wall with support for almost six or seven months trying to figure that out. Half of them didn't even know how to do it. That was miserable. But now that I'm an expert on it, I can probably do it within a half a day to three days depending on if it gives me problems or not. That's still miserable, and it should be as easy as: I upload the new version of the client, put in the information that I want it to have on the settings, click download, and install, then it works. It should be that easy. There's really no reason why it's not, except for they didn't improve that process nor have they developed that area. It makes me think that their interest isn't in VPN solutions, even though it should be because it's something that they offer. Otherwise, their support is great.

About seven or eight years.

Since it was fixed in November, it's been 100 percent solid and stable. It's been solid as far as Endpoint Remote Access VPN is concerned. I would say their SSL VPN isn't always solid, but I don't think it's necessarily their fault. I think it's because companies, like Apple and Google, change their browsers and operating systems. This messes up Check Point's ability to allow the connection as far as Java updates or other types of security features that they enable. They also don't let you run the application without administrative rights or in sandbox. I have seen a lot of things break because of other companies' involvement in their products. 

As far as the connection is concerned, recently it's been stable. If you had asked me that a couple years ago, it was miserable. It was like the bane of my existence. Now, it's working great. 

I manage the solution, though technically it's my team. They don't work on it if they don't have to. If they have to, then they ask me questions.

It is pretty scalable as far as adding more users. I don't see that as being an issue. All we have to do is buy more licenses and it's easy to add the license headcount, then more users can be added just as simply.

We have 200 to 250 users in our company.

We will definitely be increasing to have more users since our company was just purchased by a very large company. This will make us grow.

Their Endpoint Remote Access VPN support team tries to fix whatever problems that are there and incorporate those issues into the next Endpoint Remote Access VPN client that they release for everyone, which is great. I know that last year specifically, I worked with the Endpoint Remote Access VPN support for nine months. We were having disconnects. Some users would get disconnected from their VPN five times in a day. Throughout nine months of working with them, providing logs, providing TCP dumps from the firewall, and all the information they needed, they were able to give us a new client where our users didn't have any more disconnects. They did something where they made it more resilient. So, if there's a problem, the client has more time to talk back to the endpoint or firewall. That is huge since this entire year our whole company has been working from home. 

Last year, we had a few people working from home every week, or maybe a tenth of the company works from home permanently. However, if we hadn't fix that issue by November of last year, then having everyone work from home and getting disconnected five times a day would have been an utter nightmare. It probably would (100 percent) been the end of Check Point at our company, because I know our CIO already doesn't really like Check Point. We keep it around because my team believes in it. But if no one could work, because no one could VPN, that definitely would have been the end of Check Point.

This wasn't something they could just fix or something that I could fix or configure. It literally took nine months of troubleshooting and ongoing fixing with their development team in Israel, where they were making new code for the input client, which we got. It worked and we're still running that client today. That was huge. If I had to say something really good, it would be that their support helped us and fixed that issue.

We did use something else previously. I want to say it was some kind of a VNC Viewer things with a certificate. It's very basic and crappy. 

We switched because we need more features, like the RSA token involvement. We also like that we were using another Check Point solution and could integrate with that.

The initial setup wasn't too complex. I think their documentation is pretty good for the initial setup. It took a little while, but it wasn't difficult. We did the deployment successfully in probably two months on our own, without them doing anything, by just reading the documentation and having other stuff going on too. We didn't just focus on this deployment.

I just wished the upgrade process was easy and the configuration initial process was easier. In the past six months, they did a fix, where if I push out a new install to users, it doesn't reboot their computer. Now, it will install their client and not reboot.

They need to keep up with Windows updates faster. There have been a couple of times where Windows is updated and they didn't have a new version ready for when Windows was ready, which means the clients that are running on the newer version of Windows won't be able to VPN. If they can keep up to speed with that, then it would be good.

I've done this twice already because I know that we didn't upgrade it. I built out two new servers for it. I have a primary and a policy server. We have a primary endpoint server. Then, we have a secondary, which is called a policy server. This is operational because our clients will connect round robin to one, then the other. It's just that one of them has more precedence over the other as far as enforcing policy. We have those in two different environments, and they're virtual. All the standard things that go along with setting up a virtual environment.

We had to create the policy on the new endpoint server, which isn't too complicated. It includes a list of ports that we needed for our users to be able to use certain applications, like their chat and VoIP, because it has a local firewall. That took some time, like a week building that policy out and testing it. It's really about making sure that it can connect to the endpoint server through the main firewall. Then, it gets its policy from the endpoint server that it downloads and enforces on the local firewall, allowing for the connection to the main firewall. I wouldn't say it was too complicated as far as deployment strategy goes.

We have seen ROI. It allows everyone to work from home. If no one could work from home, then we wouldn't have a company, especially now during COVID-19. It's mission-critical, especially since it's currently being used. If there is a problem with it, we would really be screwed. We would be hard-pressed because we would have to figure out what solution we're going to go with, how to deploy it, how long it would take to deploy it, and how we'd even get it on people's computers if we couldn't VPN to them. It would be near impossible to just change to a new VPN solution right now. Without physical access to the machines, it makes things much more difficult.

My understanding is that the pricing and licensing are very competitive, and it's not one of their more expensive products. We buy licenses for the solution and have licenses for the endpoint servers.

I believe we did evaluate other option, but I know that we were leaning strongly towards Check Point.

My advice would be to have patience. Make sure you get a Tier 3 support person. Setting up the servers and everything is easy, but deploying the Endpoint VPN client is not easy. They need to have someone walk them through the process of creating the Trac file that contains the settings for the client. That is hard.

There is the endpoint server, which is on-prem, and easy to set up like any other appliance that any network engineer or systems administrator should know how to do. That is easy. But if you want to deploy the client, which most people want to deploy the client, and have any type of configured settings on it, then know that it is not just a generic client. That's the hard part. My advice would be to reach out to support and have them help you with it.

I remember not knowing how to deploy the Trac file and struggling immensely. I was unable to deploy the client and get people working, which is my job and what I'm supposed to do. Learning how to do that, being familiar with the process, and actually doing what I'm expected to do at work, which is let people be connected to the firewall, that was my biggest lesson.

I would rate it a seven and a half out of 10.

On-premises

The typical scenario for remote access to organizational resources is that employees connect from home or from a branch if maybe we have internal resources in our organizations. So most times, employees will need to connect to their resources of the organization remotely.The types of internal resources they're connecting to through Check Point Remote Access VPN include file servers, servers from file storage, and business applications, with about 30 resources connecting through VPN at the same time.I don't have anything really unique to add about my main use case for Check Point Remote Access VPN; it's just a good tool for remote access, providing remote access.

The best features Check Point Remote Access VPN offers include encrypted connections, which are brief, centralized management, multiple flexible connection options, and end-to-end point security.Centralized management with Check Point Remote Access VPN mainly helps our team with policy administration and user connectivity.The end-to-end endpoint security provided by Check Point Remote Access VPN impacts our organization by ensuring compliance and enhancing security.Check Point Remote Access VPN positively impacts our organization by improving productivity, as employees are able to work even when they're not in the facilities, which is a plus for us.In terms of how much productivity has improved with Check Point Remote Access VPN, our company typically operates in an office work mode; however, under circumstances when we are not able to go to the office, the VPN really helps keep things moving.

One challenge I notice with Check Point Remote Access VPN is that it sometimes requires rebooting.

I have been using Check Point Remote Access VPN for about two years now, and we are using this for remote access to organizational and organization internal resources.

I estimate that Check Point Remote Access VPN has kept things on track for about 25 to 30 days a year.

We are resellers of Check Point products in our country, and our customers use Check Point Remote Access VPN to keep their organization data clean and safe when users access remotely through the client. They use Check Point Remote Access VPN for complex setups requiring technical expertise, such as accessing resources in the organization's private networks. Most of the time, we deploy Check Point Remote Access VPN on banking centers, where they use it to access business data behind their firewalls. Check Point Remote Access VPN supports various platforms, including Windows, MacOS, and mobile devices.

Whenever we deploy Check Point Remote Access VPN on customer sites, they tell us that this feature improves their access to organizational data, as many employees need remote access to work from their premises or home networks. During this time, company data is vulnerable to attacks due to insecure connections to organizational data. Check Point Remote Access VPN fills this gap by keeping organizational data secure from unauthorized access, providing multi-factor authentication, checking device health status, and assessing the device security posture through the endpoint compliance scanning feature. It improves remote connection and protects the organization's network from cybercriminals.

Check Point Remote Access VPN offers multi-factor authentication when connecting to organizational networks, which adds an extra layer of security by requiring multiple verification steps when users connect. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access. Additionally, there's endpoint compliance scanning, which ensures that devices that do not fulfill compliance requirements cannot connect to the network, preventing compromised devices from infiltrating the network. These features are fundamental in protecting organizations from unauthorized access and cyber threats by scanning devices and authenticating users properly.

One area that could be improved is the complexity of setting up Check Point Remote Access VPN, particularly with features like multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and identity awareness. Deploying these solutions requires higher technical expertise than other solutions. Additionally, compared to customer-grade solutions, Check Point Remote Access VPN is more expensive. For example, FortiClient offers a free client, which differs from Check Point VPN.

I have deployed Check Point Remote Access VPN over the past 2 years, and I am familiar with Check Point products, including the firewall features and blades and Remote Access VPN. For two years, I have deployed Check Point VPN or Remote Access VPN many times.

Check Point Remote Access VPN is stable, and we haven't received any complaints from our customers regarding its stability until now.

Check Point Remote Access VPN is scalable because it supports various platforms and can adapt to different organizational needs.

Contacting the Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) initially can be difficult, but once I get in touch with the TAC team, it is easy to solve problems. However, the first steps can be challenging.

Our customers used to connect to their organizational data using AnyDesk, which is a free VPN tool. However, we switched to Check Point Remote Access VPN because of its firewall features and incorporated them into our firewall setup.

Deploying Check Point solutions requires higher technical expertise and can be complex, but it is manageable with knowledgeable staff.

In terms of pricing, Check Point Remote Access VPN is not the most cost-effective option compared to other vendors. However, negotiations with Check Point are very good.

We evaluated Fortinet FortiClient before choosing Check Point Remote Access VPN.

If you want to see a return on your investments quickly, prioritize purchasing Check Point Remote Access VPN with integration in Check Point firewall features. I rate Check Point Remote Access VPN an eight out of ten because it is great at what it does, but I deducted two points due to the complexity of the setup and the need for technical expertise.

On-premises

When it comes to Check Point Remote Access VPN, my company is still in the testing phase and will be due for a rollout with our client, who has wanted a VPN connection since last summer.

If I compare the solution with some of the other products my company has used in the past, I can definitely see that it has some valuable features that allow me to see the traffic and what a client does. With the tool, I cannot only see a session but also the resources our company's clients are connected to since I can do so with the help of firewall logs. I like the overall visibility of the product.

The thing I like about Check Point Remote Access VPN stems from the fact that it terminates at the firewall wherever the client is going, and it works in an unencrypted manner, which allows me to see where the traffic is going. I can gain access to the clients' networks with NetScaler and with the aid of a packet sniffer.

Check Point Remote Access VPN handles up to a hundred megabytes for clients, but I want it to be able to handle up to one gigabyte.

For improvements in the product, I can create a wishlist since it is a VPN technology. I would love to see what is available on the VPN connections, but it is important for our company to check the encryption part of it.

I have been using Check Point Remote Access VPN for a couple of years.

The firewall part of the tool has been running for a while now without the need for any reboot. I don't have any stability-related issues with the product.

When it comes to VPN products, our company talks about putting them on another internet gateway, which seems to be an easy process. Using the scalability feature of the product seems to be a painless process, in my opinion.

I have contacted the technical support for the solution. The solution's technical support responds immediately. The quality of the solution's technical support is good. If a member of the technical support team doesn't have the answer to my queries, then they ensure that someone else who has the knowledge responds to my issues.

I rate the support team a ten out of ten.

Positive

I have experience with Citrix NetScaler since it is the only product that I have used as a remote access VPN tool.

I feel Check Point Remote Access VPN is better than Citrix NetScaler.

The product's initial setup phase was easy. I haven't had any formal training, but I have learned everything related to the tool.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

A team in my company takes care of the deployment phase.

The reason I started to use Check Point Remote Access VPN is because it is preferred by the organization where I currently work.

The solution needs maintenance. There is a need to update the policy rules and ensure that the firmware is kept up-to-date.

I request the potential users of the product to invest time in going through the knowledge-based articles since they have a plethora of information.

I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

On-premises

Check Point Remote Access VPN is a highly secure and seamless software that provides end-to-end security solutions to business users while they are working remotely and traveling for business purposes. Our organization involves over 70% of business travel to generate revenue, and it becomes really troublesome to secure the IT devices and cloud system at such traveling times. 

Check Point Remote Access VPN is the best available solution in the market for providing endpoint management solutions by ensuring adherence to strict compliance and multiple scanning of the data to ensure no data theft or leakage and security and compliance are maintained at the highest level possible.

Check Point Remote Access VPN provides multiple factor authentication layers, and due to that, all the data transmission is completely scanned for any malware or malicious cyber threats. It is integrated with our various IT and cloud systems and performs its security scanning 24/7 without any glitches or trouble.

Also, they provided a multi-level authentication support system for continuous scanning and compliance management throughout the IT system.

They enable a secure hotspot registration process for enabling all-around support of IT systems while operating remotely without any hassle.

The secure hotspot access for enabling good network connectivity is great.

Multi-layer scanning of IT systems across various critical stages for detection of threats and malicious threats has been useful.

Provisioning VPN Client and Auto Connect management system for free flow of information without any data mismanagement.

The secure remote access integration is available for both android and IOS devices and systems is helpful.

The multi-factor authentication support system is a phenomenal feature for providing all-around authentication support to for secure IT enablement. 

We are still in the learning phase as of now, and there seem to be more and more feature upgrades in the standard version of the application. They're providing updated features in the application with complete compliance assurance - which is really awesome - and we need specific customizations to make it a perfect fit for our business environment. This is a new and emerging area and requires a lot of customization and flexible features to suit the business requirements. 

Price category and smooth renewal of agreement should be considered for flawless and quick onboarding of clients and partners.

I've used the solution for over six months now.

The solution is quite stable.

It is an absolutely scalable solution.

Technical support has been so far so good.

Positive

We did not use a different solution earlier.

The setup is effortless and smooth.

We installed the solution through the vendor ONLY.

We've seen an ROI of over 75%.

I recommend all businesses to go for Check Point Remote Access VPN. It's one of the best of its kind in the market today. 

It has enormous features for ensuring security management solutions for remote workforce coupled with compliance assurance in the businesses. 

It's one of the highly cost-effective solutions which leads to boosting business performance, and also renewal is smooth without any hassle. The licensing is not pricy and is affordable by organizations.

The business and IT team did a lot of brainstorming sessions on this, and it went of really well in evaluating various available products in the market with their offerings.

We evaluated McAfee, Nord, and others

I'd advise others to try the solution today itself and experience the utilities on their own. I am sure, they will love the product offerings and utilities to the greatest extent possible 

Private Cloud