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AmgadYousry - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Infrastructure at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Leaderboard
Jan 21, 2020
An excellent web proxy with good functionality and very deep technical features
Pros and Cons
  • "In terms of functionality, Forcepoint is the best web proxy available."
  • "The solution should be better able to support itself and operate faster. Sometimes the technical support team takes too long to respond."

What is most valuable?

All the proxies have the same features, but the idea here is about URL categorization and the support you have. I found this very interesting in Forcepoint.

In terms of functionality, Forcepoint is the best web proxy available.

I'm an engineer, and as an engineer, I often try to use the best solutions and ones I'm most comfortable with. I like Forcepoint. It's very good for implementation, but it's functionality is great. It has very, very deep technical features, and in-depth introduction features. I really encourage anyone to have it in their environment.

What needs improvement?

If the solution had a lower cost, it would be easier to implement.

In the 8.5 version of the solution, I took some issue with the interface. 

I'd recommend that the company supports more process to matrix files. We've had issues with that.

The solution should be better able to support itself and operate faster. Sometimes the technical support team takes too long to respond.

For how long have I used the solution?

I was first introduced to Forcepoint in 2013. At that point, it was Websense and has since been acquired. I've been using the solution in total for about two years. I've spent the same amount of time with the email and web security parts of Forcepoint as well.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. I didn't see any issue regarding stability. The hub itself is very powerful. It's very good that I can look at the hardware good or node maintenance and see where there are vulnerabilities. 

Buyer's Guide
Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway
January 2026
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I implemented it in an environment with multiple users and other environments which included about 20 other items and I've found scalability to be great. You can have a lot of appliances that act as a cluster and you could have high availability on a sort of virtual ID server. You can do additional ID configurations from the other appliances so that typically it extends well. You don't have to have something like download X5. If you have two appliances, you just need to distribute both. For example, you can do it from the configuration. I couldn't find any situation in my work with Forcepoint that was not able to satisfactorily scale. So you can really make it as you wish.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support sometimes takes too long to respond to queries.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of implementation, if you are going to implement Forcepoint, you have to think about how you will deploy it in your proxy environment. You have the ability code, as well as other items. 

If you are implementing Forcepoint in web proxy, it has to be P1 or P2. It has to be on the user onsite as V2 on V5. You could, for some environments, have two interfaces that communicate with each other. You cannot get both to interface, however. If you use the P1 for a user's internet, you then have to make P1 access the internet.

What other advice do I have?

We're a Forcepoint business partner in Egypt.

There are a lot of features already in the application and a lot of features that are added every day, so you have to learn how to implement them. If you decide to use the solution, you have to plan it out and prepare for it. You also have to update your knowledge and make sure your system is updated with regard to the solution. The most difficult part about Forcepoint is that if you take some time away from not working with it you forget features and processes. You need to work on it often and continue learning about it all the time.  

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
it_user564000 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Apr 11, 2019
Unifies Network Resources with Multi-Link Support
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of Forcepoint Web Security is creating the easy to install further policies that are deployed through the Forcepoint security manual at some stage. Just drag and drop and the policies are there."
  • "The firewall doesn't have any features because some customers are requesting they will install the firewall without licensing. At this time we cannot go further without licensing. Licensing is a must with Forcepoint Web Security firewalls."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use that we have for Forcepoint Web Security is for server clusters plus multi-link sites, sites that require not multi-linked ISPs. 

We use Forcepoint Web Security for multi-cluster servers with multi-links so that we can cluster all the multi-links into one link.

How has it helped my organization?

For our organization, when we initially deployed Forcepoint Web Security, we were looking to have four different ISP's joined, all the ISP's as one. 

We wanted to utilize all of the network resources in a unified manner. We didn't want to waste other ISP resources. That is the reason why we purchased this firewall.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of Forcepoint Web Security is creating the easy to install policies that are deployed through the Forcepoint security manual at some stage. Just drag and drop and the policies are there. The cluster is very easy in comparison with other firewalls and the multi-link VPN support is there.

What needs improvement?

For improvement, we cannot deploy the Forcepoint Web Security firewall directly without ISP. The firewall doesn't have any features because some customers are requesting they will install the firewall without licensing. 

At this time we cannot go further without licensing. Licensing is a must with Forcepoint Web Security firewalls.

I'm not sure that those features are included with Forcepoint Web Security. We checked the other features but we have not checked out their performance.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Forcepoint Web Security is very good. I have no issues from the customers. They are very happy with the product.

If you are testing any firewalls, there is no downtime with Forcepoint Web Security. We can directly upgrade our firewalls and we can remove the old plans. We can apply newer plans without any downtime.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability with Forcepoint I would rate with an eight out of ten. It is pretty scalable. You can upgrade if you want to expand.

We have a major customer, they are using it with more than 12,000 users. There are currently two security admins and a network admin. They're managing all the firewalls. 

We have a total of 55 firewalls under Forcepoint Web Security. In a year, we are planning to buy new firewalls and expand.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support with Forcepoint Web Security is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. Deployment, like the initial setup, to configure with the licensing, can be done in two days.

Our use of Forcepoint Web Security is not built on the calculation or the policies, i.e. how the configuration will take place. Based on that, we have two different areas.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing on Forcepoint Web Security is fair. Fair pricing at current market rates, if you are comparing with the competition. 

Forcepoint Web Security is better than Fortinet because Fortinet is free. They still come under the enterprise level of security implementation though.

What other advice do I have?

It is easy to deploy Forcepoint Web Security for whatever type of policies there are out there. We can manage any of our firewalls through one console. Our users prefer Forcepoint Web Security over any other firewall. We look for what the policy of the firewall is and through the console, we can run all the firewall settings.

With Forcepoint Web Security, we can push the policies to all the firewalls. For the upgrade, it can be implemented with no downtime.

I would rate Forcepoint Web Security an eight out of ten. It is easy so we can understand what the policies are and which policy belongs to which firewalls. 

There is no downtime when we are building any firewalls. If any firewall goes down, there will be little to no impact. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
OwnChair354 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Oct 10, 2018
It has protected clients against cyberattacks
Pros and Cons
  • "It has protected clients against cyberattacks."
  • "Giving visibility to people's actions in the network, while keeping attackers out: across data centers, offices, branches, and the cloud."
  • "Ease of use could be improved."

How has it helped my organization?

  • It has improved our services.
  • It has protected clients against cyberattacks.
  • It has created more and better end user experiences.

What is most valuable?

  • Protection against ransomware.
  • Giving visibility to people's actions in the network, while keeping attackers out: across data centers, offices, branches, and the cloud.

What needs improvement?

Ease of use could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The solution was used as a replacement to Microsoft TMG as well as meeting compliance requirements.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller.
PeerSpot user
it_user860823 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
Apr 30, 2018
Incident lists don’t sync between appliances, though filtering and monitoring work well
Pros and Cons
  • "Most valuable features are content filtering and monitoring."
  • "There are several issues with the product. Version 8.4 can only be managed with a CLI, they removed the nice GUI interface from version 8.1. The load-balancing needs massive improvements. The incident lists don’t sync between appliances, they need to be manually edited for each one."

What is our primary use case?

Primary use is as web proxies for a government agency.

How has it helped my organization?

This product improved the security of web traffic in our environment.

What is most valuable?

Most valuable features were content filtering and monitoring. As a government agency, it is highly important that the internet is being used for appropriate reasons and we need to track inappropriate behavior.

What needs improvement?

There were several issues with the product.

  • Version 8.4 can only be managed with a CLI, they removed the nice GUI interface from version 8.1. 
  • The load-balancing needs massive improvements.
  • The incident lists don’t sync between appliances, they need to be manually edited for each one.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Network Security Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Jan 10, 2018
Multiple customization options have allowed us to simplify the user experience without loss of productivity
Pros and Cons
  • "Ease of updating the latest hotfixes and patches on the appliance."
  • "Transparent Mode: Since we have multiple sites and roaming users, it has helped us in deploying the proxy to users without having to push any configurations to end users."
  • "Improve detailed guidelines to deploy the transparent proxy to Firefox users."

What is our primary use case?

Web Proxy deployment in transparent mode with data loss prevention (DLP) and protocol based filtering.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Transparent mode implementation
  • Detect threats on SSL traffic
  • Multiple customization options to allow or block a specific content within the web pages has allowed us to simplify the user experience without loss of productivity.
  • Ease of updating the latest hotfixes and patches on the appliance.

What is most valuable?

Transparent Mode: Since we have multiple sites and roaming users, it has helped us in deploying the proxy to users without having to push any configurations to end users.

What needs improvement?

  • FTP access via transparent proxy
  • SSL Certificate updates
  • Detailed guidelines to deploy the transparent proxy to Firefox users.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user800895 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user800895Developper at a computer software company with 1-10 employees
User

Regarding the transparent SSL inspection, did you inform your users that their private SSL connections can be potentially disclosed? I assume that you had to import your own CA certificate into all Web browsers in your organization. Isn't it? In general do you have any information regarding the SSL inspection in Europe and US jurisdictions?

it_user427377 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior ICT Security Officer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
Nov 2, 2017
Can send decrypted traffic to other security solutions for inspection
Pros and Cons
  • "Ability to send decrypted traffic to other security solutions for inspection."
  • "Security of browsing."

What is most valuable?

  • SSL Inspection
  • Ability to send decrypted traffic to other security solutions for inspection.

How has it helped my organization?

It allowed us to analyze the decrypted SSL web traffic for malware.

What needs improvement?

Security of browsing.

For how long have I used the solution?

Seven years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Yes. When we first began working with it, the product was not mature and we had performance issues.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Now, the product is quite stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

Good, because we have a MCS (mission critical support) level.

Technical Support:

Good, especially for the second line.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No.

How was the initial setup?

It was complex with a lot of technical issues.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it with a skilled vendor team.

What was our ROI?

Not applicable.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is quite expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, Blue Coat and McAfee.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user800895 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user800895Developper at a computer software company with 1-10 employees
User

To me SSL inspection is actually an obvious "Man In The Middle Attack" disclosing the privacy of users even if it's quite mandatory from the security perspective. I believe that doing the SSL inspection inside an appliance is a compromise. But don't you think that sending decrypted data out of the box excesses admissible limits?

it_user742935 - PeerSpot reviewer
Desktop and Application Security Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Nov 1, 2017
It helps constantly with phishing and cryptolocker attacks
Pros and Cons
  • "Real-time analytics."
  • "The reporting could be improved."

What is most valuable?

Real-time analytics.

How has it helped my organization?

It helps constantly with phishing and cryptolocker attacks.

What needs improvement?

The reporting could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

Since it was released.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

It works as described.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

None.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Queries can be slow on multiple terabyte databases.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

There is room for improvement.

Technical Support:

Their lead technical engineers are excellent.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used SurfControl and Websense. I have also tried Zscaler.

How was the initial setup?

It went as planned.

What about the implementation team?

In-house.

What was our ROI?

Not documented.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Do your homework and base it on facts.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Looked at open tender for all products and evaluated all current products at the time.

What other advice do I have?

It was the best solution available when selecting a product.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
IT Administrator Professional at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Oct 17, 2017
The latest deployment was a fairly smooth transition and stability has been good with this version of code
Pros and Cons
  • "Real-time category protection."
  • "Database synchronization failures"

What is most valuable?

Real-time category protection.

How has it helped my organization?

There is less need to investigate if a site is malicious. The majority of site gets reported.

What needs improvement?

  • Database synchronization failures
  • Encrypted packet inspection

For how long have I used the solution?

10 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

The latest deployment was a fairly smooth transition, but previous upgrades and hardware replacements have been very painful.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability has been good with this version of code (can say the say with previous versions).

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No, but we have stayed with the same scale and have not needed to scale anything.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

They are okay. We haven't needed to deal with them too much.

Technical Support:

Depends on what tech you get.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Prior to my position here, but I would know what.

How was the initial setup?

Our environment is complex, so it is hard to say.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented using a vendor team.

What was our ROI?

I don't track this.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Due to staffing needs, we did not consider other solutions.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: January 2026
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.