A Firewall in Networking is known to monitor and control the incoming and outgoing the network traffic from unwanted threat and malware. A firewall helps in establishing the barrier between a trusted and untrusted external network.
With a lot of companies providing the best security firewalls across the globe, we bring you the Top 10+ Best Firewalls in 2020.
Here is a list of Top 10+ Best Firewalls in the Networking Industry:
Palo Alto Firewall
Check Point Firewall
Fortinet Fortigate
Cisco ASA
Juniper SRX
Sophos Cyberoam
Forcepoint
Barracuda NextGen Firewall
Meraki MX Firewalls
pfSense
SonicWall TZ
Watchguard XTM
Palo Alto Firewall
Palo Alto Firewalls are ranked highest on the Top 10+ Best Firewalls in 2020 List for obvious reasons. Palo Alto Firewalls help to secure your enterprise. Palo Alto Networks helps companies in moving from legacy security to prevention-based architectures, thus evolving businesses. The Palo Alto Networking Architecture includes Duynamic Routing, Switching, and VPN Connectivity, thus making it flexible and easier to integrate into nearly any networking environment in the world.
Here are some features which would help you know the Palo Alto Firewall better:
The L2/L3 architecture uses the zone based security enforcement to allow deployment in routed and switched environments and all services are enabled while integration with existing routing or VLAN Architecture due to OSPF, RIP and BGP combined with full 802.1Q VLAN
The virtual wire provides a true transport mode by binding two ports together by passing al traffic to the other port without any switching or routing.
The dynamic address objects feature gives the ability to tie security policies to virtual machine instantiation and movement
The XML Management API enables external cloud orchestration software to connect over an encrypted link to manage and configure our firewalls
They protect you from the new threat landscape with a complete, integrated threat protection solution
The server certification and private key installed on Palo Alto Networks handles decryption
Palo Alto uses a “Man-in-the-Middle” approach in which the device certificates are installed in the user’s browser.
If you are implementing an IPv6 Infrastructure, you can deploy the same user-based enablement policies that you have in your IPv4 environments.
Standards-based IPSec VPN connectivity, combined with application visibility and control, protects communications between two or more Palo Alto Networks devices and/or another vendor’s IPSec VPN device.
Palo Alto Network’s Large-Scale VPN automatically configures your key VPN tunnel settings, making it easy for staff at your branch office to deploy new firewalls.
Check Point Firewalll
Checkpoint’s Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW’s) are known for high security effectiveness and helping organizations protected from fifth generation cyber-attacks. The Checkpoint NGFW includes 23 Firewall Models including SSL Traffic Inspection, without compromising on security or performance. Here are some Nest Generation Checkpoint Firewalls included in the Checkpoint Portfolio:
For Small Business
The Checkpoint SMB Next-Generation Firewalls offer email security, zero-day protection, and threat prevention. You can respond to security events in real-time and also take events on the go and manage security on your palm
Features:
1500 series appliances to provide safety for small office appliances
A Watch Tower Mobile Security Management Application
Manage locally or centrally
It enables flexible control with policy layers
Consists of automatic device recognition and discovery
For Branch Office
Checkpoint 3000 and 1500 Next-Generation Firewall Series consists of Enterprise Graded Security with multi-core design and industry-leading performance.
Features:
It is the most advanced threat prevention model
It provides complete protection without compromises
It provides rapid deployment and is centrally managed
For Midsize Enterprise
Checkpoint’s 6000 Next-Generation Firewalls is integrated with a multi-layered solution to deliver maximum security without impacting performance. It provides one of the most advanced threat prevention security for demanding small to midsize enterprise networks.
Features:
It provides AI-Driven Threat Prevention
It is a powerful gateway to manage encrypted traffic inspection
Bonded with infinity architecture
For Large Size Enterprise
This series of Checkpoint Firewall is designed for high performance, reliability, and uncompromised security to fight against most dangerous threats, thus making them ideal for enterprise and data center environments.
Features:
The R80.30 and Threat-Cloud helping prevent enterprises against advanced 5th generation cyber attacks
Threat Prevention to deliver a fast SSL encrypted traffic inspection
High Scale and High-Performance threat prevention hardware for fastest Gen V Security gateway in the industry
Data Center and High End Enterprise Security
26000 Next Generation Firewall contains protections with center-grade security and hardware to maximize uptime. It looks after performance for securing large enterprise and data center environments.
Features:
It provides highest security effectiveness
It consists of State-of-the-Art SSL Inspection
It has 1 Tbps of Gen V Performance
For High Performance and Scalable Platforms
Checkpoint 44000 and 64000 Next-Generation Firewalls function at large data centres and telco environments. They support the requirements of growing networks, thus providing performance and reliability.
Features:
Consists of highly flexible system architecture to improve security and performance
Designed for Modern Data Centers and Telcos
It has a very high network capacity
Fortinet Fortigate
The FortiGate Next Generation Firewalls compose of purpose built security processors and threat intelligence security services. They deliver top rated protection and high performance inspection of clear texted and encrypted traffic. The Next Generation Firewalls help in reducing the complexity. They also help in reducing cost. The Next Generation Firewalls come in contact with Fortinet’s Security Portfolio and Third Party Security Solutions to share threat intelligence and improve security.
The Fortinet Firewall is known to provide industry’s highest threat protection. It provides protection from malware attacks
It independently certified and continuous threat updates protect them from known and unknown attacks
It consists of automated workflows and auditing features to maintain compliance posture
It provides highly scalable segmentation and ultra-low latency to protect network segments
They will share threats across the digital attack surface to provide faster and advanced automated protection
Cisco ASA Firewall
The Cisco ASA Security devices help in protecting corporate networks. Users can access highly secure data anytime and anywhere across the world.
Features
The Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software is the core of the Cisco ASA family. ASA Software’s continuously evolved comprehensive solutions help meeting security needs. Here are some benefits of Cisco ASA Software:
The Cisco ASA Firewall delivers high availability for high resiliency applications
It provides awareness with Identify-Based Firewalls and Cisco TrustSec.
It helps in facilitating dynamic routing and site-to-site VPN on a per context basis.
The Cisco ASA Firewall offers integrated IPS, VPN, and Unified Communications capabilities
It is known to help organizations increase their capacity and improve performance via clustering
The Cisco ASA Software supports the next-generation encryption standards, including the Suite B Set of Cryptographic Algorithms.
It provides web-based threat protection by integrating with the Cisco Cloud Web Security.
Juniper SRX
The Juniper SRX Series Services Gateways support the next-generation firewall that helps in achieving end-to-end security. It does so by intrusion detection and prevention (IDP), a role-based user firewall, unified threat management (UTM), and application-aware security services.
Features provided by Juniper SRX:
Firewall User Authentication
It provides a layer of protection in the network. It restricts and permits users individually or sometimes in groups.
It is also known to protect the network. It protects the network by controlling who can access this network and how. It reduces policy management complexity with user-based and role-based firewall controls.
Intrusion Prevention
You can selectively enforce various attack detection and prevention techniques on network traffic passing through an IDP-enabled device.
IDP protects against network-based exploit attacks aimed at application vulnerabilities.
AppSecure
AppSecure is a suite of application security capabilities that identifies applications for greater visibility. It utilizes advanced application identification and classification to deliver greater visibility, enforcement, control, and protection over the network.
AppSecure detects application behaviors and weaknesses that prevent application-borne security threats that are difficult to detect and stop.
The following AppSecure service modules can be configured to monitor and control traffic for tracking, prioritization, access control, detection, and prevention based on the application ID of the traffic:
AppID – Provides application visibility and control over each application that is allowed to communicate on the network.
AppTrack – Simplifies application visibility and control.
AppFW – Stops users from visiting inappropriate web sites or inadvertently downloading spyware and other malicious applications from known sites.
AppQoS – Prioritizes traffic based on application type and limits the amount of bandwidth an application can consume.
SSL Proxy – SSL proxies provide encryption and decryption by residing between the server and the client. With the implementation of SSL proxy, AppID can identify applications encrypted in SSL. SSL proxy can be enabled as an application service in a regular firewall policy rule. IDP, application firewall, and application tracking services can use the decrypted content from SSL proxy.
UTM
UTM enables a business to protect itself from spam, viruses, worms, spyware, trojans, and malware. With UTM, you can implement a comprehensive set of security features that include:
Antispam – This protects against malware at the desktop, gateway, and server levels.
Web filtering–Web filtering stop users from visiting inappropriate websites or inadvertently downloading spyware and other malicious applications from known sites and ensures productivity and policy compliance.
Antivirus – This prevents spam messages and malicious content.
Content filtering – Content filtering provides basic data loss prevention functionality.
Sophos Cyberoam
Features provided by Sophos Cyberoam
Human Layer 8 (Identity based Security)
It is a firewall with Identity based policy creation. Access Control Criteria (ACC) – User identity, Source and Destination Zone, MAC and IP Address, Service
Benefits:
It helps in securing dynamic environments like Wi-Fi and instances where users share endpoints
Its user identity-based decision making prevents errors associated with IP address-based policies
Used to simplify audit requirements with instant user identification.
FUSION Technology
Policy is created for multiple security features through single interface in firewalls. The firewalls are well integrated with VPN, Anti-Spam, IPS, Anti Spyware and Anti-Virus, Multiple Link Management, Bandwidth Management, and Web Filtering
Benefits:
This fusion technology will blend Productivity, Connectivity, and Security
It will also provide integrated perimeter security
THIN Client Support
The Thin Client Authentication is present with session IDs
It supports Citrix-XanApp Server, Microsoft Windows Server (Microsoft TSE)
Identify-based policies are present in the thin client environment
Benefits:
It supports SaaS Deployment and Cloud Environment
Enterprise Grade Security
It is a firewall with High Availability Stateful Failover
It provides VLAN Support, Multi-Casting, and Virtual Host Capability
It is available as Next Generation Firewalls and UTMs
It a firewall appliance offering Dynamic Routing
It is a multi-core technology and allows high speed parallel processing
It is Checkmark Level 5 Certified and ICSA Certified
Benefits:
It has a faster up time, simplified configuration, reduced latency,, and supports rapid network growth
It enables secure hosting of servers inside DMZ and LAN and provides efficient use of limited public address pool to host services
It supports applications which work on real time updates like shock updates for financial institutions.
It also supports creation of work based group across distributed locations.
High Throughput
Logging and Reporting
It is Layer 8 Identity Based Reporting
It has a centralized logging and reporting
Firewall Logs
Benefits
It meet compliance requirements as per PCI DSS, HIPAA, and CIPA
Centralized Management
Provides Centralized Security with CCC
Benefits
It provides Simplified Security Management
Forcepoint Firewall
Modular Appliance for Every Environment
The broad range of Forcepoint Appliance is known to provide high performance according to the price and form a factor for each location. It also has a Pluggable interface card which will let you to change networks without any hustle.
Mixed Clustering and High Availability
16 models of appliances are mixed using active-active clustering for unrivalled scalability, seamless updates, and longer lifecycles.
Multi-Link Connectivity for SD-WAN
The broadband, wireless, and dedicated lines at each location are centrally deployed and managed which provide a full control over what traffic goes over each link with automated failover
Automated Zero Downtime Updates
Policy changes and Software Updates can be deployed to 100s of firewalls and IPS devices around the world in minutes
Policy Driven Centralized Management
Smart Policies describe your business processes in terms that are automatically implemented throughout the network, managed in house or via MSSP
Built in NGFW, VPN, Proxies, and more
Unparalleled security from Generation Firewalls and IPS to VPNs and Granular Decryption as well as their Sidewinder Proxy Technology.
Top ranked Anti Evasion Defense
The multi-layer stream inspection will defeat advanced attacks that traditional packets cannot detect.
Actionable, Interactive 360 degree visibility
Graphical dashboards and virtualization of network activity enables admins to drill into events and respond to incidents faster.
Human Centric Endpoint Context
Access policies can be whitelist or blacklist endpoint apps, patch level or AV Status. The users behaviours can consolidate into actionable dashboards.
CASB and Web Security
The URL Filtering and Cloud Services together work to protect data and people as they use web and app content.
Anti-Malware Sandboxing
The Forcepoint Advanced Malware Detection will block undetected ransomware, zero days, and other attacks before any unwanted attack.
APIs
The Rich Application Programming Interfaces enable SD-WAN and Next Gen Firewalls to be integrated with orchestration, management, and third party analysis infrastructure.
Barracuda Next-Gen Firewall
The Barracuda Next-Gen Firewall is a combination of highly resilient VPN Technology with Intelligent Traffic Management and WAN Optimization Capabilities. They make use of Layer 7 Application Profilinf, Web Filtering, Intrusion Prevention, malware and Advanced Threat Protection, Antispam Protection, and Network Access Control. The Barracuda NextGen Firewall provides hardware, virtual, and cloud-based appliances to protect and enhance your network infrastructure.
Here are some features of Barracuda next-Gen Firewall
Delivering unparalleled Security with Connectivity and Automation
The physical, virtual, and cloud-based appliances by Barracuda Cloud-Gen Firewall enhance and protect dispersed network infrastructure. The scalable management and an advanced security analytics platform helps reduceing their administrative overhead. It is an ideal security and connectivity solution for multi-site enterprises, managed service providers, and other organizations.
Secured Network
Barracuda Cloud-Gen can stop any type of threat that bypass traditional and signature-based IPS and antivirus engines since it is a tightly integrated firewall technology including intrusion prevention, application profiling, advanced threat and malware protection, web filtering, antispam, and full-fledged network access control.
Automated Deployments
You can benefit the SaaS and Public Cloud Services and Infrastructure with simple and automated deployment, configuration, and management. Cloud Deployments is made easy with APIs, templates, and Deep Integration with Cloud Native Features.
Meraki MX Firewalls
Due to the proliferation of modern applications and mixed-use networks, host, and port-based security is no more sufficient. Cisco Meraki’s Layer 7 Next-Generation Firewall included in the MX security appliances, and every wireless AP gives the administrators complete control over the users, content, and applications on their network.
Benefits:
Layer 7 traffic classification and control
The Cisco Meraki Proprietary Packet performs Analysis of Network Traffic up to the 7th layer. Sophisticated Fingerprinting plays a vital role in this analysis. This fingerprinting helps in identifying new users, content, and applications. Network Flows are categorized, and Access Control Policies are applied. For example, Block Netflix and Prioritize Video Conferencing. The classification of traffic at layer 7 helps the Cisco Firewall to control encrypted, evasive, and peer-to-peer applications like Skype and BitTorrent. A traditional firewall cannot handle these issues. All wireless access points and security appliances include Cisco Meraki Next-Generation Firewall Intrusion Detection Engine.
Cisco Meraki Security Appliances work on protecting the network against malicious viruses and threats. It features the Sourcefire’s Snort, which is an integrated intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS) engine. Sourcefire’s Snort is the single most widely deployed intrusion detecting and protecting in the world. Network Security can be maintained using a combination of signature, protocol, and anomaly-based inspection methods. Security is always up-to-date since signatures are automatically updated. Identity-based and Device-aware Security
The Device Aware Access Controls enable the administrators to make sure that the appropriate level is network access is provided for each class of devices. Apple iOS, Windows, Android, Mac OS, etc. are automatically detected and classified by Layer 7 device fingerprints. Post integration of fingerprints into Cisco Meraki Firewalls and Wireless APs administrators can use a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Network to which the firewall rules will be applicable.
Another very appealing feature of Cisco Meraki includes a powerful category-based content filter. This content filter matches content against millions of URLs in dozens of categories. For the content and application changes to align with security policies, these lists and application signatures are updated from the cloud.
pfSense Firewall
pfSense® software is a free, open source customized distribution of FreeBSD specifically tailored for use as a firewall and router that is entirely managed via web interface. In addition to being a powerful, flexible firewalling and routing platform, it includes a long list of related features and a package system allowing further expandability without adding bloat and potential security vulnerabilities to the base distribution.
Here are some features of the pfSense Firewall:
The DHCP Relay Agent feature of the pfSense Firewakk serves the DHCP service for all clients
Requests and responses are filtered by Source and Destination IPs and and Source and Destination Ports
NAT port forwards include range and use of multiple public IPs and one-to-one NAT for individual IP or multiple subnets
The Multi-WAN functionality enables the use of multiple internet connections with usage distribution and load balancing failover.
As a VPN Server, pF Sense offers 2 options for VPN connectivity
First, IPsec allows connectivity with any device supporting standard IPsec
Second, the OpenVPN which is flexible, powerful SSL VPN solution and supports a wide range of client operating systems.
Sonicwall
The Sonic-Wall Capture Cloud Platform helps in integrating security, management, analytics and real-time threat intelligence. This is carried out across the company’s portfolio of network, email, mobile and cloud security products. The Sonicwall Firewall enables a complete portfolio of high-performance hardware, virtual appliances and clients to harness the power, agility and scalability of the cloud.
Sonicwall provides Integrated, Security, and Management
Helps in driving an end to end security
Shares intelligence across the unified security framework
Discovery and response to security and provides greater speed and accuracy
Helps in making an informed security policy decision based on real time and consolidated threat information
It helps in protecting the known and unknown threats
Consists Real Time Cyber Threat Intelligence
Helps in gaining visibility and insights into the ongoing attacks
Tracks malware, ransomware, spam, phishing, intrusions, and emerging zero day threats
It helps customers understand actionable threat intelligence
Customers can take security action depending on threat details and data
Captures the Security Center
It makes policy decisions based on situation insights
Decreases the risk by responding to security events
Reduces cost and improves efficiency
Assures security compliance with automated workflows
Captures Advanced Threat Protection
Analysing unknown files using dynamic threat analysis techniques
Blocking suspect files
Using machine learning algorithms for analysing data and ,classifying and blocking malware before they can infect the network
WatchGuard XTM
WatchGuard is known to be the pioneer in developing cyber security technology and providing it to customers as easy to deploy and easy to manage solution. It helps in providing industry leading network security, secured Wi-Fi, Multi-Factor Authentication, and network Intelligence. WatchGuard claims to protect 80,000+ customers in the world.
Here are some features provided by WatchGuard XTM:
The WatchGuard XTF is known to provide protection from a vast number of threats which require various services. They help in preventing, detecting, and instantly respond with cyber-attacks along with automated policies.
They also monitor and report the company’s IT health. The tools enable the companies to identify threats in advance while providing measures against known issues
They manage security across the complete organizations. Organizations can quickly and easily deploy, configure, and maintain security.
We hope that the above list of Top 10+ Best Firewalls in 2020 will help you picking up the right firewall for your organization according to your requirements.
Do let us know what do you think about theses Top 10+ Best Firewalls in 2020, in the comments section below.
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