What is better than pfSense?
We have compiled a list of solutions that reviewers voted as the best overall alternatives and competitors to pfSense, including Check Point Next Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), WatchGuard Network Security, Sophos Firewall, and FortiGate NGFW.
The best alternative is OPNsense, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like pfSense are MikroTik RouterOS, NethServer, Sophos UTM and IPFire. pfSense alternatives are mainly Firewalls but may also be VPN Services or Operating Systems.
Comparison Results: OPNsense ultimately won out in this comparison. Our reviewers agree that OPNsense is easy to install and easy to use, while pfSense was less so. One area where pfSense did come out on top was in the free support category.
pfSense is well suited for medium & large scale infrastructure that needs high security & custom kernel so that they can integrate & develop there own system as it's based on FreeBSD. It also provides features such as remote VPN & custom rules.
Both IPfire and PFsense offer excellent usage performance. When tested with over thirty devices, both software dished out almost the same routine. But there was a CPU memory spike with PFsense when utilizing a proxy and snort.
You should use OpenWRT. OpenWRT has the best Wireless support and achieves the highest wireless throughput. No other operating system comes close. You should NOT use pfSense or OPNSense - they don't support 802.11ac and have sub-optimal 802.11n support.
Good news, OpenWrt has reasonable security by default. If you are inexperienced in hardening and firewall and web security, there is no need to worry, OpenWrt is hardened by default in a sufficient way, such that non-experienced muggles can use it right away, without being worried.
MikroTik primarily provides routers and switches, but their RouterOS software acts as a software based firewall solution. pfSense is an open source firewall solution that businesses are able to access for free. Most likely due to pricing, pfSense is most popular with small businesses.
Using pfSense on Raspberry Pi would be an ideal option, but the developers only include an amd64 version for pfSense. The Raspberry Pi uses the arm64 version and you won't be able to run pfSense on Raspberry Pi. The main reason is that the BSD kernel isn't ideally stable for the arm64 version.
DD-WRT is a close, close second. It's proven to be a solid choice for custom router firmware, but it lacks in some features, customization, and update availability. OpenWrt is the best choice for most people with modern routers and with the time to sink into learning what exactly they can do with it.
Has pfSense ever been hacked?
My PFSense box got TOTALLY HACKED. Didn't believe it was possible, as it had snort, and many other security measures discussed in Lawrence. And I mean totally hacked, which led to escalation hack on computer, and now totally worhtless (an Apple Macmini.)
pfSense has low system requirements and can scale quite comfortably. Compared to the SonicWall, any modern VMWare host loaded with pfSense has overkill requirements past what SonicWall can do (minus the UTM portion). The Sonic Wall tops out (SMB wise) at dual core 500 Mhz proc. Handles up to 100+ mbps of VPN traffic.
While you might be ready to compromise one firewall feature for another, that doesn't have to be the case. Pfsense is a trustworthy firewall and router software that's trusted by many all over the internet, all while ensuring the most features with as few drawbacks as possible.
The project has modest system requirements. In fact it's one of the best ways to put an old computer to use. Even a single core processor with 1GB RAM can work well as a firewall server with IPFire, but you must make sure it has at least two network interfaces and 4GB of disk space.
IPFire comes with a variety of features which allow it to run in many environments with very different requirements. Starting as a simple router, it can perform deep packet analysis, run helpful network management reports and also provides various services to the network. IPFire's firewall is easy to use, yet powerful.
IPFire is a hardened open source Linux distribution that primarily performs as a router and a firewall; a standalone firewall system with a web-based management console for configuration. IPFire originally started as a fork of IPCop and has been rewritten on basis of Linux From Scratch since version 2.
OPNsense combines high security and extensive functions - and that in the Community Edition without license costs.
The types of attack prevention that make sense at the network edge include: Intrusion detection and prevention. Network traffic analysis. Deep packet inspection.
Get Firewall
After your free trial, you will be able to continue to use this app without a paid subscription. The status of the Firewall application provides you with basic information, including sessions passed, flagged, blocked, etc. You can easily add rules to the Firewall app under the “Rules” tab.
LuCI is the web user interface of OpenWrt. To access LuCI, at the left side of web Admin Panel -> More Settings -> Advanced. For some models, the LuCI isn't preinstalled, click Install LuCI to continue. After installed.
What firewall does OpenWrt use?
OpenWrt uses the firewall3 ( fw3 ) netfilter/iptable rule builder application. It runs in user-space to parse a configuration file into a set of iptables rules, sending each to the kernel netfilter modules.
The Raspberry Pi only have one Ethernet socket, so it's not possible to create a firewall with two RJ45 interfaces. But there is a Wi-Fi interface that can be used for one side (LAN for example). One way to build a firewall is to use the hostapd and iptables services.
MikroTik RouterOS has very powerful firewall implementation with features including: stateful packet inspection. Layer-7 protocol detection. peer-to-peer protocols filtering.
Both offer routers, switches, hotspot devices, and management software to manage and control the network. In general, MikroTik offers more granular flexibility at the cost of usability, while Ubiquiti offers a smoother, albeit more rigid, user experience.
- Restricted Admin access. Just like any other software, Pfsense comes with an Admin access. ...
- Avoid unencrypted traffic. ...
- Restrict internal network access. ...
- Proper updates. ...
- Periodic backup. ...
- Managing from console. ...
- Avoid abrupt shutdown.
pfSense supports WiFi standard up to 802.11na (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz), if you have an adapter that works well. Some 802.11n adapters are detected as 802.11g and won't work at full speed. Some cards will work only as a client, while you want to use it as an access point.
pfSense is a firewall/router computer software distribution based on FreeBSD. The open source pfSense Community Edition (CE) and pfSense Plus is installed on a physical computer or a virtual machine to make a dedicated firewall/router for a network.
Despite an FCC guidance to router manufacturers that seems to ban open source firmware such as DD-WRT and OpenWRT, FCC spokesperson Charles Meisch told Ars that there is in fact no such ban.
Improved bandwidth prioritization.
DD-WRT gives you more control over your connection. In this example, we refer to the option for prioritizing specific traffic above others. You can achieve this via Quality of Service (QoS). In other words, it allows you to dedicate more bandwidth to certain devices.
OpenWrt provides regular bug fixes and security updates even for devices that are no longer supported by their manufacturers. OpenWrt provides exhaustive possibilities to configure common network-related features, like IPv4, IPv6, DNS, DHCP, routing, firewall, NAT, port forwarding and WPA.
Can you hack Eero?
All models of Eero devices are secure and safe from hacking. With a host of the latest security patches, firmware, software updates, and security tools, and the introduction of several services like Eero Secure and Eero Secure Plus, Eero users are more protected than ever before.
pfSense is #2 ranked solution in best firewalls. PeerSpot users give pfSense an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. pfSense is most commonly compared to OPNsense: pfSense vs OPNsense. pfSense is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 49% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot.
pfSense is mostly used as a router and firewall software, and typically configured as DHCP server, DNS server, WiFi access point, VPN server, all running on the same hardware device.
pfSense is a free and open-source program that provides the same (and oftentimes more) functionality as common commercial-grade firewalls. It is based on the FreeBSD operating system with a custom kernel and includes free third-party software packages, adding even more functionality to the program.
While you might be ready to compromise one firewall feature for another, that doesn't have to be the case. Pfsense is a trustworthy firewall and router software that's trusted by many all over the internet, all while ensuring the most features with as few drawbacks as possible.
Pricing and Availability. Untangle NG Firewall version 15.0 is available as a free download. Current Untangle customers will be able to upgrade seamlessly at no charge. Threat Prevention App is included in NG Firewall Complete and is not available for individual purchase.
Get Firewall
After your free trial, you will be able to continue to use this app without a paid subscription. The status of the Firewall application provides you with basic information, including sessions passed, flagged, blocked, etc. You can easily add rules to the Firewall app under the “Rules” tab.
