Safeguard Your Network with FREE Next-Generation Firewall Solution

Why Do You Need a Firewall?

Typically, every business that uses the Internet needs a firewall. Let us look at some of the crucial services that a firewall renders.

Network Security

A firewall acts as a barrier between a trusted internal network and the untrusted external networks (i.e., the Internet), controlling incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules.

It examines the incoming and outgoing data and determines whether to allow or block them, thus preventing unauthorized access and potential cyber threats.

The firewall safeguards sensitive information, prevents unauthorized access to company networks, and mitigates the risk of cyberattacks, ultimately ensuring overall security and integrity of business operations.

Content Filtering (Web Filtering)

Content filtering is a valuable feature for business to manage their Internet usage policies. It ensures workplace productivity and safety by blocking malicious websites and inappropriate content.

For example, it allows you to block websites featuring sports, politics, entertainment, etc.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A firewall is essential for the implementation of the VPN functionality. It enables a secure and encrypted connection for remote access, enhancing privacy and security for remote users.

Allowing remote work boosts productivity and ease of work as the business data and applications can be securely accessed from anywhere, using any device. The convenience that VPN provides also improves employee morale.

Load Balancing & QoS

The firewall allows network administrators to manage the Internet traffic across multiple WAN connections.

It optimizes the utilization of bandwidth. Also, if one of the WAN connections goes down, the firewall can automatically switch to another WAN connection, ensuring continuity of service.

It also allows network administrators to manage Quality of Service (QoS) by prioritizing network traffic based on various criteria.

For example, whenever there is a video conference, the firewall can allocate more bandwidth for the conference by throttling other less important traffic.

Intrusion Detection and Prevention

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and Intrusion Detection System (IDS) are mechanisms for network protection. They enhance an organization’s ability to detect, respond to, and mitigate cybersecurity threats in real-time.

The IDS (Intrusion Detection System) passively monitors network activities, alerting administrators to suspicious behavior for subsequent investigation.

On the other hand, IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) not only detects but actively prevents threats by taking immediate action to block or contain malicious activities.

The pfSense Firewall

The pfSense is one of the world’s most trusted firewall solutions.

It is an open-source solution based on FreeBSD, a variant of the UNIX operating system.

It is free, but that doesn’t mean it is weak or insecure. On the contrary, it is more powerful, feature-rich, highly customizable, and secure than most commercial solutions.

It has successfully replaced every branded commercial firewall in numerous installations around the world, including Check Point, Cisco PIX, Cisco ASA, Juniper, Sonicwall, Netgear, Watchguard, Astaro, and more.

It has a massive user base and a large number of dedicated developers.

You can find out more about pfSense here:

• Official pfSense Website
• GitHub Repository
• NetGate – Official Developers
• The pfSense Subreddit (1,00,000+ members)

How Does This Work?

All you have to do is dedicate a PC, which we can use as the firewall. You can use any old CPU, such as Intel Core i3 or Intel Pentium (2015 or later generation).

Here is a basic configuration that will suffice for a network with 20-30 users:

• Intel Core i3 or Pentium G4000 series CPU
• 128 GB SSD
• 8 GB RAM
• Two or more ethernet ports (one for WAN, one for LAN)
• UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply – optional)

We will install pfSense firewall software on it and configure it to suit your requirements – at no cost. We will also provide FREE technical support for ONE year.

The system does not require a display (monitor). You don’t have to turn it off. It will work 24×7, allowing you to access your network resources at any time, from anywhere, using any device (mobile, tablet, laptop, etc.)

Note: If you have more than 50 users, we need to use better hardware for improved scalability and reliability.

Comparing pfSense with Other Firewalls

The pfSense is a software-based firewall that is installed on standard PC hardware. Also, it is an open-source software that is driven by community. It means that it has some advantages and disadvantages when compare to proprietory NGFW (Next Generation Firewall) products such as FortiGate, SonicWall, Palo Alto, CheckPoint, etc. Let’s look at these differences and how it may affect your decision.

Note: Deploying Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) or SSL Inspection is technically equivalent to MITM or Man-in-the-Middle attack. It is a non-trivial detail that warrants management oversight. Also, the network administrators must carefully configure the firewall to avoid intercepting sensitive communications with the websites of banks, government departments, etc.

Optional Upgrade to pfSense Plus

It is a commercial derivative of the community edition of pfSense. It comes with multiple support options.

The pfSense Plus is a remarkably powerful, robust, and easy-to-use solution. It delivers edge firewall, router, and VPN functionality to homes, businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies – literally across every continent – making networks more robust and secure.

You can visit the NetGate website for further details and support options.

Why Trust pfSense?

With more than 7 million installations worldwide, pfSense is one of the world’s leading firewall solutions.

The 2020 pandemic has changed our world forever. An extraordinary number of office workers are now home-bound – many permanently. The pfSense has helped many businesses in their time of need by providing improved firewall, router, and VPN performance at affordable prices.

Businesses of all sizes and in every vertical use pfSense Plus – especially those who expect features found in enterprise-class solutions, at budget-friendly consumer / SMB level price points.

Local municipalities, state agencies, federal defense, and non-defense agencies and departments all rely upon pfSense for its robust feature set, resilience, and reliable performance.

Educational institutions including colleges and universities – always with tight budgets -heavily depend upon pfSense to manage complex student, faculty, and administrative secure networking needs.

Cloud service providers (CSPs), Internet service providers (ISPs), Managed service providers (MSPs), and Managed security service providers (MSSPs) use pfSense Plus within their own IT infrastructure as well as for their own customers’ edge and cloud secure networking needs.

It is also available in public cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS for protecting your cloud workloads.

What If It Doesn’t Work for You?

If the solution does not work for you, or if it is not what you want, we will uninstall the firewall and install a regular OS on it (e.g., Windows 10). You can connect a monitor to it and continue to use it as a desktop PC.

To know more, call us at +91 91733 02174 or email us at info@fornext.in.

Terms & Conditions:

• This offer is only available in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
• This offer is only for business users.
• We may change or withdraw this offer in the future.

Useful Links

• Official Website of pfSense Community Edition
• Official Website of pfSense Plus
• The pfSense Forum on Reddit
• Community Reviews @ Spiceworks

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