Would you still get Untangle for Home usage?

[thetx]

I am currently researching a firewall solution for home usage. I currently have Ubiquiti AmpliFi mesh router at home and I am looking for better visibility and protection for the kids internet usage.

Important features I am looking:

• Block distracting sites (YouTube, etc) during homework and school time
• Block Ads
• Block adult content and inappropriate sites on the kids devices only

Would you still get Untangle if you were starting over? Is the Home solution worth the price in comparison with free options like pfSense, Sophos XG, etc? What features do you feel is worth the price?

Do you recommend going with the Z4, or something that is compatible with multiple firewalls, like Protectli?

Thank you so much!

[oj88]

1. Time-based access to certain sites can be configured using Policy Manager
2. Untangle’s Ad Blocker can block most ads at the network level, but it’s not perfect. Browser add-ons such as uBlock Origin will be more effective when viewing websites
3. Web Filter can block specific websites or categories of websites.

You can deploy the unrestricted trial version for 2 weeks using any old PC hardware that has at least two network ports. Using a dedicated appliance such as the Z4 is up to you. They do have a smaller footprint and consumes less electricity going for them.

In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I’d still go for Untangle in a heart beat.

[Jim.Alles]

Yes!

[sky-knight]

Here's the deal...

Untangle does a ton of stuff...

All the rest of the things you listed say they do the same stuff. But...

The WAY Untangle does all that stuff is patently superior, AND the reporting engine makes investigations a snap.

So yeah, it needs more hardware to run. So what? How much is your time worth? Will you get the investment back in the lifespan of the hardware? Answer has been yes for me in 100% of cases. I've NEVER regretted having an Untangle. I've often regretted NOT having an Untangle.

[mikeyscott]

For me it's a tough call between Untangle and Sophos XG atm, I'm using both on and off to determine which I'm ending up with. Untangle is licensed, so cost isn't an issue per say.

Untangle is currently on an Atom E3845 and Sophos is on a Xeon E3-1240L-V3 which is a 25W TDP chip, located in a Dell R220.

Personally I've had a few niggles with 15.1 atm.

[sky-knight]

After Sophos forgot to sanitize inputs and allowed a SQL injection vulnerability into a production platform in 2020...

Well the fact that anyone would even consider the brand after that is honestly... astonishing.

There are some mistakes that simply aren't forgivable.

And you're going to have issues with 15.1, it's a week old! You want stable, install v15.0 and wait.

[Armshouse]

I actually moved over to Untangle from a (paid) instance of Sophos XG running on a Cyberoam UTM a month ago and so far I've not regretted it.

I use it to secure my home network and I wanted to move away from Sophos because, quite frankly, the subscription renewals were getting a bit pricey and hard to justify for a home network. I started looking at pfSense, OPNsense as well as Untangle on the z4 vs Netgate and the SG-3100.

I initially liked the idea of having an appliance that I knew would work out the box, but I didn't want to be tied into one vendor (like I had been with Sophos) again; I decided to go for a Qotom PC and the Untangle Home Pro sub. So why a paid version of Untangle over the the free alternatives? It seemed to me that if I wanted a NGFW to replace what the Sophos XG box was doing, I'd need to pay for some kind of subscription somewhere, which is fine... I'm happy to pay for something worth it, just not enterprise prices! Untangle had all features and the most reasonable subscription options (for me).

Aside from a few features on the UI side that I miss from Sophos XG, I've not looked back, but you can vote for those features so hopefully they'll make it into some future version.

[mikeyscott]

After Sophos forgot to sanitize inputs and allowed a SQL injection vulnerability into a production platform in 2020...

Well the fact that anyone would even consider the brand after that is honestly... astonishing.

There are some mistakes that simply aren't forgivable.

And you're going to have issues with 15.1, it's a week old! You want stable, install v15.0 and wait.

Hi

I don't disagree with either statement.

State of the security sector is an interesting one, the self destruction of Symantec / Broadcom. Sophos being sold to a Thoma Bravo, who I believe also own Broadcom (Symantec's new owner). I work in enterprise where Symantec is used and the transition hasn't been a good one...

Who is next to be swallowed, Untangle, Fortigate, ??

My previous contract was at a US defense firm and they were looking at Carbon Black. (I'm no US based).

I have 15.1 installed on an Atom based system and my intention later today was to move the drive to the Dell PowerEdge, but I expect I'm going to do a fresh install of 15 and migrate the configs manually. The configs aren't complete at all, so easy to do.

I know of large UK organisations using pfsense for their Edge solution, but they have dedicated IDS/IPS solutions elsewhere on the network with taps etc. The reality there are many ways to skin the cat.

Another place I've worked out ripped out all HPE switches and replaced with Cisco. The end result was a lot of expenditure for a product that didn't really provide addition benefit. IF management had looked at the requirement then matched a lot of the sites would have stayed HPE. I'm not saying HPE is better than Cisco or vice versa, it's about the requirements.

Between Untangle and Sophos I like elements of both. UI I prefer on Sophos in some areas, but then I prefer Untangle in others.

I'm in infra guy re day to day work, but I have worked on Finjan solutions, Fortigate, Cisco and so on. So switching to an alternative solution is a mindset thing.

One thing I am fed up with is Unifi and they're half baked products and fanboy following. To the point where I'd rather rip out my UI switches, APs and replace with HPE switches /Rukus AP.

[thetx]

I initially liked the idea of having an appliance that I knew would work out the box, but I didn't want to be tied into one vendor (like I had been with Sophos) again; I decided to go for a Qotom PC and the Untangle Home Pro sub.

Do you mind sharing the specific Qotom PC configuration you chose? How is the performance? Did you install Untangle directly or on a VM?

[thetx]

Between Untangle and Sophos I like elements of both. UI I prefer on Sophos in some areas, but then I prefer Untangle in others.

Other than UI, what are some features of Sophos XG that you think are superior to Untangle?