Cloud services have many benefits, but at the same time, it has increased the risk of online threats and attacks. Even with the best firewall solution, cyber attackers know how to make their way to enter your zone and access files and systems. In order to protect your online applications and data, each company must set up a Secure Web Gateway (SWG) to filter their traffic.
A secure web gateway is a security solution that filters the traffic and stops unsecured traffic from entering your organization. Its main purpose is to protect your employees from accessing any malicious website or fake web pages.
Most Secure Web Gateways include features like URL filtering, malicious code detection, application controls, etc., that make them a great tool to protect the network from web-based threats.
Here, we have listed a few top products and security tools that provide such features and ensure regulatory compliance. Check out some of the below-listed secure web gateways and compare them.
Forcepoint SWG Product Overview
Forcepoint SWG (Secure Web Gateway) is a cloud-based web security gateway that makes quick endpoint decisions and allows users to access good and safe sites. Its URL filtering and advanced malware detection (AMD) features help in the quick detection of threats.
Key Features
- Blocks Malware.
- Data Loss Prevention.
- Supports cloud sandboxing.
- Fingerprinting.
- URL filtering.
- Advanced Malware Detection (AMD).
- Advanced Classification Engine (ACE).
- Fast and flexible SWG.
- Traffic inspection.
- Automatic scanning of file uploads or downloads.
- Identifies cloud apps in real-time.
- Firewall logs.
- Web proxy.
- Centralized console.
- Granular controls.
The product also allows the use of the Advanced Classification Engine (ACE) which acts as the main line of defense and includes machine learning, cloud sandboxing techniques, 10000+ analytics, and behavioral baselines. The sandboxing feature supported by the tool makes the remediation process easy and fast.
Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway is designed to stop devices from being infected by viruses and malware. It supports various features that help filter unsecured traffic and blocks users from accessing sites with malicious content. Further, it is a fast and easy-to-deploy solution that takes users straight to safe websites.
It is a fast, flexible, reliable, and easy-to-deploy Secure Web Gateway that decrypts and inspects traffic locally on each device. Further, it acts as a shield between you and malware and keeps threats at a distance.
Pros:
- Forcepoint SWG has a simple and easy-to-learn interface.
- Supports fingerprinting and other techniques to stop threats.
- Perform behavioral analysis to prevent resources from web-based threats.
- Sandboxing helps remediate risk factors faster.
- Deploy policies across the web.
- Allows administrators to run scan and block file uploads or downloads in real-time.
- Offers 24/7 tech support.
Cons:
- For pricing details, you need to contact sales.
- Less documentation and self-help articles are available for users.
- Stability needs improvement.
- Setting up in the initial stage can be complex.
- Policy replication takes time.
- Requires a data engineer for troubleshooting.
If you want to increase the security level and reduce the risk of threats, invest in Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway. It provides more visibility and control that enables users to detect devices infected by viruses and malware faster. It helps you monitor the encrypted traffic and protects you from data leakage or data loss.
The Cloud-hosted web access gateway allows administrators to block access to all or part of a site. It acts as a shield and automatically scans all file uploads or downloads for viruses and malware and blocks them before they reach your network.
Forcepoint SWG Pricing
The pricing plan is a bit expensive, and the licensing information depends on the customer and the future approach. For exact quotes and other pricing details, you must contact sales.
Software Download Link
If your organization wants to protect devices from web-based threats in real-time and gain good benefits, download the product here.
Top Five Forcepoint SWG Alternatives
Secure web gateways provide advanced network protection from online security threats and infections. It enforces company policies and filters all the traffic to keep your network and devices safe from malware and viruses. There are many Secure web gateways available in the market to stop unsecured traffic.
But, we have shortlisted some of the best alternative SWG to Forcepoint that block phishing strategies, detect spoofing, and detect and defend against malware. Look at some of the below-listed tools and make a better choice for your business security. Compare their features, pros, and cons before coming to a conclusion.
1. Perimeter 81 SWG – ACCESS FREE DEMO
The Perimeter 81 Secure Web Gateway is one of the top choices of most companies as it helps protect their network and endpoints from malicious infections transmitted via websites. It operates as a web filtering system that detects fake websites and blocks their access.
Administrators can also set up custom filtering rules using this powerful tool. It is an easy-to-deploy secure web gateway that protects your resources from web-based attacks by defining bypass rules, tracking web activities, and filtering malicious sites.
Many high-profile companies like Cognito, Presidio, Kustomer, etc., trust Perimeter 81 Secure Web Gateway.
Further, it helps keep track of network traffic and enforces compliance with user privacy regulations to avoid human error. Using its URL filtering feature, you can block all harmful sites and protect your resources.
Using the popular secure web gateway, administrators gain access to full-time protection and better visibility that helps detect and block harmful or inappropriate sites in real-time.
It supports device agents, DNS filtering, Internet privacy, Bypass Rules, URL filtering, and more features.
Perimeter 81 SWG is quite easy to implement and hardly takes any time to set up. Available at a reasonable price, the product is highly advantageous and supports URL filtering features that protect networks and employees against web-based threats. Further, it enables organizations to monitor web and employee activity.
Its only drawback is it does not cover email under Perimeter 81 SWG. Start by registering for access to the free demo.
2. Fortinet SWG
The Fortinet Secure Web Gateway has been ranked as one of the top web security gateways for its excellent features and multi-layer protection services. The product provides web security against known and unknown threats in real-time.
It has a unique combination of security capabilities and deployment options that makes it a great solution. The product is known to provide web security posture across the entire infrastructure for all users.
If you want to protect your web against threats like ransomware, credential theft, phishing, spam, etc., look no further. The product offers flexible deployment and licensing options. It also has various sub-products that help secure your network and deliver a consistent web security posture for remote users and on-premises.
- Using FortiSASE, administrators can secure remote users.
- Using FortiProxy, administrators can secure network edges.
- For real-time threat intelligence, it allows the use of FortiGuard Security Services.
Fortinet FortiGate Secure Web Gateway is no doubt a great choice if you are looking for a tool that protects against internet-based threats without causing any negative impact on the end-user experience. The only drawback of Fortinet FortiGate Secure Web Gateway is the technical support requires improvement.
Further, its various features such as SSL Inspection, DNS security, Anti-botnet, Inline CASB, centralized management, granular control, Video Filtering, IP Reputation, Intrusion Prevention (IPS), and delivering consistent security policies for users make it a great choice.
3. AT&T Secure Web Gateway
AT&T Secure Web Gateway is a cloud-based solution that provides unified protection and is a great alternative solution to Forcepoint SWG. It allows users to gain visibility into all web-based applications, detect, and protect against web-based threats.
The product offers quick deployments, automated or on-demand reporting options, and 24×7 AT&T managed solutions. Further, it allows administrators to run scans on crucial files and restricts their sharing to only authorized users.
Another advantage of choosing AT&T Secure Web Gateway over other products is it helps reduce operational overhead, inspects encrypted web traffic, and blocks inappropriate and time-wasting websites.
Additionally, the Secure Web Gateway uses sandboxing technology for safer internet browsing. With the help of AT&T Secure Web Gateway, users can scan all sensitive files and protect from threats. Further, it decrypts SSL packets to ensure each of them is free from malware.
Get better visibility into web-based applications and timely protect your resources from zero-day attacks by investing in AT&T Secure Web Gateway.
4. Barracuda Web Security Gateway
Barracuda Web Security Gateway is another web filtering tool that helps detect and block viruses. Using this powerful solution, businesses can remotely filter content on the internet and protect themselves from a wide range of online threats.
It uses threat intelligence, antivirus, and anti-spyware protection features to check incoming files and block malicious content. Its intuitive dashboard also allows users to not only monitor traffic but also user activity.
Another key aspect of Barracuda Web Security Gateway is the alert system that provides instant notification on detecting a security issue. It also supports the reporting feature to review the performance and status.
With its centralized management console, an organization can monitor incoming threats and user activity, and block and redirect DDoS attacks away from the devices and networks. It further allows inspecting SSL-encrypted traffic and supports email encryption, content filtering, etc.
It also enforces Corporate Policies that prevent risky behavior and provide advanced threat protection. However, the only drawback is that the port mapping feature is less user-friendly and requires improvement.
Get more visibility into your web traffic and block spyware downloads and viruses on time before they launch using Barracuda Web Security Gateway.
It is considered to be one of the best tools when it comes to protecting a business.
5. McAfee Web Gateway
McAfee Web Gateway is one of the best web filtering solutions that allow inspection of HTTP, HTTPS, and SSL traffic. Its strong anti-malware features enable the organization to track and identify threats hidden behind code or online content.
In fact, it uses a correlation engine to eliminate threats faster and protect inbound and outbound traffic. It supports various features, including SSL inspection, geographic visibility, malware detection, detailed web security reporting, Threat Intelligence sharing, etc.
McAfee Web Gateway is a trusted tool and supports integration with McAfee Threat Intelligence Exchange, McAfee Endpoint Security, and McAfee Advanced Threat Defense.
Further, the product allows businesses to enforce data protection everywhere and detect zero-day threats faster. The reliable and scalable SWG also provides comprehensive visibility and consistent control over data that helps deliver improved user experience and productivity.
Using McAfee Web Gateway’s excellent features, you can protect your networks against the latest cloud and data threats.
Another key aspect of McAfee Web Gateway is it encrypts all data stored in the cloud. However, there are also a few disadvantages like it is resource-intensive and requires more integration options. For pricing details of McAfee Web Gateway, you must contact the sales team.
Conclusion
Setting up an antivirus solution will not protect you at all times. Sophisticated threats know how to make their way through networks, devices, and endpoints, especially online traffic. Hence, you require something that helps discover threats even inside encrypted traffic.
Secure Web Gateways have been around for some time but gained popularity in the past few years as more and more people switched to cloud services and the risk of cyber threats increased.
A secure web gateway helps enforce company policies and enables businesses to filter out malicious content coming from online traffic. Its multi-layered security architecture prevents your company resources from malware infections and detects infected devices in real-time.
Also, they protect remote workers by blocking high-risk and malicious websites and applications.
Forcepoint SWG is one of the best products and is used by many high-profile companies for it decrypts and inspects traffic locally on each device. Also, it is a fast, flexible, reliable, and easy-to-deploy Secure Web Gateway.
There are many more alternatives available in the market that deliver similar features and better results. We have shortlisted some of the best alternatives to Forcepoint. Compare each secure web gateway and then make a final decision for your business.