Our company uses the Watchguard UTM Firebox, and it is a beast of a firewall.

I feel very comfortable knowing our network and users are protected. Plus, I can easily modify the UTM with the help of Watchguard's support team should anything be needed.

Pros

Tons of features via its core offering but also through its additional subscription services like Gateway Antivirus, WebBlocker, Botnet Detection, and Intrusion Prevention Services. The traffic monitor is kind of intimidating but real-time and very searchable. I used a similar UTM before Watchguard and it did not have half the feature-set for tracking down issues with outside connectivity. We have had no attack issues since using the UTM. The support is very responsive and willing to take the time to address whatever the issue may be. I like this product a lot and feel very comfortable in its protection of our network.

Cons

I really don't have any cons for Watchguard other than it can be hard to configure all the features without their support team. There is a lot of information out there to do everything with this UTM but it is kind of tough to jump right in if you don't fully know what you're dealing with as far as firewall issues go.

Great overall product for many applications

I have experienced relatively trouble free use of all their devices in the small to mid range. They provide great degrees of administration, control, security, and customer service and support.

Pros

Full in depth functionality is excellent. you can get as granular as you like for very deep control or general network use. It has great ability to create any kind of policy you want, and a crazy amount of other features for security and protection.

Cons

Tool tips and basic explanations on settings within the software would be very nice. there are so many options that it can get very complicated without much study and learning on the subject. for anyone who gets paid by time, this can be problematic. I do not care for the web interface and always use the System Manager Application.

Basic UTM with Poor Manufacturers Support & Poor Reliability

WatchGuard is a leading vendor but lags behind its direct competitors, and it's reliability on the smaller range makes it questionable. However the pricing and basic feature set make it attractive to SMB's.

Pros

The GUI is user friendly and looks quite modern and slick. Generally the configuration is logical and easy to navigate. The pricing is generally cheap.

Cons

Reliability on hardware is poor, support isn't very helpful (e.g. they wont do a remote session to help), feature set is weak and generally the appliance lags behind its competitors.

Best Darn Firewall We Have Ever Used

Pros

We were introduced to Watchguard by a consultant after years with a Cisco PIX/ASA. We love the intuitive user interface and the level of security that has been provided by the appliance. The proof is in the traffic monitor!

Cons

The interface may be a bit scary for a first time user of the appliance, however the Wizards can be extremely helpful.

Great appliance for SMBs, easy console and awesome support

One thing that needs to be mentioned is the exceptional support WG offers. The engineers are great and answer to the point, or offer remote help. Also their documentation is very well written and detailed. Software is great, console(s) do what they're supposed to and the hardware is pretty good as well. I highly recommend it to small-medium businesses.

Pros

Web console is great for most of the options, it's fast and easy to use, even if you're not very experienced with networks. It doesn't have all the features (or not as clear as through WSM) but it does the job very well. We use it for protection of 3 sites and BOVPN.

Cons

As said, the web console is sometimes leading you to issues, such as faulty firewall rules or endless searching of where the option you're looking for really is. WSM (older/desktop app console) works great, but it's kind of old. Other than that, nothing else wrong!

The WatchGuard is effective and easy to customize.

We were hit with the Crypto virus twice with our other firewall. This has given us complete protection.

Pros

Great intrusion prevention via IPS, URL filtering, Gateway AV, port restriction and APT blocker. Making entries for exceptions is fast and effective.

I try Watchguard and its an amazing product for us, we are under going on IT.

its a good price when I compaire to other products with same features.

Pros

Easy to use "not complicated" and no need to be certified to work with, very strong and have all what Im searching for.

Cons

no words, and all is going good. im sure its a future product for many companies. whatchguard is the product we need at this time.

Great features for a reasonable price. Setup is a bit tricky but tech support was great

Pros

I like the protection provided for a reasonable price. The ability to manage access points is a bonus

Cons

Configuration is a bit difficult. An example of this is connecting to one of the four available ethernet connections. By default those ports are not activated and it easy to assume they are.

This product changed my vision of the firewall.

I have a UTM installed in my company as a main firewall

Pros

Its performance and functions are really amazing, in a single team I have been able to ensure the entire network.

Cons

As all security equipment maintaining active licensing is extremely important for additional functions, although firewall functions are maintained.

Great Firewall solution

Pros

Deployment options and administration. Site to site VPN setup. IPsec options using standards.

Cons

Had difficulty setting up a site to site VPN with another product from a different vendor.

Watch guard is good for connecting to our work VPN...now if our work VPN was faster it'd be great!

Pros

We never used to be able to securely connect to our work VPN - and now we can! This has been a life saver so I don't have to save all my files locally.

Cons

Interface just seems a little outdated, and not super user friendly...but any tech savvy user can figure it out eventually.

I use these all the time for our clients

Pros

We have been using these for a few years and have had great luck. Everything from the small Firebox series up to the XTM series that we have in place have been bulletproof.

Cons

Costs are kind of all over the board. The units and subscriptions are available on amazon for less than what I can get them through my channels (mainly Ingram) for and my customer wonders why my prices are more expensive.