Palo Alto Networks WildFire Other Advice

JM
Information Technology Manager at a construction company with 51-200 employees

This is a very good solution and from a technical perspective and it does a fantastic job. At the same time, we are actually planning on getting rid of it, as it is probably overkill for what we need. I think that when they were looking at this device, they didn't really know where to turn. I was not working here at the time, so they took the recommendation from their telco.

My intention is to replace it with four or five individual firewalls, which gives us a little bit of redundancy and does some other things for us. Palo Alto has a lot of advanced stuff that it brings with it, and we don't have a need for it.

Specifically for WildFire, we're shifting away from on-premises email and going to a cloud-based email system. In that type of managed solution, the provider handles messaging security.

My advice for anybody who is researching this solution is to consider the requirements and the cost. I guarantee that this product will do what you need, but you have to make sure that what you need is what it provides. It is possible that there is more in there than what you'll actually use, so you need to think about whether it is worth the cost. The reason that we're changing is cost-related. For what they are charging us every year, I will completely replace all of our hardware, get exactly what we need, and only pay for it once. We will be saving $3,000 - $5,000 CAD ($2,200 - $3,800 USD) every year after this, just because we don't have those licensing costs associated with it.

The bottom line is that this solution has the ability to do an awful lot of stuff, and if it were easier to configure then it would be even better.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

View full review »
AdamBrenner - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at NTT Global Networks Incorporated

I use Palo Alto Networks WildFire. I like it.

The number of people you need for maintaining Palo Alto Networks WildFire will depend on the number of devices you have. If you had one firewall, what do you need to maintain? You'll just need one guy, and he's going to be bored most of the time. One guy could maintain ten to twenty firewalls. If you have one hundred firewalls on your network, or you manage one hundred firewalls for your customers, then you're going to need five times as many engineers for maintaining Palo Alto Networks WildFire.

I have no advice for others looking into using the solution because it's so simple. You can turn it on with a button, then there's a radio box, then you click it, and away you go. If you need information, you can enter a support email, and it'll fire off an email saying, "I caught something. I shut it down, but you should know about this."

Nobody gets a ten, so I'll give Palo Alto Networks WildFire a rating of nine out of ten.

View full review »
MárioPereira - PeerSpot reviewer
Advisor of Mainboard at Serviços Municipalizados de Setúbal

Palo Alto Networks WildFire in our environment is its integration with the XDR solution. WildFire effectively identifies and stops threats by subjecting procedures and software to thorough testing before deployment. The product improves threat response by integrating logs and components of different vendors. It has a user-friendly interface. The implementation has helped reduce the false positives. I advise others to understand their business requirements before opting for the solution. I rate it a ten out of ten.

View full review »
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks WildFire
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks WildFire. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
AP
Engineer at Kahramaa

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten.

View full review »
Shamik Bhowmick - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Cloud Security Engineer at Providence Health and Services

I'm a consultant. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

View full review »
MOHAMEDELSHERIF - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Consultant at International Turnkey Systems - ITS

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire an eight out of ten.

View full review »
DianStone - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales Manager at Integrity360

I give the solution a nine out of ten.

The Palo Alto Networks WildFire solution is effective, however, it is limited in terms of support. Therefore, I recommend using this solution only if adequate support is provided.

View full review »
CB
Senior System Administrator at a government with 10,001+ employees

I would rate it a 10 out of 10 because it has been a really good tool.

View full review »
PR
Information Systems Manager at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate it at an eight out of 10.

View full review »
DP
Associate Lead Engineer at TSPL

Though the product has improved the ability to detect and respond to genuine threats, it is not very useful in our company's environment.

The tool's capability to deal with malicious files and block URLs has benefited our organization. The tool also helps my company deal with scripts that are not required.

Palo Alto Networks WildFire is only for the users who use hardware or products from Palo Alto Networks. I am not sure whether Palo Alto Networks WildFire can be integrated with other products. If you use a firewall from Palo Alto Networks, then Palo Alto Networks WildFire is useful since it allows you to stay protected from malware.

Only the reporting part is proper in the product, but the action setting is an area that needs to be taken care of by Palo Alto Networks. If the product is capable of blocking threats, then it will be very useful for our company.

I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.

View full review »
HS
Vice- Head Of Math Department at a non-tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The solution uses artificial intelligence and it doesn't delay the normal process of auto-detecting the analysis of files. The response time is very fast for robotic files.

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a nine out of ten.

View full review »
Fabio Moretto - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Infrastructure and Security Manager at Lotto Sport Italia Spa

I would rate this solution 10 out of 10. 

There are things to improve, and nobody is a perfect 10 in security.

View full review »
RD
Application Support Administrator at a transportation company with 501-1,000 employees

Palo Alto Networks' BPA flagged certain URLs that needed blocking to tighten our firewall's security. WildFire serves as a repository for security incident data, enhancing our threat intelligence across the organization. While we don't manage it directly, WildFire provides crucial information about security occurrences globally.

The sandbox technology of WildFire has benefited us as it provides a layer of protection and immutability against threats.

Whether it is better to integrate WildFire with Palo Alto firewall into one product depends on your infrastructure setup. If you have a reliable internet connection, utilizing WildFire in the cloud is efficient for receiving timely updates. However, if internet connectivity is a concern, having WildFire as an appliance locally might be preferable.

My advice for those considering WildFire is to prioritize its inclusion with your firewall setup. Cybersecurity is interconnected globally, and WildFire provides crucial threat intelligence to keep your firewall updated and effective. It is essential for a smarter, more secure network defense.

Overall, I would rate WildFire as a nine out of ten.

View full review »
Porleng Phatt - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre-Sales Engineer at eCam Solution Co., Ltd

I think the customer implementing a one-tier or two-tier firewall should have Palo Alto Networks WildFire's subscription. When the unknown types of attacks are coming in, we need to have WildFire for protection.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.


View full review »
Ismail Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Support Analyst at Abdul Latif Jameel

I would rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire an eight out of ten.

View full review »
AhmadZakwan - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Consultant at Securelytics

I rate this solution an eight out of ten. Regarding advice, I would recommend doing a proof of concept first before deciding on the solution.

View full review »
PK
Senior Network Security Engineer at MHESI

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire an eight out of ten. 

View full review »
it_user1191063 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Manager at 3C Information Solutions Inc

The Palo Alto models that we were using are the PA800-500 and PA830. 

I have seen people in different organizations and different industries set their firewall solutions up in different ways. It depends on the level of support, in terms of who will be maintaining the network. It also includes the level of knowledge they have, as well as their management preference. Some people choose Palo Alto because they don't care about the costs, and it is an easy solution to use, especially if they are already familiar with it. I would say that if they have the budget then this is a good choice and I recommend it.

However, if they are looking to consolidate all of their services, then the option to choose is definitely Cisco. It's a cloud-based solution with malware protection, filtering, and everything you need all in one box. It makes a lot of difference.

Finally, some people prefer FortiGate because the pricing is good and it is simple to use, whereas some people prefer Check Point for other reasons. It's an individual choice, but it should be well researched before the final choice is made.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

View full review »
BS
Security Manager at FPT

I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

View full review »
DG
Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

The way Palo Alto Networks WildFire works is that it's essentially a service that you get from Palo Alto as part of your subscription. You can subscribe to it at an additional cost, and the idea is it can communicate with all the Palo Alto devices in the world about a file, e.g. whether a file is suspicious or harmless.

For example, a machine in Australia downloads a file, and it doesn't know if it's a file that can be trusted or not. The Palo Alto Networks WildFire process is that it takes that file, and then moves it to the WildFire service in the cloud, so there's a transaction from the firewall doing that.

Let's say it's a Word file or something that looks suspicious, Palo Alto Networks WildFire then detonates the file, e.g. it takes that file and runs checks against it, before and after, and then it sees the difference and says, "Well, this actual file contains a payload." The way that it works then, is that there are attackers or people who are trying to subvert systems, and they will say, "Oh, if this file is running on a virtual machine, like in a sandbox environment, don't do the thing that you're going to do, only when it's a physical thing, like actual hardware.

The Palo Alto Networks WildFire process is a process that goes through all these other checks, e.g. it runs on physical, on virtual, on different types of Linux, MacOS, etc. This file is checked against all these different environments to see if it's okay or not, so this is done off the box, off the firewall.

This is the service that you pay for as part of that subscription, so when it's done, essentially that file is marked as safe, that's cool. If it's marked as bad, then that file, the hash is taken from it, so it's easily identified, then through the Palo Alto Networks WildFire subscription, all the firewalls in the world then get that information within just one minute, if you set it to that. It will say something similar to: "Look out for this file if you ever see it", and then all the machines now knows that the file is dodgy or suspicious. That's what Palo Alto Networks WildFire does.

Palo Alto Networks is very well rounded. They're building an ecosystem: the Palo Alto ecosystem. You've got global protect VPNs and they are the armor that works on the whole ecosystem. They also have integrations, e.g. there are other applications from HP that plug into the device, because it's got the APIs there.

For the deployment and maintenance of Palo Alto Networks WildFire, one person can do it, but it's a special tool, so a network staff that just looks after a server would probably struggle with it, just because of some of the concepts that you need to use. There are specific trainings you'd need to do to get the best out of it, but one specialist could do it, e.g. it's not unheard of.

My advice to others looking into implementing this solution is for them not to be put off by the cost. It's similar to looking at cars, e.g. there's a reason people like Jaguar cars over the Fords. I've always got this mantra that if you have a network, if you have a data network, and if it's going to cost you, e.g. if you look at the fines associated with various industries, and if you're a school that gets a data breach, it'll cost you this much money. The question is: "Can you afford that much money as a company?" If your answer is "No", then you have to look at mitigating it. I would suggest looking at Palo Alto Networks WildFire and saying, "Well, we do these types of things to protect your network."

If you still don't want to pay that money, then chances are, you don't particularly care about security. If you want to pay for that kind of thing to stave off the bigger fine that results from getting a data breach, or getting hacked, etc., then that's how we think about it. Don't be off put by the cost when you're looking at it. Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a very comprehensive device. They are the best firewalls in the world.

There are also other solutions like UTMs and XGs, e.g. if you like Fortigate, but everyone I've shown the Palo Alto to instantly said: "This big screen here: I can see all the traffic going through", and you just filter it at the top, and it just makes more sense to people. It's very intuitive.

My rating for Palo Alto Networks WildFire is eight out of ten. It's not a perfect score because of its cost.

View full review »
WL
Information Security Engineer (Core Network Security) at NEX4 ICT Solutions

I'm an integrator. We do use a variety of versions of the solution. We have a few clients using the product. 

I'd recommend the solution to others. It improves protection and is a good firewall. 

I would rate the solution eight out of ten. I'm happy with its capabilities.

View full review »
GS
Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 5,001-10,000 employees

I give the solution an eight out of ten.

A limited number of people are required for maintenance. One person is enough for the day-to-day but we have overlapped for coverage. 

View full review »
DS
Senior Analyst Security and Compliance at a insurance company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Install the solution set it up the service in alert mode. Run reports and determine how you want it tuned, them move into block mode. You may want to go to  block mode right away with known out of the box threats. 


View full review »
it_user839463 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Some of our clients used to have the traditional firewalls so where we do have enabled the application control but being it's a pretty small firewall. At the end of the day, even in spite of them demanding the application controls, it's on top of the firewall functionality (especially in terms of controlling the applications). So, after implementing the Palo Alto firewalls, they have achieved more than what is expected, and we are able to control the number of applications; who gets to have access, and what is flowing inside the network. Anything that is traversing the firewall, is available right now.

View full review »
IS
Servicio Posventa at a security firm with 11-50 employees

I used the solution, and I think that it's wonderful. They have different layers of analysis, but I wouldn't say I like the price. 

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Palo Alto Networks WildFire a nine.

View full review »
EB
Network System Administrator at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Test it in your environment because everyone's environment is different.

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor:

  • Price matching up with features.
  • Support
  • SLA agreements
  • Customer relationship management.
View full review »
MufeedSiaj - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Presales Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

I'm a freelancing security consultant.

I'd advise new users to just double-check the admin guide, the organization guide, before beginning.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. 

View full review »
CS
Information Security Manager at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

WildFire is a perfect complement to a Palo Alto Firewall, it's invaluable.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

View full review »
it_user514461 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company

Consider your level of exposure to exploits of any nature. Also, consider the impact (cost and loss of business) of even one successful exploit to help make a business decision regarding this product.

I would also advise that the decision should be considered with regard to the company's ability/willingness to provide the assets to keep abreast of these types of products and features. There are no set and forget type functions.

View full review »
CT
Director and Strategic Advisor with self employed

I would rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a nine out of ten.

View full review »
NV
Senior Network Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

From my perspective, Palo Alto is the best solution in the market. This is the reason that we implemented it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

View full review »
UW
CEO at E-DIRECT CLOUD SOLUTIONS SP. Z O.O.

WildFire is always a product that we recommend for our Palo Alto clients because it tracks potential malware in the cloud and it is very important to prevent these types of attacks.

In today's climate with the pandemic, a lot of staff are working offsite and remotely, leading to a surge in internet usage. This makes the work environments prone to various threats, which is one of the reasons that products like WildFire are so important.

Overall, from our point of view, it is a good product that works well.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

View full review »
GV
Architect - Cloud Serviced at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

On a scale from 1 to 10, I would give Palo Alto Networks WildFire a 8 for safety.

View full review »
Qaiser Abbas - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

We also provide Palo Alto Networks WildFire to our customers, and we've been dealing with it since it came into the product line.

We deployed this solution both on cloud and on-premises. It's a mixture of both types of deployment.

Palo Alto Networks WildFire is a good solution. It has been able to mitigate a lot of threats and attacks.

We have a lot of customers using Palo Alto Networks WildFire.

We have network engineers who handle the deployment and maintenance of this solution, and they are the same people who handle the deployment and maintenance of Fortinet FortiGate.

We recommend this product to people who want to start using it, but if the customer only has limited budget, then we cannot recommend it.

I'm giving Palo Alto Networks WildFire a score of eight out of ten.

View full review »
SB
Sr Manager - Information Security & Researcher at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

If your organization can afford this solution then I would recommend it. However, there are other solutions on the market that have similar features at a lower cost, such as FortiGate and Juniper.

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a nine out of ten.

View full review »
NS
IT Network Consultant Engineer - Projects and ICT Infrastructure Services at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's a stable product. It's pretty expensive but with respect to value for money, it's okay.

I would rate it a nine out of ten.

View full review »
it_user531378 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network and Security Engineer
GV
Architect - Cloud Serviced at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Go forward, this is an amazing device to be implemented if you have the cost to bear.

View full review »
it_user217794 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Information Security Officer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

If you're running Palo Alto firewalls there is no reason not to use it at the free level. Once you have run it for a while at the basic level, you can make an educated decision if it's worth paying for the subscription (it is).

View full review »
SS
Sr Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

I rate WildFire six out of 10. To people considering WildFire, I recommend that they understand their own needs. They should do the proper due diligence. Right now, everybody's cutting costs because of COVID-19. They're trying to automate most things through the PA, so the cost-cutting is going to be a major factor in the future.

View full review »
DS
Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a ten out of ten.

View full review »
HG
Head Of Operations at Rah Infotech Pvt Ltd

I would give this product a rating of 9 out of 10 due to some slight issues of performance.

View full review »
it_user410793 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Always show to the customer what the product can do for them and what not, is a good practice, because they can open their eyes and to be sure what are the benefits of that technology. Always analyze the network topology, using the customer's network diagram and ask every doubt that you have, for my experience a good analysis and deployment plan give us a successful implementation.

View full review »
it_user1189212 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Support Engineer at a venture capital & private equity firm with 501-1,000 employees

I really recommend Palo Alto Networks. Out of 10 stars, I would give 11. 

I would recommend the solution because it's so easy to deploy and when you read the security profiles, it's very easy to handle, unlike other vendors. When it comes to threat protection, the features are easy to use and understand.

View full review »
MM
Assistant Principal at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.

View full review »
MC
System Administrator at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

We use the solution in our company.

The product is the best. It is superb.

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire as a nine out of ten. 

View full review »
it_user221883 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Systems Manager with 51-200 employees

The product is straightforward to implement, though if you are looking for a quick implementation, I would suggest bringing in an expert.

View full review »
BE
Network Security Engineer at Data Consult

My advice is to install Palo Alto's firewall as a datacenter. You should enable the features (Threat Prevention (AS, AV, and Vulnerability Protection), File Blocking, URL Filtering, WildFire, etc.).

Palo Alto's firewall is the best firewall right now. I have used Palo Alto since 2014.

View full review »
AY
Pre-sales manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

It's a very good product.

I would rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire and eight out of ten.

View full review »
AS
Deputy Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Technical support is excellent and it is a promising option.

View full review »
MM
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

I rate Palo Alto Networks WildFire a five out of ten.

View full review »
BB
Managing Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

There is no one product that can give you 100% protection, but Palo Alto WildFire has some good features. Overall, WildFire is a good product and I recommend it.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

View full review »
BB
Managing Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

On a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of nine. I would like to give it a ten, but nobody's perfect.

View full review »
Buyer's Guide
Palo Alto Networks WildFire
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Palo Alto Networks WildFire. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.