pfSense Plus is a powerful product with a rich set of add-in packages that allow customers to tailor it to almost any edge or cloud secure networking need. We have conveniently grouped its capability set into the five most commonly needed applications. Get pfSense+ Firewall Router VPN Attack Prevention Firewall Router VPN Attack Prevention Simply stated, attack prevention is stopping malicious actors from carrying out exploits and threats against your network infrastructure and proprietary information. Multiple layers of network security are required to do this effectively - at the network edge, within the network, at the device level, in the cloud, etc. The types of attack prevention that make sense at the network edge include: pfSense Plus offers a suite of highly-regarded add-in packages to effectively address attack prevention Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) analyze network traffic for signatures that match known cyberattacks. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) analyzes packets as well, but can also stop the packet from being delivered, helping to halt the attack. More information can be found in our documentation. Learn More Snort is a packet sniffer that monitors network traffic in real time, scrutinizing each packet closely to detect a dangerous payload or suspicious anomalies. More information can be found in our documentation. Learn More Layer 7, the OSI (Open System Interconnection) Model application layer, supports application and end-user processes, such as HTTP and SMTP. Attacks at this layer present a security challenge as malicious code can masquerade as valid client requests and normal application data. More information can be found in our documentation. Learn More Depending on choices around performance, security risk tolerance, and actual business applications in use, there are many ways to configure an IDS/IPS. pfSense Plus software supports the use of multiple sources of rules for both Snort and Suricata. Additionally, each of those packages have multiple categories for rules as well, including floating rules, interface group rules, and interface rules. More information can be found in our documentation. Learn More An IDS/IPS solution can be configured to simply log detected network events, or both log and block them. This is performed through the use of detection signatures, called rules. Rules can be custom created by the user, or any of several pre-packaged rule sets can be enabled and downloaded. Pre-packaged rulesets offer added detection / protection against emerging threats in the wild. More information can be found in our documentation. Learn More IP blacklisting filters out illegitimate or malicious IP addresses from accessing your networks. pfBlocker is a pfSense Plus software package that allows you to add IP block list and country block lists. More information can be found in our documentation. Learn More pfSense Plus software is equipped with a number of automatically added firewall rules. Examples include anti-lockout, anti-spoofing, block private networks, block Bogon networks, IPsec protocol use and port access, default deny rule, etc. Learn More pfSense Plus software allows each LAN or WAN interface to be independently configured with firewall rules and other per-interface functionality. Learn More Each IDS/IPS security admin must ultimately decide their own alert volume tolerance, as only you know the type of traffic that is normal on your network. pfSense Plus software enables you to select specific ruleset and alerting policies on a per interface basis, as well as offering detailed guidance about how to eliminate noisy false positives. Learn More Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) enables security analysts to capture and evaluate full packet header and payload information to identify protocol compliance, spam, virus, intrusion, and other anomalous or malicious traffic. Snort, Suricata, and NTOPNG packages each support DPI capabilities. More information can be found in our documentation here (NTOPNG), here (Snort) and here (Suricata). pfSense Plus software leverages Snort and OpenAppID to detect, monitor and manage application usage on your network. Learn More If your home network has externally facing servers, e.g., a hosted website, or if you need to access your home network when you are not at home), an IDS/IPS is probably unnecessary. The stateful firewall functionality, core to pfSense Plus is probably sufficient, i.e., traffic flowing inbound will not be allowed in unless explicitly allowed to, but outbound traffic will be allowed to return - even without an explicit rule. Attack prevention solutions are commonly placed at the network edge, or in the case of cloud-based applications, at the Virtual Private Instance (VPI) edge. Consideration should always be given to the depth and breadth of rule sets in order to keep traffic performance to acceptable levels. 
What is Attack Prevention?
IDS/IPS
Snort-based Packet Analyzer
Layer 7 Application Detection
Multiple Rules, Sources, & Categories
Emerging Threats Database
IP Blacklist Database
Pre-Set Rule Profiles
Per Interface Config.
False Positive Alert Suppression
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
Application Blocking
Attack Prevention Features
IDS/IPS
Snort-based Packet Analyzer
Layer 7 Application Detection
Multiple Rules, Sources, and Categories
Emerging Threats Database
IP Blacklist Database
Pre-Set Rule Profiles
Per-Interface Configuration
False Positive Alert Suppression
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)
Application blocking
Who Needs Attack Prevention?
Home Users
Where Should Attack Prevention Be Deployed?
What Makes pfSense Plus a Great Attack Prevention Solution?
Easy to use
All the features you need
Proven reliability and resilience
Excellent overall solution value
FAQs
PfSense Plus Attack Prevention? ›
In pfSense, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) like Snort and Suricata provide advanced capabilities to detect and prevent network attacks. Snort is an intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS) that plays a crucial role in security monitoring on pfSense.
Does pfSense have threat protection? ›In pfSense, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) like Snort and Suricata provide advanced capabilities to detect and prevent network attacks. Snort is an intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS) that plays a crucial role in security monitoring on pfSense.
What are the benefits of pfSense plus? ›pfSense Plus software is equipped with a number of automatically added firewall rules. Examples include anti-lockout, anti-spoofing, block private networks, block Bogon networks, IPsec protocol use and port access, default deny rule, etc. More information can be found in our documentation here.
What are the disadvantages of pfSense firewall? ›Challenging web GUI setup and management: Non-expert users may find it challenging to set up and manage the web GUI, particularly when it comes to assigning WAN and LAN interfaces. Limited API and scripting capabilities: Some reviewers have highlighted the lack of an API for making changes in pfSense.
What is the difference between pfSense CE and Plus? ›pfSense CE software is a community project. pfSense Plus software is Netgate's commercial fork which will have added features and functionality for our customers over time. Can I load and sell pfSense CE software? No.
Is pfSense hackable? ›Attackers can combine the vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code on the pfSense appliance remotely. An attacker can trick an authenticated pfSense user into clicking on a maliciously crafted link containing an XSS payload that exploits the command injection vulnerability.
Can pfSense prevent DDoS? ›Pfsense can handle massive amounts of incoming traffic. You need to tune it and how it handles connections. I use it as DDoS protection and it works perfectly.
Should I use a VPN with pfSense? ›Yes, a VPN can significantly bolster the security of your pfSense router by encrypting the traffic that traverses it.
Why use pfSense instead of router? ›Security features
pfSense comes with built-in intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS) feature support for tools like Snort, and no additional services are required for most applications. Netgear router software does not have these features built in by default.
If you want high customizability and a large support community, pfSense is a good option. If you prioritize an easy-to-use interface and frequent updates, instead, OPNsense may be better. Ultimately, pfSense offers more flexibility for seasoned users, but OPNsense provides a more polished out-of-box experience.
Can I install pfSense Plus on my own hardware? ›
pfSense Plus software is available on the full suite of Netgate appliances, both Amazon and Azure cloud marketplaces, and in virtual machine formats for 3rd party hardware deployment.
Is OpenWRT faster than pfSense? ›On APU routers pfSense and OPNsense achieve about 100Mbit/s throughput. OpenWRT achieves about 140Mbit/s. APU delivers more than 600Mbit/s with Wireguard VPN. If you have a choice between OpenVPN and Wigeguard, choose the latter.
Which VPN is best for pfSense? ›- NordVPN – best VPN for pfSense router overall.
- Surfshark – feature-rich VPN for pfSense routers.
- PureVPN – great VPN to secure your pfSense router.
- ExpressVPN – versatile pfSense VPN provider.
- Ivacy VPN – secure and simplistic pfSense VPN.
pfSense® software can act in an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) / Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) role with add-on packages like Snort and Suricata. The Snort and Suricata packages share many design similarities, so in most cases the instructions for Snort carry over to Suricata with only minor adjustments.
What type of protection is pfSense? ›External Firewall: The most common application of pfSense® software is a perimeter firewall. Multiple Internet connections, LAN networks, and DMZ networks are supported by the pfSense® software.
What is the difference between pfSense and WAF? ›In the Perimeter Security And Firewalls market, pfSense has a 4.33% market share in comparison to AWS WAF's 4.19%. Since it has a better market share coverage, pfSense holds the 8th spot in 6sense's Market Share Ranking Index for the Perimeter Security And Firewalls category, while AWS WAF holds the 9th spot.
What is the anti lock rule in pfSense? ›What is Anti-lockout Rule? By default, pfSense implements an anti-lockout rule to avoid locking out an administrator from the web interface. This is customizable with the Anti-lockout option on the System > Advanced > Admin Access page.