Firewalla: Protect Your Family with a Powerful Firewall

Online safety is important for everyone, especially families with young children. One of the easiest ways to protect your family is to invest in a good firewall like Firewalla.


Verified.org
Updated 22 June 2022
Firewalla: Protect Your Family with a Powerful Firewall

United States Scam & Fraud Statistics 2020


$3.3 billion total fraud losses
4.7 million fraud reports

1.4 million reports of identity theft

Source: 2019-20 Consumer Sentinel Report

Sections on this page
  1. Our Take
  2. Firewalla Red
  3. Firewalla Blue
  4. Firewalla Blue Plus
  5. Firewalla Purple
  6. Firewalla Gold
  7. Who Can Benefit From Firewalla?

A firewall works by filtering the traffic that comes into your home network. It can block malicious websites, content, and downloads from threatening your smart speakers, laptops, and other devices.

Firewalla is a great investment for any family that wants to keep their devices and data safe from online threats. It is easy to set up and use, and it provides a high level of protection for your home network.

Our Take

Firewalla is a great product for parents and families that want to protect their devices and data from online threats. It is easy to set up and use, and it provides a high level of protection for your home network. In addition, it offers remote access to the network via the Firewalla app.

Pros

  • Dual WiFi protection
  • Powerful CPU
  • Low consumption of power
  • Gigabit ethernet
  • Easy-to-use Firewalla app for your mobile device
  • No subscription necessary
  • Block/allow specific IP addresses
  • Block web pages from connected devices (including mobile devices)

Cons

  • Expensive upfront cost
  • Can be complicated to use for some

Firewalla Red

Firewalla Red

Firewalla red is the basic model, and it is a great entry-level product. Its features include:

  • Protection for all network devices (including your mobile device) from cyberattacks
  • Blocks unwanted ads
  • Dynamic content filtering
  • No monthly subscription fee
  • Monitors and controls internet access and usage
  • Supports 100 Mbps internet connection speeds
  • Built-in VPN server and VPN client
  • Advanced data analytics on your network
  • Personal and commercial data are protected by encryption.
  • 30-day return policy 
  • 1-year warranty
  • 16 GB storage
  • 512 MB memory
  • 1,000 active protect entries
  • 28 MB OpenVPN server speed
  • About 5W of power

Price: $139

Best for: People who want a firewall on a budget and have a small network.

What could be improved: This unit has pretty limited memory, and it won't be able to run features that come out in the future that require more system resources. This means you run the risk of your unit becoming outdated pretty quickly. It's also limited to 100 Mbps internet speed.

What customers have to say: Common complaints about this product are that it's difficult to set up and doesn't have as many features as some of the other models.

On the flip side, a lot of customers love how easy this product is to use once they get over the learning curve, and they appreciate that it doesn't require a monthly subscription fee.

Firewalla Blue

Firewalla Blue

This product is the next step up from the Firewalla Red, and it offers some great features for a slightly higher price tag. Here's what you get with Blue:

  • All the features of Firewalla Red
  • Supports internet connections speeds of up to 500 Mbps
  • 1024 MB memory
  • 10,000 active protect entries
  • 70 MB OpenVPN server speed

Price: $189

Best for: People who want a little more power from their firewall and have a small to medium-sized network.

What could be improved: Like Firewalla Red, Blue has a limited amount of memory, so it might not be able to keep up with future advances in technology. It's also limited to 500 Mbps internet speed—a big step up from Red, but still may not be enough for serious gamers and heavy internet users.

What customers have to say: Customers who upgraded from Firewalla Red to Blue generally report that they're happy with the extra power and features. However, some customers find that the Blue model is just as difficult to set up as the Red model.

Firewalla Blue Plus

Firewalla Blue Plus

This version of the Firewalla Blue offers a little bit more memory and a few extra features. Here's what you get:

  • All the features of Firewalla Blue
  • 2,048 MB memory
  • 20,000 active protect entries
  • About 7W of power
  • 280 MB WireGuard server speed

Price: $209

Best for: People who want a little more power from their firewall and have a small to medium-sized network. The added power, memory, and features boost are worth the extra price for many customers. The ability to block more regions is useful for people who want to block ads or content from specific parts of the world.

What could be improved: While Blue Plus has a bit more memory and power than the regular Blue, it's still limited in comparison to other models on the market. It's also limited to 500 Mbps internet speed.

What customers have to say: Customers report that Blue Plus is a significant upgrade from the regular Blue and that it's worth the extra cost. They also appreciate the added benefits, such as an ad-block feature and the ability to block content from specific regions. However, some customers find that the 500 MB internet speed limit is still too low.

Firewalla Purple

Firewalla Purple

More than just a firewall, Firewalla Purple can act as a small router, too. This model offers all of the features of Blue Plus, plus:

  • Supports 1 Gbps internet speeds
  • 120 MB OpenVPN speed
  • About 7W-9W of power
  • 2 ports instead of 1
  • 500 MB WireGuard server speed
  • WiFi WISP
  • WiFi LAN

Price: $319

Best for: People who want a router and firewall in one device, and have a small to medium-sized network. People who have a higher internet speed will also appreciate the increased speeds that this model offers.

What could be improved: Although this Firewall can act as a router, it doesn't have all of the features that a dedicated router would have. At best, it can provide WiFi to one small room.

What customers have to say: Customers love the convenience of having a router and firewall in one device, and they appreciate the added speed (1 Gbps) and power that this model offers. However, some customers find that the router features are limited and that it doesn't provide full coverage for their homes.

Firewalla Gold

Firewalla Gold

Firewalla Gold is the most powerful model in the Firewalla line. It offers all of the features of the Purple (except being a router), plus:

  • 4,096 MB memory
  • 40,000 active protect entries
  • 120 MB OpenVPN speed
  • 500 MB WireGuard server speed
  • 32 GB of storage
  • 4 ports
  • Over 3 Gbps of packet processing speed
  • About 10-12W of power
  • 1 console port

Price: $498

Best for: Firewalla Gold is best for people who want the most powerful firewall possible and have a medium to large-sized network. The added storage is also useful for people who want to keep a log of their activity or store data on their firewall.

What could be improved: The Gold is the most powerful model in the Firewalla line, but it relies on free consumer service to handle violence and adult content filtering, which may not be as reliable as a paid service.

What customers have to say: Customers report that Firewalla Gold is an excellent firewall and that it offers a significant amount of power and features. They also appreciate the added storage, which is helpful for keeping a log of their activity or storing data on their firewall. However, some customers find that the free consumer service for filtering violence and adult content is not as reliable as a paid service.

Who Can Benefit From Firewalla?

Anyone who owns a computer or network that they want to protect from hackers, viruses, and other online threats can benefit from the network security that comes with Firewalla. However, Firewalla is particularly well-suited for parents or anyone worried about online safety, as it offers a number of features specifically designed to protect children from inappropriate content and adults from online predators.

The benefits parents can expect from a quality firewall like Firewalla include:

  • Monitoring network traffic
  • Preventing hacks
  • Stopping viruses
  • Protecting privacy
  • Stopping spyware
  • Alerting you to threats

Monitoring Network Traffic

Firewalla can monitor all of your network devices and give you a real-time view of what they're doing. This is helpful for keeping tabs on your children's internet activity and identifying any unusual or suspicious activity on your network.

Data coming in and out of your system can create opportunities for malware and other threats to enter your network. By monitoring traffic, Firewalla can help you identify and block suspicious activity before it can cause any damage.

Preventing Hacks

With the rise of sophisticated hacking tools and methods, it's more important than ever to protect your network connection with a quality firewall. Even the average user can be targeted by a hacker or scammer. Firewalla can help by identifying and blocking attempts to hack into your system, as well as by alerting you to any suspicious activity.

This is an important layer of protection, as it can stop hackers from gaining access to your system even if they manage to bypass your router's firewall.

Stopping Attacks from Viruses

Like hackers, viruses and other malware are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. Firewalla can help protect your system by identifying and blocking attempts to infect your network with malware. This is an important line of defense, as even the most well-protected system can be vulnerable to infection if it's not properly defended.

Firewalla can also help you recover from viruses and malware by providing a safe, isolated environment for your system to be cleaned in. This can help you avoid having to completely reinstall your operating system and all of your programs.

Protecting Privacy

Firewalla can help protect your privacy by blocking attempts to track your online activity. This includes blocking cookies and other tracking methods, as well as hiding IP addresses from the sites you visit. This can help keep your browsing history private and stop advertisers from targeting you with ads.

Firewalla can also help protect your privacy by encrypting your data. This means that even if someone does manage to intercept your data, they won't be able to read it.

Stopping Spyware

Spyware is a type of malware that can track your online activity and even steal sensitive information like passwords and credit card numbers. Firewalla can help protect you from spyware by identifying and blocking attempts to install it on your system. This is an important line of defense, as spyware can be difficult to detect and remove once it's installed.

Alerting You to Threats

Firewalla can help you stay aware of threats to your system by sending you alerts when it detects suspicious activity. This can include alerts for attempted hacks, virus infections, and other threats. You can also set up Firewalla to send you weekly reports of all the activity on your network.

This is an important feature, as it can help you stay on top of any potential threats to your system.

There are many benefits that parents can expect from a quality firewall like Firewalla. By monitoring internet traffic, preventing hacks, stopping viruses and malware, and protecting privacy, Firewalla can help keep your family safe from many online threats.

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