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It’s All in the Applications

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.

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What are Proxy and Content Filtering?

Proxy servers improve security by providing network address translation, which makes the individual users and computers on the network anonymous while using the Internet. User / device anonymity makes it more difficult for hackers to access individual computers on a network.

Content filtering limits end user access to material of questionable security. Organizations that provide Internet access for employees, guests, students, etc. typically will make policy decisions around what kind of sites may be visited from their networks. For example, a public library may choose to block adult-oriented sites, or a workplace might choose to block Facebook to keep employees productive.

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HTTP and HTTPS proxy
Caching Proxy Options
Domain / URL Filtering
Anti-virus Filtering
SafeSearch for Search Engines
HTTPS URL and Content Screening
Website Access Reporting
Domain Name Blacklisting (DNSBL)
Usage Reporting

Proxy and Content Filtering Features

HTTP and HTTPS proxy

pfSense Plus software enables web (HTTP and HTTPS) proxy functions via Squid (for caching web pages and related tasks), SquidGuard (for filtering and controlling access to web content) and Lightsquid (for reporting user activity based on the Squid access logs) packages.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Transparent or Non-Transparent Caching Proxy

pfSense Plus software supports both non-transparent and transparent caching proxy via Squid.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Domain/URL Filtering

pfSense Plus software uses the MESD list and the Shalla list to control access to predefined lists of sites in specific categories such as social, adult, music, and sports sites. Additional domains and/or specific URLs that are designed to be blocked may also be added, e.g., facebook.com, google.com, microsoft.com, etc.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Anti-virus Filtering

pfSense Plus software can be configured to function as an anti-virus proxy using the HAVP package. Antivirus proxies act like traditional web proxies, except they scan all content passing through the proxy for virus or malware signatures. If the proxy identifies the content as malicious, the download will be blocked and the client computer will be redirected to an error page.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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SafeSearch for Search Engines

pfSense Plus software uses the SquidGuard package to protect customers from unwanted search results. It is supported by Google, Yandex, Yahoo, MSN, Live Search.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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HTTPS URL and Content Screening

pfSense Plus software uses the SquidGuard package as a web filter to block access to unwanted or illegal (in some countries, a web filter for schools is even required by law) content from the Internet.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Website Access Reporting

pfSense Plus software leverages LightSquid, a Squid log analyzer, to parse through proxy access logs and produce web-based reports that detail the URLs accessed by each user on the network.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Domain Name Blacklisting (DNSBL)

pfSense Plus software has several options for blocking websites including DNS, Firewall rules, user of a proxy, and category blocking.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Usage Reporting

pfSense Plus software uses LightSquid to monitor internet usage on your network. By parsing through proxy access logs, web-based reports that detail URLs accessed by date and time by each user on the network, bandwidth usage, and top site reports can be produced - unbeknownst to network users.

More information can be found in our documentation.

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Who Needs Proxy and Content Filtering?

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Home Users

Home users can benefit from the use of both proxy servers and content filtering. Parents especially appreciate content filtering as it assures family members or guests can only access appropriate content based on filtering preferences.

Where Should Proxy / Content Filtering Be Deployed?

Both proxy servers and content filtering solutions are commonly placed at the network edge, or in the case of cloud-based applications, at the Virtual Private Instance (VPI) edge.

pfSense-Plus-Deployment-Diagram

What Makes pfSense Plus a Great Proxy / Content Filtering Solution?

easy-to-use

Easy to use

  • User-friendly web interface makes configuration and administration easy - even for users with limited networking knowledge
  • Observe key operating metrics like network utilization, CPU load and disk space usage with built-in Zabbix monitoring
  • Comprehensive documentation and a wealth of YouTube videos for specific assistance
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All the features you need

  • HTTP and HTTPS proxy, non-transparent or transparent caching proxy, Domain/URL filtering, anti-virus filtering, domain name blacklisting and more
  • Goes beyond proxy / content filtering - also provides a full firewall, VPN and router solution
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Proven reliability and resilience

  • Deployed on hundreds of thousands of Netgate appliances, 3rd party appliances, virtual machines, and cloud instances in every vertical on every continent
  • Highly lauded by customers for reliability and stability
  • Configurable as a High Availability (HA) cluster for business assurance
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Excellent overall solution value

  • Unbeatable combination of feature set (proxy / content filtering, attack prevention, firewall, router, and VPN), price-performance and ease of use
  • Proven dependability for consumers, businesses and service providers 
  • World-class, highly-rated support options for business assurance