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DNSFILTER VS CISCO UMBRELLA

A CISCO UMBRELLA ALTERNATIVE

Learn about the efficacy of threat protection, accuracy of content categorization in some of the most-blocked categories, the differences in resolution speed, and overall feature maturity.



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DNSFILTER VS UMBRELLA: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? 

DNSFilter is the only DNS threat protection providing real-time domain analysis that results in protection from more threats. At DNSFilter, we detect zero-day threats an average of over 5 days before traditional threat feeds. 

Though basic Cisco Umbrella features appear simple to configure, customers report encountering errors that sometimes take days to resolve as soon as you want to apply IP filtering or SSL decryption, they encounter errors that sometimes take days to resolve. In contrast, DNSFilter customers have expressed time and time again that configuring DNSFilter is simple, while its interface is easy to understand, and include phenomenal customer support, in the rare occasion it’s needed. (Read Reviews)

While Cisco includes a URL filtering option, it comes with limitations. You can block URLs, but you cannot allow them. Limited and inflexible URL filtering isn’t the best option for web security. Along with block and allow lists for specific domains, DNSFilter offers comprehensive DNS filtering. Combining the two capabilities provides a simpler and more effective solution that requires less administrative management.

Lastly, even though Cisco Umbrella’s protection is extended to remote users, Cisco Umbrella does not support every operating system. At DNSFilter, we support Windows, iOS, MacOS, and Android. Cisco Umbrella does not support Android devices.


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CISCO URL FILTERING VS DNSFILTER DNS FILTERING

While there is a Cisco URL filtering option, it has its limitations. You can block URLs, but you cannot allow them. So if you have use cases where you’d like to allow certain pages of a website but block the rest, that leaves you with the unwieldy task of blocking every single page (sometimes hundreds or thousands) except the ones you want to access. In addition to URL filtering, Cisco Umbrella advertises IP filtering which is really just IP allowing. There is no way to block IPs through Cisco Umbrella. Since IPs can bypass the entire domain name system, it doesn’t make sense to allow IPs. The main benefit of IP filtering would be to block IPs, which Cisco Umbrella does not do. But URL filtering isn’t necessarily the best option for web security. DNSFilter does DNS filtering, which is a much simpler solution for the end user that requires less management overall.

CISCO UMBRELLA ROAMING CLIENT VS. DNSFILTER ROAMING CLIENTS

Roaming Clients give you the ability to deploy DNS security to your endpoints, and it’s a useful tool if you’re interested in more granular reporting. Cisco Umbrella does not support every operating system when it comes to Roaming Clients, or “agents.” At DNSFilter, we support Windows, iOS, MacOS, and Android. Cisco Umbrella does not support Android devices.

DNSFILTER vs Cisco Umbrella

Features DNSFilter Cisco Umbrella
Stable & Global Network Checkmark-Pink
Checkmark-Pink
LAN Proxy/Virtual Appliance Checkmark-Pink Checkmark-Pink
Policy Change Update INSTANT UP TO 15 MIN
Desktop Roaming Clients Checkmark-Pink Checkmark-Pink
Mobile Roaming Clients apple-logoandroid-logo
Profile Configuration
Desktop Roaming Clients Checkmark-Pink  
Imagery-based Anti-phishing Checkmark-Pink  
Whitelabeled for Resale Checkmark-Pink  
Domain categorization Checkmark-Pink  
Bulk Block Lists Checkmark-Pink  

G2 Customer Satisfaction Rating
53

 

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Keys to success: DNSFilter’s Roaming Clients and easy implementation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS CISCO UMBRELLA?

Cisco Umbrella (previously OpenDNS) is a cloud-based DNS security solution, similar to DNSFilter. Umbrella provides basic needs to manage web filtering, includes rudimentary firewall style features like SSL decryption, and has integrations with high value platforms platforms like Connectwise PSA and S3 for log export. However, Cisco Umbrella is not as effective at blocking threats as DNSFilter, is harder to deploy, and has not continued to optimize the product over time.

IS OPENDNS THE SAME AS CISCO UMBRELLA?

Cisco Umbrella began as OpenDNS in 2008 as the first cloud-based protective DNS service. OpenDNS was purchased by Cisco in 2014. The name OpenDNS is now used for free filtering for home and families. It has different settings to block threats and/or adult categories compared to its Cisco Umbrella counterpart. To complicate the matter, OpenDNS does have a Home VIP and Umbrella Prosumer paid plan that offers more control over the settings—however this plan is mostly made up of older OpenDNS customers who have been grandfathered in.

WHAT IS THE PRICING FOR CISCO UMBRELLA?

Cisco Umbrella began as OpenDNS in 2008 as the first cloud-based protective DNS service. OpenDNS was purchased by Cisco in 2014. The name OpenDNS is now used for free filtering for home and families. It has different settings to block threats and/or adult categories compared to its Cisco Umbrella counterpart. To complicate the matter, OpenDNS does have a Home VIP and Umbrella Prosumer paid plan that offers more control over the settings—however this plan is mostly made up of older OpenDNS customers who have been grandfathered in.

WHAT CHALLENGES DO CISCO UMBRELLA CUSTOMERS ENCOUNTER?

When a customer signs up for Cisco Umbrella, they face a slew of challenges. The first, and the one we hear repeatedly from our customers and prospects, is the total lack of support for the product. When you have an issue with Cisco Umbrella, it can be nearly impossible to get a hold of someone. This leads to impacted Cisco customers without any DNS security for large chunks of time. The Cisco UI/UX is not intuitive and takes a more technical individual to implement the setup. This means you might need senior technical resources to take on a deployment they don’t have time for, as opposed to passing it over to a more junior engineer. Not to mention, within the Cisco Umbrella UI it is difficult to find things and some things are in multiple places, making it even harder to maintain a sense of where things are and where you can update them. Other common Cisco challenges customers endure are long contracts that lock you in, no investment or innovation on the product (the UI has not evolved very much since its OpenDNS days), and a slower anycast network.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DNSFILTER & CISCO UMBRELLA?

The biggest difference between DNSFilter and Cisco Umbrella is the efficacy of DNSFilter's domain classification, which relies on our AI Webshrinker. Further, DNSFilter has an approachable company culture, and customers are involved in our decision making process of which features to implement. We have a transparent pricing model displayed on our public website and our support team is incredibly responsive compared to Cisco's. DNSFilter also offers more whitelabeling options for MSPs.

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