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Exclusive - Watchguard Firewall Software

 & Sascha Segan Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

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watchguard firewall software

Exclusive - Watchguard Firewall Software

When most people hear “WatchGuard,” they picture a rugged blue or red desktop appliance sitting in a server closet. And yes, those hardware firewalls have been the backbone of countless SMBs for two decades. But in today’s world of hybrid work, cloud applications, and distributed offices, the real story isn’t the box—it’s the software .

WatchGuard’s firewall software suite has quietly evolved into one of the most flexible, manageable, and threat-focused security platforms available. Whether you’re running it on a physical appliance, a virtual machine, or in the cloud as a Firebox Cloud instance, the software is the secret sauce. watchguard firewall software

For organizations that want enterprise-grade threat prevention without enterprise pricing, WatchGuard’s software stack is a compelling choice. Whether you deploy it on a blue box in a branch closet, as a virtual machine in your data center, or as a cloud instance in AWS, the experience is consistent, manageable, and genuinely effective. When most people hear “WatchGuard,” they picture a

Exclusive - Watchguard Firewall Software

Sascha Segan

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

  • US and Canadian mobile networks
  • Mobile phones released in the US
  • iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
  • Mobile hotspots
  • Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services. 

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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