WatchGuard XTM 25-W review

WatchGuard’s desktop XTM 25-W offers all the network security features available in the higher-end XTM appliances. The price gets you a one-year subscription to anti-spam, antivirus, URL filtering, IPS, application controls, 
HTTPS inspection and WatchGuard’s reputation-enabled defence.

If demand outstrips supply, the box can even be upgraded in situ. Adding a new licence turns it into an XTM 
26-W by increasing firewall throughput from 110Mbits/sec 
to 350Mbits/sec.

WatchGuard uses proxies, 
so you need to create firewall 
rules for each service. Proxy choices include HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SIP, H.323, POP3 and SMTP.

Anti-spam is handled by Commtouch’s hosted service, and suspect messages can be tagged or quarantined to a separate server. The A-Listed XTM 330 also uses Commtouch, and detected 98.9% of spam in our live tests.

The appliance supports either 2.4GHz 802.11bgn or 5GHz 802.11an – but not both together – and presents up to three SSIDs. A close-range 5GHz connection with a Windows 7 system returned a modest 12MB/sec.

The XTM 25-W’s application awareness stands out, since it can be used to fine-tune control of sites such as Facebook, and combined with WatchGuard’s AD authentication support.

Small businesses may find the XTM 25-W complex, but this is because it offers so much more. It’s worth persevering, as you won’t find a tougher UTM solution at this price.