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Cisco Umbrella Alternative for Web Security & Internet Traffic Monitoring

Looking for an easy-to-use Cisco Umbrella alternative to stop employees from visiting dangerous, inappropriate, and distracting websites?

Both Cisco Umbrella (formerly OpenDNS Enterprise) and CurrentWare can monitor and control internet use—which should you choose?

We will compare the features of Cisco Umbrella to CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella alternatives so you can choose the right fit for your company.

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Find a Web Security Solution For Your Needs

When to Use CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella Alternatives	When to Use Cisco Umbrella
You need a cost-effective and easy-to-use filtering solution for blocking and monitoring internet access You need to gain visibility and control over locally run executable apps You’d like an intuitive and flexible solution for controlling internet access, protecting sensitive data, and monitoring employee computer use	You want to consolidate multiple network security tools with advanced features (IPS, CASB, SWG, etc) into a single Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) You need cloud DNS filtering services with full SSL inspection for inspecting encrypted traffic in your network You need a comprehensive solution with advanced protection against web security threats beyond the benefits of a web filter

Compare CurrentWare vs. Cisco Umbrella Features

Review Cisco Umbrella vs CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella alternatives so you can choose the right fit for your company.

Last updated December 2024

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
✅	URL Filtering	✅
✅	Block Sites via IP Addresses	✅
✅	Scheduled Blocking	✅
❌	SSL Traffic Inspection	✅
✅	Block File Transfers to Cloud Storage	✅
✅	Block File Downloads	✅
✅	Time-Based Controls	✅
✅	Port Filtering	✅
✅	Block Applications	⚠️ Cloud Apps Only
✅	Category Filtering (malicious domains, adult content, phishing URLs, etc)	✅
✅	User Group Policies	✅
✅	Computer Group Policies	✅
✅	Custom Block Pages	✅
✅	Manage Offsite Users	✅
❌	Antimalware Scanning	✅
✅	Enforce Google SafeSearch	✅

Web Security

CurrentWare’s web filtering and internet security tools help businesses maintain a secure and productive online environment. With customizable filters, you can block access to inappropriate or non-work-related websites, reducing distractions and safeguarding sensitive data.

Additionally, CurrentWare’s web filtering features prevent employees from accessing malicious sites, helping to protect your organization from cybersecurity threats. By offering detailed reports on web activity, CurrentWare gives you the insights needed to ensure compliance, improve productivity, and minimize risks associated with internet usage in the workplace.

If you need a basic web filter for content filtering, BrowseControl is one of the top alternatives to Cisco Umbrella. If you need advanced threat protection Cisco Umbrella goes beyond internet filtering and blocks malware with real time deep analysis of web pages.

Employee Monitoring

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
✅	Email Reports & Alerts	✅
✅	Remote Screen Capture	❌
✅	Scheduled Monitoring	❌
✅	Productive vs. Unproductive Time	❌
✅	Track Local Software Usage	❌
✅	Search Query Reports	❌
✅	Idle Time Tracking	❌
✅	USB Activity Reports & Alerts	❌
✅	Monitor Remote Workers	✅
✅	Track & Compare Activity by IP Addresses	✅
✅	Bandwidth Usage Tracking	⚠️ Cloud Apps Only
✅	URL Category Tracking	✅
✅	Audit Logons	❌
✅	Track File Transfers To/From Network Share Drives	❌
✅	Track Downloads/Uploads	✅
✅	Stealth Mode Option	❌

Employee Monitoring

CurrentWare offers a robust employee monitoring solution that helps businesses boost productivity and ensure compliance. With tools for tracking web usage, application activity, screen monitoring, and USB device access, CurrentWare provides comprehensive insights into employee performance.

Its real-time monitoring and detailed reporting capabilities enable managers to identify productivity trends, optimize workflows, and address potential issues promptly.

Whether you’re managing remote teams or ensuring adherence to company policies, CurrentWare’s intuitive interface and customizable features make it the ideal solution for streamlined, effective employee monitoring.

DLP & Cybersecurity

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
✅	Block USB & Storage Devices	❌
❌	Malware Sandboxing	✅
✅	USB Activity Reports & Alerts	❌
✅	Allow Trusted Peripherals	❌
✅	Block High-Risk Websites	✅
❌	Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)	✅
❌	Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)	✅
✅	Block External Devices	❌
✅	Block USB File Transfers	❌
❌	In-Line Content Inspection	✅
✅	Block File Transfers to Cloud Storage	✅
✅	Block File Downloads	✅
✅	Track File Transfers To/From Network Share Drives	❌
✅	Track Downloads/Uploads	✅

Data Loss Prevention & Cybersecurity

Monitoring and restricting USB file transfers is critical for protecting data against insider theft. CurrentWare’s AccessPatrol lets you restrict the use of a wide variety of peripheral devices including external storage hardware, Bluetooth, WiFi, and printers.

While Cisco Umbrella has excellent DNS security options, it lacks USB control features. For comprehensive protection you can combine the cloud based service of Cisco Umbrella with CurrentWare’s endpoint security solutions. This will ensure that both your endpoints and networks are secure.

CurrentWare’s DLP capabilities include USB control to prevent data leaks to removable media devices, web category filtering to block web-based data egress points, and user activity monitoring to identify high-risk user behavior such as attempts to use blocked peripheral devices.

CurrentWare’s data loss prevention (DLP) tools help safeguard sensitive information from theft and leaks. With features like device control, file transfer monitoring, and real-time alerts, you can prevent data breaches and ensure compliance with industry regulations. By restricting the transfer of sensitive data via USB drives, external storage, or cloud services, CurrentWare minimizes the risk of data theft.

Setup & Deployment

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
✅	Central Admin Console	✅
✅	On-Premises	✅
✅ Self-Managed Cloud	Cloud Platform	✅
✅	Active Directory Integration	✅
✅	Windows	✅
❌	MacOS	✅
❌	Chromebooks	✅
❌	Android/iOS	✅
❌	Linux	✅
✅	Manage Remote Users	✅

Setup & Deployment

Thanks to its simple interface and setup process, getting started with CurrentWare is easy—whether or not you’re an experienced system administrator. CurrentWare is easy to deploy and offers a variety deployment options that suit the installation needs of organizations of all sizes.

That said, CurrentWare is only available for the Windows operating system. Companies searching for MacOS web security solutions will benefit from Cisco Umbrella’s roaming clients for Mac or other solutions.

Customer Support

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
8:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET, Monday to Friday	Support Availability	24 x 7
✅	Live Chat Feature	⚠️ AI Chat Bot
✅	Phone Support	✅
✅	Training Videos	✅
✅	Email Support	✅
✅	Knowledge Base	✅

Customer Support

Even the best Cisco Umbrella competitors have to have a reliable technical support team to ensure that their customers get the services they need to integrate the filtering solution.

CurrentWare prides itself on its high-quality support offerings. Our support team is knowledgeable, readily available, and here to assist you every step of the way.

Cisco Umbrella has paid support tiers. Pricing is not publicly available, though they do provide a support packages datasheet with more information.

CASE STUDY

Web Filtering Software Keeps Students & School Systems Safe From Internet-Based Threats

Exposing students to the digital world comes with a responsibility to protect them. Students love BrowseControl because it gives them a safe working environment and prevents potential bad actors from interrupting their educational experience.

Read Their Story

Quote - "Students love BrowseControl because it gives them a safe working environment and prevents potential bad actors from interrupting their educational experience." G.A. College Instructor

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CurrentWare’s Advantageous Pricing

Why pay thousands of dollars for Cisco Umbrella when you simply want to restrict internet access and monitor employee web browsing and application usage?

The full CurrentWare Suite starts at a cost-effective $12 USD per user per month. When purchased individually, BrowseReporter, BrowseControl, and AccessPatrol starts at $5 USD PUPM.

Education & Nonprofit Discounts

CurrentWare offers educational and nonprofit organizations 10% off of any of the products in the CurrentWare Suite.

Deals for Managed Service Providers

CurrentWare’s managed service providers and resellers get advantageous pricing on their licenses

Volume Licensing

Volume-based licensing starts as low as 100 users to provide advantageous pricing for any business that needs to manage multiple devices.

Prepurchase Discounts

Pricing breaks are available for businesses that sign up for multi-year plans, or have future growth planned and can commit to bulk orders.

See CurrentWare's Pricing

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Cisco Umbrella Packages & Pricing

Looking for Cisco Umbrella pricing? Unfortunately there is no Cisco Umbrella cost publicly listed on their website. Potential Cisco Umbrella customers will need to request a quote from Cisco Systems Inc directly to get an accurate view of Cisco Umbrella pricing.

There are four distinct Cisco Umbrella packages: DNS Security Essentials, DNS Security Advantage, SIG Essentials, and SIG Advantage.

The DNS Security Essentials package of Cisco Umbrella focuses on basic DNS layer web filtering by domain or category; it does not include support for URL filtering. To get URL filtering you will need to upgrade to their SIG (secure internet gateway) plans.

Cisco Umbrella also offers a DNS Monitoring Package that provides free, recursive DNS services with real-time reporting and categorization.

Cisco Umbrella has paid support tiers. Pricing is not publicly available, though they do provide a support packages datasheet with more information.

This section will further compare the other features between CurrentWare’s Cisco Umbrella alternative and Cisco’s various DNS protection and secure internet gateway plans.

DNS Security Essentials

DNS Security Advantage

SIG Advantage

SIG Essentials

DNS Security Essentials

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
❌	Full SSL inspection	❌
✅	Web filtering by domain or category	✅
❌	DNS Filtering	✅
✅	Custom block/allow lists of domains	✅
✅	Custom block/allow lists of URLs	❌
❌	Block files based on AV Engine and malware defense	❌
❌	Sandboxing	✅
✅	Cloud app discovery	⚠️ Partial Support
❌	Scan and remove malware from cloud-based file storage apps	❌
✅	Block domains with malware, phishing sites, botnet, or other high risk items	✅
✅	Block specific IPs, ports, and protocols	❌
❌	Layer 7 protection including an Intrusion Prevention System	❌
❌	In-line DLP inspection and blocking capabilities	❌
❌	Remote browser isolation	❌
✅	Create policies and generate reports by network, device, and user	✅
✅	Customize block pages	✅

DNS Security Advantage

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
❌	Proxy and inspect web traffic (incl. decryption of SSL (HTTPS) traffic)	⚠️ Partial Support
❌	DNS Filtering	✅
✅	Web filtering by domain or category	✅
✅	Custom block/allow lists of domains	✅
✅	Custom block/allow lists of URLs	❌
❌	Block files based on AV Engine and malware protection	⚠️ Partial Support
❌	Sandboxing	✅
✅	Cloud app discovery	⚠️ Partial Support
❌	Scan and remove malware from cloud-based file storage apps	❌
✅	Block domains with malware, phishing, botnet, or other high risk items	✅
✅	Block specific IPs, ports, and protocols	❌
❌	Layer 7 protection including an Intrusion Prevention System	❌
❌	In-line DLP inspection and blocking capabilities	❌
❌	Remote browser isolation	❌
✅	Create policies and view reports by network, device, and user	✅
✅	Customize block pages	✅

SIG Advantage

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
❌	Proxy and inspect web traffic (incl. decryption of SSL (HTTPS) traffic)	✅
❌	DNS Filtering	✅
✅	Web filtering by domain or category	⚠️ Block Only
✅	Custom block/allow lists of domains	⚠️ Block Only
✅	Custom block/allow lists of URLs	⚠️ Block Only
❌	Block files based on AV Engine and malware protection	✅
❌	Sandboxing	⚠️ 500/Day
✅	Cloud app discovery	✅
❌	Scan and remove malware from cloud-based file storage apps	⚠️ Partial Support
✅	Block domains with malware, phishing, botnet, or other high risk items	✅
✅	Block specific IPs, ports, and protocols	✅
❌	Layer 7 protection including an Intrusion Prevention System	⚠️ Add-On
❌	In-line DLP inspection and blocking capabilities	⚠️ Add-On
❌	Remote browser isolation	⚠️ Add-On
✅	Create policies and reports by network, device, and user	✅
✅	Customize block pages	✅

SIG Essentials

CurrentWare		Cisco Umbrella
❌	Proxy and inspect web traffic (incl. decryption of SSL (HTTPS) traffic)	✅
❌	DNS Filtering	✅
✅	Web filtering by domain or category	✅
✅	Custom block/allow lists of domains	✅
✅	Custom block/allow lists of URLs	✅
❌	Block files based on AV Engine and malware defense	✅
❌	Sandboxing	✅
✅	Cloud app discovery	✅
❌	Scan and remove malware from cloud-based file storage apps	✅
✅	Block domains with malware, phishing, botnet, or other high risk items	✅
✅	Block specific IPs, ports, and protocols	✅
❌	Layer 7 protection including an Intrusion Prevention System	✅
❌	In-line DLP inspection and blocking capabilities	✅
❌	Remote browser isolation	⚠️ Add-On
✅	Create policies and view reports by network, device, and user	✅
✅	Customize block pages	✅

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will CurrentWare Track Web Browsing When Users Uses Private Browsing Modes or Delete Their Browsing History?

Yes. CurrentWare’s software client collects user activity data independent of the browser’s browsing history.

Internet browsing data will remain intact for use in reports and dashboards even if the user deletes their web browsing history in their browser or uses a private browsing function such as Incognito Mode On Google Chrome, Private Browsing On Mozilla Firefox, and InPrivate Browsing Window On Microsoft Edge.

Does CurrentWare Have Access To Employee Data?

No, CurrentWare cannot access your employee’s computer monitoring data. CurrentWare’s software does not send your user’s computer usage data to CurrentWare. They are installed and managed by your organization.

All of the data collected by CurrentWare’s software is stored on a database that is installed in your organization’s data center or cloud services provider.

With CurrentWare’s on-premises & self-managed cloud deployment options, you’re in complete control of your data.

Sensitive employee data stays secured to your standards rather than being sent to a third party.
Maintain data localization and residency compliance requirements by keeping employee data exactly where it needs to be.
Retain auditable records of user activity for as long as you need

For more information please refer to our Terms of Service.

Is This a Cloud Product?

The CurrentWare Suite can be deployed on-premises or on a cloud services provider of your choice. Both deployment option are compatible with remote workers with a few configuration changes.

Learn More:

Does CurrentWare Have A Partner Program For Resellers And Managed Service Providers?

Yes. CurrentWare’s MSPs and resellers get advantageous pricing on their licenses. We also offer NFR licenses that our partners can use to familiarize themselves with the CurrentWare Suite.

Register for our managed service provider (MSP) or reseller programs today and grow your business with our employee monitoring, web filtering, device control, and remote PC power management software solutions.

Does CurrentWare Work With Remote Workers?

Yes. CurrentWare’s computer monitoring software allows you to monitor remote workers through a variety of deployment options such as an offsite mode that works without access to the internet, connecting through a VPN, port forwarding, or by installing it on a cloud platform of your choice.

Learn More

Are There Any Limits To The Free Trial?

The free trial for all of CurrentWare’s computer monitoring software solutions are fully functional. You can deploy it on up to 10 computers for 14 days. If you need more time or more computers to properly evaluate CurrentWare in your organization, reach out to our sales team.

How Much Does CurrentWare Cost?

CurrentWare’s solutions can be purchased individually for the greatest flexibility or as a bundle for the best value.

When purchased individually, the cost of BrowseReporter, BrowseControl, and AccessPatrol starts as low as $5 USD per user per month (paid annually).

Volume license discounts are available starting for as low as 100 users, with discounts increasing depending on the number of licenses.

There are additional discounts available for educational organizations, non-profits, managed services providers, and for businesses that pre-purchase multiple year plans.

Looking for a quote? Contact our sales team here.

How is the CurrentWare Suite Secured?

CurrentWare is committed to the security of its platform, its users and their data.

All of the data collected by CurrentWare’s solutions is stored in your organization’s data center or cloud service provider; the data is not sent to CurrentWare.
The web console cannot be accessed without a username and password. For an added layer of authentication security you can enable two-factor authentication.
You can selectively enable/disable what data is tracked and delete old records automatically.

For a complete overview of the security measures that CurrentWare has in place, check out the CurrentWare platform security overview page.

What is Cisco Umbrella?

Cisco Umbrella (OpenDNS Umbrella) is an enterprise-grade network security platform and cloud delivered firewall for protecting a corporate network against various online threats such as phishing sites. It was formerly called OpenDNS Enterprise before Cisco acquired OpenDNS in 2015.

The Cisco Umbrella global network provides multiple security features to help businesses better protect their networks, data, and employees from web-based threats such as malware, ransomware and phishing.

Cisco Umbrella is best used as a DNS-level internet security solution. To simply block access to malicious sites and enforce internet security policies you can consider Cisco Umbrella competitors such as BrowseControl web filtering software and other security solutions.

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Cisco Umbrella Alternative for Web Security & Internet Traffic Monitoring

Find a Web Security Solution For Your Needs