Comparing the top WAF softwares.

June 18, 2021

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As webmasters sometimes we have difficult and important decisions to make, such as who to trust with the safety of our website. Which platform is better? Wich application firewall has the most benefits? Which one can suit my website’s necessities the best? Well, the thing is, there are many WAF softwares out there, perhaps too many to choose from. Which is why we have taken the job to narrow down the list up to the top four WAF softwares currently available. We will expose everything, their pros, their cons, why you should purchase their online security plans, why you shouldn’t, and ultimately decide which one is truly the best one for your business. ##**Sucuri.** Sucuri is a payed security plugin available for any website platform. They are famous for being a Website Application Firewall that protects your webpage from attackers, hackers and any other type of possible malfunction at any moment or time. By using their services you are providing 24/7 online security to your website. Once you purchase their programs, Sucuri is installed in your website, acting as an antivirus for your website’s code, keeping it constantly safe. They do this by being a filter between every HTTPS and HTTP traffic that comes in touch with your website, and only allows those who manage to pass through its network, to reach your webpage, eliminating any negative or bad traffic that doesn’t meet the expectations or rules previously set. ###**Pros of Sucuri.** This Web application Firewall offers five major benefits by providing you with its three main features: The firerall, the CDN and an active scanner. These three features translate to your webpage being secured at all times. The five main benefits mentioned above are: Detection, Protection, Performance, Response and Backup, each one contributing to the overall security of your website. With its cloud-based application firewall and improved algorithm system that tracks down code anomalies, Sucuri is able to detect any signs of possible cyber attacks. Thanks to the same system, your page is under constant Protection, and, in the worst case scenarios, this WAF responds incredibly fast to any problem you might be having, not to mention, they offer a backup system to recover your website from the ashes. Also, Sucuri enhances the performance rates by allowing you to use their CDN feature, which ultimately accelerates the speed of your website and reduces the bounce rates from impatient visitors. ####**Cons of Sucuri.** Perhaps the biggest issue when it comes to this security software is the fact it doesn’t offer any monthly plan. Contrary to that, all of their services are offered in yearly plans, making the price, in some cases, extremely high. It is also worth mentioned their CDN is a bit slower when compared to others WAF softwares. ##**Cloudflare.** Much like Sucuri, Cloudflare is also a Web Application Firewall software that focuses on preventing virtual attacks and agile hackers from getting to your webpage. As a matter of fact, just yesterday cloudflare detected over 444,000,000 malfunction that triggered their system. Their high quality application firewall acts as a direct protection between your website and any bad traffic that might bring cross-site scripting attacks, SQL injections or even DDOS attacks to your webpage, without changing anything code wise. Basically, you are working with an invisible protection that secures your website’s infrastructure at all times, always searching for possible threats or abnormal behaviours. ###**Pros of Cloudflare.** It is free. Unlike others web application firewall softwares, cloudflare actually offers a free security plugin system that works perfectly for personal or small websites. Of course, they also offer other monthly plans that are still extremely affordable, and even a enterprise or business plan meant for those with a much heavier traffic flow. They also offer a free Content Delivery Network service that allows your website to be up and running even under a hacker attack. Keep in mind, they specialize in protecting your webpage of DDOS attacks, meaning visitors will be able to visualize your website even when it is supposed to be down. ###**Cons of Cloudflare.** Not all of their features are free. Yes their CDN services are totally free, but when you are looking for a strong Web Application Firewall software to protect your website, you will need to pay a monthly fee per domain. It is also worth to mention Cloudflare doesn’t not have an active scanner (which Sucuri does) therefore can’t alter you from possible malware, since it doesn’t detect it at all. ##**Incapsula.** Imperva Incapsula is also a Web Application Firewall software whose best feature is the fast, high quality Content Delivery Network that allows its users to have the highest security against DDOS attacks. Incapsula is well known around the world for their multi layered security measures that prevents major cyber attacks from getting to your page and spot any irregular situation right away. ###**Pros of Incapsula.** Has one of the fastest CDN services currently in the market, with the ability of keeping a whole website running while it is being attacked by DDOS, not to mention they have a system to mitigate said attacks. They have a multi layered security system that includes backlisting checking, two steps verification, not to mention they are a PCI-Verified Web Application Firewall software and have a great establish system for bad bot mitigation as well. Their costs are extremely affordable and can be managed monthly, such as cloudflare. It doesn’t only offer security, but also works to improve the overall performance and speed of your website. Cons of Incapsula. Amongst the cons of using Incapsula is their poor support system. Compared to Sucuri and Cloudflare, which of both offer support in case of a hacking attack, Incapsula doesn’t meet this expectations. It is also important to mention there are noticeable problems regarding the interface of the software, although nothing major, it does show when being compared to the other two top WAF softwares. To end this debate, each one of these WAF softwares (Sucuri, Cloudflare and Incapsula) have great features and benefits to offer. Sucuri has an overall amazing security system that includes an active scanner and CDN system; Cloudflare doesn’t have an active scanner but offers a free options for small to medium businesses; and Incapsula is very well known for their powerful CDN system. What you choose to go for will depend exclusively in the needs your own website might have, and how these softwares adapt to give you the solution you’re looking for.