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== Why pfSense? ==

I chose '''pfSense''' ten years ago because:

# It’s open-source.
# It’s fast.
# It gets regular updates for security issues.
# The parent company has paid corporate &amp; business clients relying on their software, which is based on an open source core. The developments with regards to making certain network cards work well with FreeBSD get included upstream to the free versions.
# This means that me, as a scrub who didn’t pay for it, get something that is very similar to what corporate clients who are paying $10,000 or more are getting.
# If I mess something up with my very unusual custom setup, I can pay the developers of the software to fix it for me. This level of support is not common in many open source projects. If I want to cry uncle &amp; pay them an annual fee, they will respond to my questions &amp; provide me with '''''REAL''''' answers rather than tell me to go ''“rtfm”''.
# It comes with features like '''pfBlockerNG''' to block ads, scams, and malware at IP &amp; DNS level with regular updates.

I use '''pfSense''' now because:

# I’m used to it.
# The idea of redoing my complicated setup from scratch gives me hives.
# See #2, in regard to becoming acquainted with the unique quirks of other open source software.

I had very good reasons for choosing '''pfSense''' ten years ago – and I have good reasons to use it today. That doesn’t mean it’s the best. Feel free to use whatever you want to use. For the purposes of this guide, I will be using '''pfSense'''.

There’s a bit of a debate between '''pfSense''' and <code>OPNsense</code>. TL;DR, the developers of '''pfSense''' are [https://opnsense.org/opnsense-com/ not the nicest people sometimes]. If this bothers you, consider checking out <code>OPNsense</code>. Since I’ve been using '''pfSense''' for a decade, I’ve built much of my infrastructure around it. I am well aware of its quirks and don’t feel like setting up my network from scratch, so I am using '''pfSense''' for this tutorial. Regardless of the [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17431809 developers], you are infinitely better off using '''pfSense''' on your own hardware than standard routers.

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