Netgate
Netgate (Rubicon Communications LLC)
Netgate, officially Rubicon Communications (LLC), is an American technology company based in Austin, Texas. It is the owner and developer of the pfSense firewall project and other networking products.
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Networking Equipment, Firewalls |
| Official website | https://www.netgate.com |
Consumer impact summary
Relationship with the Open-Source Community
While Netgate has contributed to BSD, the operating system on which its firewall pfSense is based on, the company has been criticized in recent years for its stance toward the open-source community.
Consumer and Licensing Changes
In a controversial decision, Netgate discontinued free access to pfSense Home+ Lab[1], a version previously available at no cost, requiring users to migrate to CE or a paid model. This change was made without prior notice, leading to criticism from the community.
Security Concerns with WireGuard Implementation
In 2021, Jason Donenfeld, the creator of WireGuard, reviewed pfSense’s WireGuard implementation and identified multiple security flaws[2]. His review was highly critical, highlighting serious vulnerabilities that raised concerns about the security of Netgate's implementation.
Targeting other projects
Netgate's co-founder has publicly criticized competing projects, including OPNsense, a fork of pfSense. OPNsense, which is endorsed by the developers of m0n0wall (the project from which pfSense originated), was also the target of a parody website[3] allegedly created by Netgate. OPNsense had to file a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to gain control of the disputed domain[4].