Atomic OSSEC vs IPFire

Atomic OSSEC is an endpoint detection and response system that also protects cloud workloads and APIs. Its monitoring covers intrusion detection, file integrity, log management, active response, and vulnerability management. A GUI centralizes management of agents, servers, events, file integrity monitoring, rollbacks, and third-party integrations. The product lists more than 5,000 preconfigured OSSEC rules and out-of-the-box integrations for Splunk, ArcSight, ELK, and QRadar. It supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, and offers compliance reporting for frameworks including PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST, GDPR, and CIS. Deployment can be on premises or cloud-based SaaS, including in air-gapped environments. The maker also describes support for legacy systems such as Windows, Linux, AIX, HP-UX, and Solaris, plus monitoring of operational technology without agents on sensitive equipment. A 14-day trial covers up to 10 licenses and does not require a credit card. The listed plan price is priced on request, pricing starts at $55 per agent, and bulk discounts are available; a separate pricing note says from $5/mo.

IPFire is a free, open-source firewall and security platform for networks from home offices to global enterprises. Its Linux Netfilter-based firewall supports network zones, port forwarding, NAT, and stateful packet inspection. VPN options include IPsec, WireGuard, and OpenVPN for site-to-site or remote access. A Suricata-powered intrusion prevention system detects and blocks malicious traffic using updated rule sets. IPFire includes a Squid web proxy with optional URL filtering through URLFilter or SquidGuard, and uses Red, Green, Blue, and Orange zones for roles such as trusted networks, DMZs, and Wi-Fi. Its web interface monitors bandwidth, connections, and intrusion attempts. Proxy authentication can use Microsoft Windows Active Directory, LDAP, or RADIUS. The download page offers x86_64 and aarch64 images for bare metal, virtual machines, embedded hardware, USB sticks, and SD cards; cloud images are available for AWS, Exoscale, and other providers. The project says it releases frequent security updates. Documentation, forums, mailing lists, and a bug tracker are available, and Lightning Wire Labs offers professional support.