Prisma Access vs Squid

Prisma Access is a cloud-delivered security solution for users, applications, devices, and data across office, branch, and remote locations. It provides least-privileged application access and is designed to reduce reliance on traditional VPNs. Secure Web Gateway protection addresses web threats, while CASB capabilities provide SaaS visibility, inline and API-based controls, and contextual policies for sensitive data. Firewall as a Service adds threat prevention, application control, and Zero Trust policies. Prisma Agent connects users to organizational networks, SaaS applications, and the internet while extending security policies to their devices. The agent supports Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, with requirements varying by platform. Authentication integrations include Cloud Identity Engine, SAML, TACACS+, RADIUS, LDAP, Kerberos, MFA, and local database authentication. Administrators use Panorama or Strata Cloud Manager, but must select the interface before setup because it cannot later be changed. Insights APIs monitor deployment health and performance. The service is paid, has no free plan, and pricing is on request.

Squid is a self-hosted caching proxy for web traffic. It keeps commonly requested pages and other supported data available for reuse, helping reduce bandwidth and improve response times. Squid handles HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and gopher data; supported cache engines also include ICP and HTCP. Administrators can apply access controls and use full request logging. Squid can accelerate servers, direct content among web servers, and organize content clusters for load balancing. Multiple caches can be connected as a mesh or hierarchy through parent and sibling links. Proxy authentication options include Basic, NTLM, Digest, and Negotiate, with bundled helpers for LDAP, SQL databases, PAM, RADIUS, and Windows domains. Basic authentication encodes credentials with Base64 rather than encrypting them, so credentials are effectively cleartext between browser and proxy. Squid is free to download, use, and modify, and is distributed under GPL version 2, with some components under compatible open-source licenses. It is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with installation through operating-system packages, source releases, and binaries. Documentation, a wiki, bug tracking, and mailing lists are available.