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Contents8
  1. Consumer impact summary
  2. Incidents
  3. Targeting other projects
  4. Security concerns with WireGuard implementation (2021)
  5. Consumer and licensing changes (2023)
  6. Products
  7. See also
  8. References

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Netgate
Basic information
Founded 2004
Legal Structure Private
Industry Computing, Networking
Also known as
Official website https://www.netgate.com

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.

Consumer impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product (if applicable):

  • User Freedom
  • User Privacy
  • Business Model
  • Market Control

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Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Netgate category.

Targeting other projects

Netgate's co-founder, Jamie Thompson, has publicly criticized competing projects including OPNsense, a fork of pfSense.[citation needed (March 2026)] OPNsense, which is endorsed by the developers of m0n0wall (the project from which pfSense originated), was also the target of a parody website[1] created by Netgate. OPNsense had to file a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to gain control of the disputed domain.[2][3]

Security concerns with WireGuard implementation (2021)

In 2021, Jason Donenfeld, the creator of WireGuard, reviewed pfSense's WireGuard implementation and identified multiple security flaws. His review was highly critical, highlighting serious vulnerabilities that raised concerns about the security of Netgate's implementation.[citation needed (March 2026)] Following this, Netgate removed WireGuard from its pfSense software on 18 March 2021.[4] Over a month later, on 5 May 2021, WireGuard was re-added after changes had been made.[5]

Consumer and licensing changes (2023)

In a controversial decision on 26 October 2023, Netgate discontinued free access to pfSense Home+ Lab,[6] 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.

Products

Netgate's notable product line is pfSense. It offers both free and paid support tiers for its pfSense software, which runs as an operating system and is installed using an ISO like any other OS. It also offers bespoke hardware appliances with pfSense pre-installed, with varying levels of power and capability.

See also

Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.

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References

  1. ↑ "OPNSense". OPNsense.com. Archived from the original on 14 Mar 2016. Retrieved 22 Mar 2025.
  2. ↑ "Netgate / pfSense acts in bad faith". OPNSense.org. 24 Nov 2017. Archived from the original on 21 Mar 2025. Retrieved 22 Mar 2025.
  3. ↑ Barbero, Luca (12 Nov 2017). "WIPO Domain Name Decision: D2017-1828". WIPO. Archived from the original on 7 Feb 2018. Retrieved 1 Mar 2026.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Jim (18 Mar 2021). "WireGuard Removed from pfSense® CE and pfSense® Plus Software". Netgate. Archived from the original on 14 Nov 2025. Retrieved 1 Mar 2026.
  5. ↑ Long, Scott (5 May 2021). "pfSense: WireGuard returns as an Experimental Package". Netgate. Archived from the original on 7 Jul 2021. Retrieved 1 Mar 2026.
  6. ↑ "Addressing Changes to pfSense Plus Home+Lab". Netgate. 26 Oct 2023. Archived from the original on 15 Nov 2025. Retrieved 1 Mar 2026.
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