Serious Discussion Cloudflare Gateway Free Plan

[rashmi]

I initially thought Cloudflare Gateway was for businesses. However, I came across a review mentioning its use for parental control and its solid free plan. I'm currently testing DNS-based services for parental control, such as NextDNS and AdGuardDNS. Comparing them to Cloudflare Gateway, I find it far superior, even with its free plan. It offers advanced features, but for parental control, I focused on testing Zero Trust > Gateway > DNS Locations and Firewall Policies. I created policies for Google search, YouTube, adult content, and movie sites. Cloudflare Gateway effectively enforced safe search on Google, strict restricted mode on YouTube, and blocked all adult and movie sites I tested. The category list is excellent and includes sub-categories. Overall, I find Cloudflare Gateway excellent, and the free plan has more than enough for home users.

What has been your experience with Cloudflare Gateway?

Secure Web Gateway | Threat Protection

Filter, inspect, and isolate Internet traffic with Cloudflare's Secure Web Gateway (SWG). Block ransomware, phishing, and other malware. Discover how.

www.cloudflare.com

 

[Jan Willy]

This is something that doesn't make me happy:

 

[blackice]

Just don’t rely on it for filtering malicious sites.

 

[Back3]

I use ControlD

Public DNS malware filters tested in 2024

How well do the largest public DNS resolvers that protect you against malware domains score in January 2024? We did the test!

techblog.nexxwave.eu

 

[rashmi]

This is something that doesn't make me happy:

View attachment 282740

I clicked on the "Exit..." text on the payment page, and it redirected me to my account's dashboard. However, I couldn't find any plan information under the billing or subscription section. I haven't verified my email yet, so that might be the reason. I added the DoH address to the Chrome browser, and it is effectively blocking websites based on the policies I have set.

 

[rashmi]

Cloudflare Gateway works efficiently without affecting internet speed. It's worth a try for users of DNS-based services like NextDNS and AdGuardDNS. Here are some screenshots and information. As I mentioned before, I'm using its DNS feature for parental control.

Cloudflare Gateway CIPA Filter Categories

Project Cybersafe Schools · Cloudflare Fundamentals docs

Project Cybersafe Schools grants eligible schools with free access to Cloudflare’s Email Security and Gateway products.

developers.cloudflare.com

Cloudflare Gateway Security and Content Categories

Domain categories · Cloudflare Zero Trust docs

Cloudflare Gateway allows you to block known and potential security risks on the public Internet, as well as specific categories of content. Domains …

developers.cloudflare.com

Cloudflare Gateway Interface or DNS Policies Screen

Cloudflare Block Screen. Install the Cloudflare certificate and turn on the block screen feature. Similar to other DNS-based services, Cloudflare presents an error page if there is no certificate. You can personalize the block screen with your own name, logo, message, and more.

 

[LennyFox]

Thank you for posting but providing a credit card is a threshold for using

 

[Marko :)]

I trust Cloudflare and I really believe that policy is just to stop fraud, nothing else really. You can always use prepaid cards for this or use real card and then remove it after registration is complete.

 

[rashmi]

Thank you for posting but providing a credit card is a threshold for using

Choose the free plan and create your account; enter your email and password, and continue. On the payment page, there is an option to "exit and go back" in tiny text. Click that option, and it will ask you to confirm. Click yes, and it will take you to your account. This is how I created my free plan account without entering payment or credit card details.

Zero Trust & SASE Plans & Pricing

Explore our Zero Trust offerings and find the plan that’s right for your business to secure users, devices, and networks.

www.cloudflare.com

 

[rashmi]

I'll continue using Kaspersky Safe Kids for parental control. I liked Cloudflare Gateway, and it's a better, more effective, and faster DNS-based service. Cloudflare Gateway has extensive content categories, and NextDNS has essentials, but both take time or require browser data clearing to allow blocked websites, which is annoying. AdGuardDNS allows blocked websites according to the set seconds in settings, but it doesn't have category blocking.

 

[rashmi]

Thank you for posting but providing a credit card is a threshold for using

Just click "Cancel and exit" on the top right of the plan page during account creation. It's been over two weeks since I created my account without credit card details or account verification. I'm not sure, but it seems you can use Zero Trust - Gateway without providing those details, while other features may require verifying your account or providing credit card details.