OPNsense Forum

English Forums => Zenarmor (Sensei) => Topic started by: scrappydoo on September 06, 2025, 12:58:04 AM

Title: Zenarmor, NextDNS & Apple Relay dilemma
Post by: scrappydoo on September 06, 2025, 12:58:04 AM
I am new to OPNsense and firewalls in general. I've spent the last month getting up to speed on basics and stabilising my device. I am running 25.7.2 with Zenarmor and Crowdsec. I use NextDNS configuration profiles on my Apple devices. I also use iCloud's private relay feature (a VPN, basically).

After I recently discovered two Mac trojans on one of my hard drives, I am taking the security of my network and devices more seriously. I have played around with different combinations of Zenarmor, iCloud Private Relay, and NextDNS, turning them on and off. When I tested ZenArmor alone for a day, it blocked 104 potentially dangerous sites, of which 17 were malware-related. This makes me reluctant to disable it by using superceding services. I also like the way that Zenarmor helps me visualise the outgoing traffic on my LAN. I find it helpful.

I am currently on the Free version of Zenarmor, but from what I understand, upgrading to the Home version won't allow me to perform deep packet inspection. Given that DNS encryption and VPNs are so useful, should I just write off ZenArmor? I know that NextDNS touts malware protection but the dashboard can't compare with Zenarmor's granularity. Is there possibly some happy medium here?
Title: Re: Zenarmor, NextDNS & Apple Relay dilemma
Post by: sy on September 12, 2025, 05:51:21 PM
Hi,

Actually for the full TLS inspection, Zenarmor has SASE Starter license tier for home users. Did you check it?
Title: Re: Zenarmor, NextDNS & Apple Relay dilemma
Post by: Taunt9930 on September 12, 2025, 08:23:26 PM
Quote from: sy on September 12, 2025, 05:51:21 PMHi,

Actually for the full TLS inspection, Zenarmor has SASE Starter license tier for home users. Did you check it?

I can't see that on the website - are you able to link to it so we can take a look?