The CheckMates Blog

Welcome to "This Week in CheckMates," your weekly highlight reel for all things CheckMates!
Past and future posts will be available here: The CheckMates Blog
To have these updates show up in your preferred RSS reader add the following URL: The CheckMates Blog RSS Feed
See also our social media accounts and our podcast (RSS Feed)

CheckMates GO S02E14: You're Using It Wrong

The latest episode of the CheckMates Go podcast is a conversation with @Tim_Otis and @RaymondS from the Check Point Incident Response Team that starts off talking about OWA and leads to a conversation about how customers can leverage features in the Check Point Security Gateway better.

Community Highlights

Here's the threads to watch from the last week:

Software/Service Updates

• R80.40 Ongoing JHF Take 54
• R80.30 Ongoing JHF Take 213
• SandBlast Agent for Linux EA
• Endpoint Security/SandBlast Agent E83.10

Oneliners

@HeikoAnkenbrand has come up with a few "oneliners" that can help debug VPN issues:

• Easy VPN Debug 
• Easy VPN Debug with vpnd Live View
• Easy VPN Debug with IKE Live View

Other Topics

• Firewall Health Check and Central Deployment Tool video from Check Point Professional Services 
• How to Exclude VPN Traffic Rules with ANY in VPN Field
• Using URL Filtering in Endpoint Security Client

Upcoming Events

We have a number of events planned for the next several weeks:

Ask Me Anything with Dr. Dorit Dor

On 8th July 2020 at 8am Pacific / 5pm CET, we will have an Ask Me Anything with Check Point VP of Products @Dorit_Dor! Get your questions ready and register now!

Virtual User Group Events

Given the current and evolving situation with Coronavirus, we are planning virtual events for the time being.
While anyone is welcome to register for a CheckMates Live Virtual Edition events, they are generally for a limited number of people with priority given to people in the specified geographic area.
If you don't see your area listed, please contact us and we'll be happy to arrange a session for your area!

Bookmark the CheckMates Calendar to have an up-to-date list of events at your fingertips!
If you attend CheckMates Live events, you can get CPE credit! 

• 2 July 2020: Poland: Introduction to Performance Optimization
• 7 July 2020: DACH: Remote Access Best Practices
• 9 July 2020: ANZ Session
• 14 July 2020: Africa: Remote Access Best Practices

Welcome to "This Week in CheckMates," your weekly highlight reel for all things CheckMates!
Past and future posts will be available here: The CheckMates Blog
To have these updates show up in your preferred RSS reader add the following URL: The CheckMates Blog RSS Feed
See also our social media accounts and our podcast (RSS Feed)

CheckMates GO S02E13: Gil Shwed on Check Point During Covid-19

In this episode, we have another excerpt from our Ask Me Anything with Gil Shwed, this time talking about how Check Point is handling the business realities with Covid-19.

White Paper: Path to Secure Cloud Transformation

Cloud transformation is a huge opportunity not without risks. At Check Point, our goal is to support decision-makers navigating the challenges of defining their cloud transformation strategy. This white paper provides an evidence-based approach to planning, designing, and implementing the transition, with the goal of reducing design cycles and the overall cost of your cloud transformation.

Web Browser Usage for Check Point WebUI

R&D is running a short survey to understand what web browser(s) you use when you access the Gaia and/or LOM WebUI.

Check Point for Beginners 2.0 Coming Soon

In the next few days, we're looking to launch an updated version of our Check Point for Beginners series with some all new content and a fresh look!
Here's a sneak peak:

Community Highlights

Here's the threads to watch from the last week:

Software/Service Updates

• Infinity Portal Support for SSO with Azure AD
• SandBlast Now News for June 2020
• R80.40 JHF Ongoing Take 53
• SmartConsole R80.40 GA Build 398

Other Topics

• Decrypted in Community vs Traffic Accepted
• HTTPS Inspection Not Working in Lab
• "Decrypted in Community" vs "Traffic Accepted"
• Query for OS Name in SmartEvent
• Cluster-Specific Workflow for R80.40 Remote Hotfix/HFA Installation 

Upcoming Events

We have a number of events planned for the next several weeks:

TechTalk: Improving Gateway Performance with Dynamic Workloads

In our next TechTalk scheduled for 24th June 2020 at 8am PDT/5pm CEST, we will talk about Dynamic Workloads, a new feature introduced in R80.40. It is aimed at automatically allocating system resources in order to self-optimize and match your traffic characteristics. Register now!

Virtual User Group Events

Given the current and evolving situation with Coronavirus, we are planning virtual events for the time being.
While anyone is welcome to register for a CheckMates Live Virtual Edition events, they are generally for a limited number of people with priority given to people in the specified geographic area.
If you don't see your area listed, please contact us and we'll be happy to arrange a session for your area!

Bookmark the CheckMates Calendar to have an up-to-date list of events at your fingertips!
If you attend CheckMates Live events, you can get CPE credit! 

• 2 July 2020: Poland: Introduction to Performance Optimization
• 7 July 2020: DACH: Remote Access Best Practices
• 14 July 2020: Africa: Remote Access Best Practices

Welcome to "This Week in CheckMates," your weekly highlight reel for all things CheckMates!
Past and future posts will be available here: The CheckMates Blog
To have these updates show up in your preferred RSS reader add the following URL: The CheckMates Blog RSS Feed
See also our social media accounts and our podcast (RSS Feed)

CheckMates GO S02E12: DDoS

In this episode, I talk with @RaymondS, @Tim_Otis, and @Ashwin_Ram about what's happening in the land of DDoS. Listen now or subscribe in your podcast app of choice!

Community Highlights

Here's the threads to watch from the last week:

• EA Program for New Mobile Access Portal (updated for latest R80.40 JHF)
• cpview Mbits vs Mbps
• Issue Exporting Database for Upgrade from R77.30 to R80.x
• Sync Interface Configuration with Bond: Active/Backup or 802.3AD?
• Resizing Disk After Increasing Disk Size in VMware
• Custom URL Matching with HTTPS Categorization
• Multiple Geo Clusters in a Single Management Server

Upcoming Events

We have a number of events planned for the next several weeks:

TechTalk Deep Dive: CloudGuard IaaS Deployment on Azure

If you are interested in delivering security to your environment on Azure and you want to learn how to deploy Check Point best-practice cloud security architecture, join us for one of the sessions we are going to deliver this week!

In this session, @Shay_Levin will walk you through the entire process of deploying the CloudGuard templates, configuring the routing, vNets peering, load balancers, all the relevant settings Check Point settings, and more! He will also demonstrated East/West, Inbound, and Outbound protection using Hub and Spoke architecture.

Register for one of our sessions:

• EMEA Registration Link (June 15, 2020, 02:00 PM London)
• APAC Registration Link (June 16, 2020 01:00 PM Singapore)
• Americas Registration Link (June 17, 2020, 11:00 AM New York)

TechTalk: Improving Gateway Performance with Dynamic Workloads

In our next TechTalk scheduled for 24th June 2020 at 8am PDT/5pm CEST, we will talk about Dynamic Workloads, a new feature introduced in R80.40. It is aimed at automatically allocating system resources in order to self-optimize and match your traffic characteristics. Register now!

Virtual User Group Events

Given the current and evolving situation with Coronavirus, we are planning virtual events for the time being.
While anyone is welcome to register for a CheckMates Live Virtual Edition events, they are generally for a limited number of people with priority given to people in the specified geographic area.
If you don't see your area listed, please contact us and we'll be happy to arrange a session for your area!

Bookmark the CheckMates Calendar to have an up-to-date list of events at your fingertips!
If you attend CheckMates Live events, you can get CPE credit! 

• 18 June 2020: Iberia: HTTPS Inspection Best Practices
• 2 July 2020: Poland: Introduction to Performance Optimization
• 7 July 2020: DACH: Remote Access Best Practices
• 14 July 2020: Africa: Remote Access Best Practices

Welcome to "This Week in CheckMates," your weekly highlight reel for all things CheckMates!
Past and future posts will be available here: The CheckMates Blog
To have these updates show up in your preferred RSS reader add the following URL: The CheckMates Blog RSS Feed
See also our social media accounts and our podcast (RSS Feed)

CheckMates Go S02E11: Gil Shwed on IoT, Zoom, and SD-WAN

An excerpt of our recent Ask Me Anything with Check Point Founder and CEO Gil Shwed where he discusses IoT, Zoom, and SD-WAN.

SecureKnowledge

Did you know we have a space on CheckMates where we highlight articles from Check Point's official knowledge base, SecureKnowledge?

This past week, @_Val_ has highlighted an important article for those of you who have a lot of remote access users, Route All Traffic is configured, and make heavy use of Office 365. You probably want to route that Office 365 traffic directly. sk167000 explains exactly how to achieve that.

Community Highlights

Here's the threads to watch from the last week:

New Releases

• R81 EA Program (Production Usage)
• Tailored Safe SmartConsole Extension: Tailor-made IPS Profile

Linux 3.10 Threads

• User Space Firewall Support in R80.30-3.10 and Above
• R80.30-3.10 Interface Issues with LLDP

Upgrade Topics

• Upgrading Old Version of CPUSE
• Upgrade from R80.30 to R80.40 Stick on Importing IPS Data 
• Upgrading Firmware of 1430 From Old Version 

Other Topics

• Do Management and Gateway Need Same or Higher Jumbo Hotfix Level?
• URL Filtering Categorization Issues on R80.30 Without HTTPS Inspection
• NAT Table (fwx_alloc) Top Users
• Ports Required Between Management and Gateway

Upcoming Events

We have a number of events planned for the next several weeks:

TechTalk: Improving Gateway Performance with Dynamic Workloads

In our next TechTalk scheduled for 24th June 2020 at 8am PDT/5pm CEST, we will talk about Dynamic Workloads, a new feature introduced in R80.40. It is aimed at automatically allocating system resources in order to self-optimize and match your traffic characteristics. Register now!

Virtual User Group Events

Given the current and evolving situation with Coronavirus, we are planning virtual events for the time being.
While anyone is welcome to register for a CheckMates Live Virtual Edition events, they are generally for a limited number of people with priority given to people in the specified geographic area.
If you don't see your area listed, please contact us and we'll be happy to arrange a session for your area!

Bookmark the CheckMates Calendar to have an up-to-date list of events at your fingertips!
If you attend CheckMates Live events, you can get CPE credit! 

• 9 June 2020: France: Automatisation et Orchestration
• 18 June 2020: Iberia: HTTPS Inspection Best Practices
• 2 July 2020: Poland: Introduction to Performance Optimization

Welcome to "This Week in CheckMates," your weekly highlight reel for all things CheckMates!
Past and future posts will be available here: The CheckMates Blog
To have these updates show up in your preferred RSS reader add the following URL: The CheckMates Blog RSS Feed
See also our social media accounts and our podcast (RSS Feed)

CheckMates Go S02E10: APT41 and Living Off The Land

Hot off the presses is a new episode of CheckMates Go for your listening pleasure. @PhoneBoy talks with @Tim_Otis and @RaymondS from the Check Point Incident Response Team about a recent investigation that led to APT41, which led to a discussion about cyber attacks that "live off the land."

Community Highlights

Here's the threads to watch from the last week:

New Releases

• SandBlast Mobile 3.7 Released
• R80.40 is now Check Point's Default Version (Widely Recommend Release)
• R80.30 Jumbo Ongoing Take 210
• R80.30 Jumbo HFA GA Take 196
• MUH2 Support for R80.30 Now Available 
• SandBlast Now Product Brief

Other Topics

• Hidden Folder SandBlastBackup Has More Than 1GB of Files 
• Route Office365 Traffic Local and Not Over Remote Access VPN
• Using SAML Authentication with Identity Awareness Captive Portal
• New Kubernetes RBAC Services Supported by CloudGuard Dome9
• How to Easily Protect Yourself with Canary Tokens (HoneyTokens)

Upcoming Events

We have a number of events planned for the next several weeks

UserTalk with Eurowind Energy A/S

@Kim_Moberg will share with us how he uses and benefits from Check Point solutions including; Cloud solutions, Threat Prevention, endpoint and mobile security, SmartLog and SmartView, and more. You will also have the opportunity to ask Kim your pressing questions! Register now!

TechTalk: Improving Gateway Performance with Dynamic Workloads

In our next TechTalk scheduled for 10th June 2020 at 8am PDT/5pm CEST, we will talk about Dynamic Workloads, a new feature introduced in R80.40. It is aimed at automatically allocating system resources in order to self-optimize and match your traffic characteristics. Register now!

Virtual User Group Events

Given the current and evolving situation with Coronavirus, we are planning virtual events for the time being.
While anyone is welcome to register for a CheckMates Live Virtual Edition events, they are generally for a limited number of people with priority given to people in the specified geographic area.
If you don't see your area listed, please contact us and we'll be happy to arrange a session for your area!

Bookmark the CheckMates Calendar to have an up-to-date list of events at your fingertips!
If you attend CheckMates Live events, you can get CPE credit! 

• 2 June 2020: Carolinas: R80.x API Automation and Orchestration Best Practices
• 4 June 2020: DACH: Automation and Orchestration Best Practices
• 9 June 2020: France: Automatisation et Orchestration
• 18 June 2020: Iberia: HTTPS Inspection Best Practices