Purple Shield vs Infoblox Threat Defense, formerly BloxOne
Infoblox Threat Defense, formerly BloxOne Threat Defense, pairs protective DNS with Infoblox's DDI platforms, NIOS and Universal DDI, across on-premises and cloud. It suits teams that already run Infoblox for DNS, DHCP and IPAM. Purple Shield starts with one resolver change on the network you have, and adds ad blocking and a policy per SSID, VLAN and site.
- news.exampleGuestAllowed
- casino-bonus.exampleGuestBlocked
- ads.tracker.exampleGuestStripped
- c2-callback.exampleHQ LANBlocked
- bookings.exampleBranchAllowed
- phish-login.exampleBranchBlocked
- video.exampleBranchAllowed
- malware-cdn.exampleGuestBlocked
- news.exampleGuestAllowed
- casino-bonus.exampleGuestBlocked · Gambling
- ads.tracker.exampleGuestStripped · Ads
- c2-callback.exampleHQ LANBlocked · Command and control
- bookings.exampleBranchAllowed
- phish-login.exampleBranchBlocked · Phishing
- video.exampleBranchAllowed
- malware-cdn.exampleGuestBlocked · Malware
- 241k
- threats blocked a week at St George's
- 10 days
- earlier warning than standard blocklists
- 500%
- faster page loads with ads stripped
Why teams choose Shield
Why teams choose Shield instead of Infoblox
One resolver change to start
Point your router, firewall or DHCP at Shield and protection starts. There is no hardware to buy and nothing to install on guest devices.
Policy that follows your WiFi
Shield sets a policy per SSID, VLAN, site and time of day from Purple Access, the same platform that runs your guest and staff WiFi.
Ads, trackers and guest standards
Shield strips ads and trackers, with up to 44% less data used by Purple's measurements. Filtering meets the IWF and Friendly WiFi standards.
Side by side
Purple Shield and Infoblox Threat Defense, side by side
| What matters | Purple Shield | Infoblox Threat Defense |
|---|---|---|
| How it is sold | Purple ShieldStandalone, or added to Purple Access, Purple's WiFi platform. | Infoblox Threat DefenseEssentials, Business On-Premises, Business Cloud and Advanced packages, on a token-based model. |
| Deployment | Purple ShieldA cloud service. Point the router, firewall or DHCP at Shield, with no hardware. | Infoblox Threat DefenseOn-premises DNS firewall, cloud or hybrid. Works alongside Infoblox NIOS and Universal DDI. |
| Device-level visibility | Purple ShieldA relay for segmented VLANs and IoT shows each device's internal IP. | Infoblox Threat DefenseDNS Forwarding Proxy, a virtual appliance that embeds the client IP. Integrated with NIOS 8.3 and above. |
| Threat blocking | Purple ShieldPhishing, malware, ransomware, botnet and C2 domains, with new threats flagged up to 10 days before blocklists. | Infoblox Threat DefenseRansomware, phishing and malware, plus DNS tunnelling, DGA and fast-flux detection from Infoblox threat intelligence. |
| Content filtering | Purple Shield40+ categories, Safe Search on Google, Bing and YouTube, and one-click app blocking. | Infoblox Threat DefenseWeb filtering and user-based access controls, listed in the Business Cloud package. |
| Policy by WiFi network | Purple ShieldPer SSID, VLAN, site and time of day, set from the platform that runs your WiFi. | Infoblox Threat DefensePolicy set in the Infoblox Portal, with DNS activity correlated to IPAM asset metadata. |
| Roaming devices | Purple ShieldNo endpoint client. Shield covers every device on the networks you run, with nothing to install on it. | Infoblox Threat DefenseInfoblox Endpoint for Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, iOS and Android, in Business Cloud and Advanced. |
| Integrations | Purple ShieldSSO with Okta, Entra ID or OIDC. Logs to Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, QRadar, CrowdStrike, S3 or syslog. | Infoblox Threat DefenseShares threat intelligence and logs with SIEM, SOAR, firewall, IPS and endpoint tools. Public API. |
| Pricing and trial | Purple ShieldNo published price. 30-day free trial. | Infoblox Threat DefenseNo published price. Complimentary security workshop and Infoblox Inspect service. |
Competitor details from Infoblox's public product pages, datasheets and documentation, checked October 2026.
Switching
How moving from Infoblox to Shield works
Run Shield beside Threat Defense
Point one site, SSID or VLAN at Shield while the rest stay on Infoblox. Compare what each one blocks on live traffic.
Mirror your policies
Recreate your Infoblox block and allow lists and category rules in Shield, with user and group policy from Entra ID or Active Directory.
Cut over site by site
Change the forwarder or DHCP DNS setting for each site in turn. Add a Shield relay where VLANs or IoT need per-device IPs.
Retire the old resolver and client
Once every site points at Shield, stop forwarding DNS to the Infoblox cloud and remove Infoblox Endpoint. Shield needs no client, so devices away from your networks rely on your endpoint protection.
Questions about Shield and Infoblox Threat Defense
Do we need NIOS or Universal DDI to use Shield?
No. Shield is a cloud service. Point your router, firewall or DHCP at it and protection starts, with no hardware. For segmented VLANs and IoT, a relay keeps each device's internal IP visible, so reports show which device made each lookup.
Is Infoblox Threat Defense the same as BloxOne Threat Defense?
Yes. Infoblox renamed BloxOne Threat Defense to Infoblox Threat Defense in October 2024, the same month it launched Universal DDI. It is sold in Essentials, Business On-Premises, Business Cloud and Advanced packages.
How quickly does Shield catch new threats?
Shield's machine learning flags new malicious domains up to 10 days before standard blocklists. You can also block domains registered in the last 7 or 30 days, block by country or top-level domain, and validate DNSSEC on every lookup.
What happens if Shield has an outage?
Shield runs on a dual anycast DNS network: two separate networks, so if one node or network fails, the next one answers. It has 200+ points of presence in 70 cities and is built for 100% uptime. It also fails closed, so an outage never leaves a network unfiltered.
Can Shield protect IoT that cannot run an agent?
Yes. Devices on the network need nothing installed. A relay for segmented VLANs and IoT keeps each device's internal IP visible, so you can trace a lookup back to the printer, camera or sensor that made it.
Other comparisons
Shield vs Cisco Umbrella
Moving off Cisco Umbrella? Compare Purple Shield first
Umbrella DNS is moving to Cisco Secure Access. See how Shield compares before you migrate.Shield vs Cloudflare Gateway
Purple Shield vs Cloudflare Gateway for protective DNS
Gateway is sold as part of Cloudflare's Zero Trust plans. See how Shield compares for DNS on every network.See how Shield compares
Shield against a firewall on its own
Not replacing a DNS filter? See what Shield adds behind the firewall you already run.
Decide what your network reaches, free for 30 days
Tell us which networks and sites you run and who is on them. We map a policy to each one: staff, guests, students, residents and IoT. Then point one network at Shield and see what it stops for 30 days, before you pay anything. Running change control? We plan a pilot on one site with your team instead. No hardware to install.
- We map your networksA Purple expert maps your networks, your venues and the people on each, and answers your questions on bypass, outages, data handling and integrations.
- You get a policy for each oneStaff, guests, students, residents, IoT and paid tiers, each with the policy it needs.
- You prove it, then get your tailored quote30 days free on one network, or a pilot on one site planned with your team, then Shield priced standalone or as an add-on to your Access plan.
Your policy map
Tell us your networks. We map a policy to each one.
A Purple expert comes back with a policy for every network and group you run, from the team that has run content filtering since 2012 and runs WiFi for 80,000+ venues in 90 countries.