F5 Networks announced availability of its v10 release of the BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM) web application firewall. BIG-IP ASM is aimed at enterprises and service providers that need to consolidate their infrastructure and more confidently secure, deploy, and optimize applications.

The new version of BIG-IP ASM provides enhanced attack protection, threat mitigation, and application visibility. It is available as a standalone device or as a software module on BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager, F5's market-leading Application Delivery Controller. In addition, BIG-IP ASM is now available on F5's high-performance VIPRION hardware platform, further improving scalability and performance for large organizations as well as content and service providers.

Operating on F5's TMOS architecture, BIG-IP solutions unify application security, traffic management, and acceleration capabilities onto a single device to realize up to a 50 percent bandwidth reduction and up to a 10x user performance increase. By providing application services on a unified platform, BIG-IP solutions eliminate the need for multiple appliances, lowering capital and operating expenses while increasing the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of critical web applications and processes. As a key component of F5's vision of unified application and data delivery services, BIG-IP ASM provides an integrated web application security solution.

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Barracuda Networks launched the Barracuda SSL VPN 180, the newest addition to the Barracuda SSL VPN product line. In addition, the full Barracuda SSL VPN line will now offer a cache cleaning utility to protect information accessed by users who access internal network resources remotely from a public or shared computer through the Barracuda SSL VPN. When enabled, the cache cleaning utility automatically runs when users logout or disconnect, clearing all traces of the secure session from the Web browser cache and history.

The Barracuda SSL VPN product line now also features administrator tools that allow policy enforcement for network access control based on client operating system or Web browser version. These policies can be used to ensure that end user computers are updated to the latest versions and free of known vulnerabilities prior to gaining access to network resources. Barracuda SSL VPN 180 is available now starting at $699 with no per user fees. International pricing and availability varies depending on region. For more information, please visit www.barracudanetworks.com/sslvpn.

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Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. announced the Check Point Smart-1 security management appliance line. The new line of four appliances are the first to offer enterprises an extensible solution that unifies network, IPS and endpoint security policy management and provide up to 12 terabytes (TB) of integrated log storage. Through Smart-1 appliances, businesses can greatly improve administration efficiency and overall security.

Security administrators invest great effort into managing the security policies responsible for safeguarding networks and endpoints. The Smart-1 appliances are designed to ease the process. From one console, administrators can manage IPS, network and endpoint security policies, and through Check Point’s unique Software Blade architecture, customers can extend the standard capabilities of Smart-1 appliances by adding additional management blades as needed. Smart-1 appliances also streamline security management by offering integrated storage of log data from across multiple enterprise-wide devices. This significantly aids administrators meet compliance requirements and perform forensic analysis.

Check Point Smart-1 security management appliances offer enterprises easy log access with unsurpassed log storage and performance capabilities. Up to 12 TB of integrated RAID log storage provides approximately three years of enterprise-wide logs. System performance supports up to approximately 30,000 logs per second for high-throughput data capture. Combined with built-in Storage Area Networks (SAN) support including high performance fiber optic connectivity, Smart-1 appliances reduce the costs of acquiring, deploying and maintaining server attached distributed storage for customers.

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Aruba Networks announced its new Virtual Branch Network (VBN) solution. The VBN transparently and securely connects remote users with enterprise applications and resources, greatly simplifying the management of branch offices, clinics, home offices and telecommuter while significantly lowering costs. The VBN solution includes new software for data center-based Aruba Controllers, as well as three new families of wired and wireless Remote Access Points (RAPs) and Branch Office Controllers (BOCs). One of the new RAPs, the RAP-2 make it the least expensive, centrally-managed enterprise branch networking solution on the market.

RAP-2 Family is no larger than a deck of playing cards and designed for use by 1 to 5 users, the RAP-2 is ideal for teleworkers, micro-branches, and SOHO applications. An 802.11b/g Wi-Fi radio and two Ethernet ports for use with wired devices, such as VoIP phones. RAP-5 Family is the stylish, book-sized RAP-5 includes 5 high-speed Ethernet ports, a USB port for a broadband 3G cellular modem, hardware accelerated encryption, and, optionally, an 802.11n Wi-Fi radio with integrated antennas.

600 Branch Office Controller Family is designed to be a “branch-in-a-box” for offices with up to 256 users, the 600 family offers a broad range of WAN connectivity, network-attached storage, gigabit Ethernet, power-over-Ethernet (PoE), Express Card, and USB options. An integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi radio option rounds out the package.

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A stronger firewall and HIPS, and 30 days' free online PC support are three of the advantages of Comodo Internet Security 3.9, released last week. The security suite is now available in English, French, Russian, Italian and Swedish and 13 other languages, with translations by Comodo volunteers.

Comodo Internet Security is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Unless they have set up their computers specifically to run at 64 bits, most PC users can download and install the 32-bit version. 32-bit users in particular will benefit from a free month of LivePCSupport, an online support service from Comodo.

Comodo Internet Security suite makes protecting PCs from malware easier than ever. Comodo's patent-pending "clean PC" technology initially configures the software. Default Deny Protection maximizes protection by blocking any attempt by unknown software to install itself or permit itself to run. Comodo's 4,000,000+ file whitelist eliminates most pop-ups, making the software perfect for novice users, without compromising security. Comodo's "Threatcast" social software authentication allows users to see what other users have chosen to do when confronted with new software.

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Symantec announced the launch of a new family safety service, “OnlineFamily.Norton” and a new online tool, “Norton 360 Cyber Safety Index”, to help parents better manage their kids online. OnlineFamily.Norton is available at http://onlinefamily.norton.com, for free until 1 January, 2010.

The Norton 360 CSI, available at www.norton360csi.com, is an online survey that helps parents to gain a better understanding of their families’ online risks profile and assess their protection levels and threat savviness. Upon completion of the online questionnaire, parents will be provided with a report that identifies their cyber safety index rating, as well as relevant safety tips and advice tailored to their risk profile.

Unlike traditional parental control products that focus on just blocking and monitoring kids’ online activities, OnlineFamily.Norton goes a step further by encouraging parents to educate and communicate with their kids. Built on a philosophy of dialogue, the unique service keeps parents in the loop on not only what their kids are doing online, but also what they’re interested in both on and off the Internet.

Effective tools to protect kids from online dangers are still a necessity and, coupled with communication, provide the best protection and education about Internet threats for kids. OnlineFamily.Norton gives parents access to the following technologies that help keep their kids safe online:

Instant Messaging Monitoring: Parents can monitor instant messenger chats at various levels for each IM buddy. 

Convenient Web Site Control: Control the Web content that flows into the home by prohibiting more than 40 topic categories. For older kids, parents can allow access to all Web sites but flag objectionable ones, allowing kids to decide for themselves whether or not to visit the site.

Secure Personal Information: Track, report and prevent personal information children may purposely or accidentally try to send via instant message, social network, or Web site.

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F-Secure is launching the Beta version of F-Secure Mac Protection, which protect against malware with minimal impact on the performance of the Macintosh. The solution includes a real-time Anti-Virus engine that scans files when accessed, stopping malicious content from being executed, as well as an easy to use intuitive user interface.

Installation of software on Mac OSX requires the user to supply his administrative password. Any malicious software must therefore provide some kind of social engineering pretext to trick the user into entering that password. In this case however, the user is already prepared to enter the password in order to install the "free" software. Additionally, the installation does provide functional software as promised, giving the victim very little clue that his system has been compromised.

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NETGEAR announced the ProSecure UTM family of appliances, the first line of Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliances designed for small businesses that do not compromise on security functionality or performance. NETGEAR ProSecure Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliances combine performance with full security coverage. Patent-pending Stream Scanning Technology enables the ProSecure UTM to employ best-of-breed security technologies while maintaining a high level of throughput and minimizing scanning induced latency. NETGEAR has forged security technology partnerships with Commtouch, Mailshell and Sophos to bring best-of-breed Web and email security technologies to the ProSecure UTM platform. Those, combined with proven NETGEAR firewall and VPN functionality, form an effective and ideal SMB security solution.

In addition, the ProSecure UTM appliances come with simple subscription options without any per-user licensing.

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AVG Technologies has introduced a significantly improved and updated implementation of its Linux anti-malware solution. AVG 8.5 for Linux, available in server and free workstation editions, offers streamlined scanning capabilities, new antivirus filtering, and improved performance and ease of use for Linux-based users.

Though not as prevalent as on Windows operating systems, Windows malware can and does impact Linux systems. Additionally, Windows-based workstations are frequently attached to Linux-based servers in the network. AVG 8.5 for Linux provides centralized anti-malware protection for those systems.

AVG Server Edition for Linux provides protection for both e-mail and file servers in a single distribution package. It is robust enough to support millions of e-mails a day, thereby suitable for use in even large enterprises and ISPs.

AVG 8.5 for Linux is distribution-independent. It has been tested to run under FreeBSD, Mandrake, Mandriva, Fedora Core, DebIan, SUSE, Red Hat, Red Flag, Ubuntu, and other distros using Debian packaging. Support for existing versions of AVG for Linux will be phased out on May 15, 2009. Users are encouraged to contact their reseller or AVG to upgrade their protection as soon as possible.

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Barracuda Networks announced the launch of the Barracuda Web Filter 1010 for large organizations, capable of handling up to 12,000 concurrent users in a single appliance. Like other Barracuda Web Filter models, the Barracuda Web Filter 1010 is an integrated appliance that provides integrated malware protection, content filtering, application policy control, and an embedded database and reporting engine. A single Barracuda Web Filter 1010 can handle one gigabit per second (Gbps) throughput and features a Web cache size of one terabyte (TB).

Able to manage policy for up to 15,000 TCP connections at one time, the Barracuda Web Filter 1010 has four network interfaces that can be used simultaneously in WCCP deployment or in two LAN/WAN pairs in an inline deployment. Multiple Barracuda Web Filter 1010 models can be clustered for both scalability and redundancy. Through the Barracuda Control Center, Barracuda Web Filter models of different sizes can be centrally managed, enabling enforcement of Internet policy across an entire distributed organization.

The Barracuda Web Filter 1010 is immediately orderable in the United States and will begin shipping in June. The Barracuda Web Filter 1010 is priced at $89,999 for the appliance and $24,299 per year for Energize Updates subscriptions that include content filter, application, antispyware, antivirus, and security definitions. International pricing and availability varies based upon region.

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Enterasys and Siemens Enterprise Communications today announced new enhancements to the Enterasys Wireless portfolio, also known as HiPath Wireless, including new hardware platforms and new software features which further unify wired and wireless network management and security while extending the flexibility of the Enterasys solutions-oriented wireless architecture. The portfolio enhancements deliver standards-based, secure infrastructure choices to enterprise users seeking to reduce operational expenses associated with wireless networking.

A new, enterprise-class dual radio 802.11a/b/g access point, at a single-radio price point, supports diverse deployment options and delivers premium secure, reliable, centrally-managed mobility. A next-generation, appliance-based wireless controller provides more cost-effective scalability and flexibility – important to both medium and large enterprises as well as education users.

Enterasys continues to deliver on its commitment to drive integration of wired and wireless networks. The latest portfolio enhancements extend the integration between Enterasys wired and wireless management software to include centralized backup/restore and software management for all wired and wireless infrastructure components.

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Fortinet announced the FortiGate-30B, a multi-threat security device that offers powerful network protection technology used by enterprise customers to the growing population of telecommuters, remote/branch outlets and small businesses. Designed to accommodate the ease-of-use and price sensitivities of the smallest networked environments, the FortiGate-30B provides an integrated security architecture for broad protection in a compact desktop form factor. In addition, Fortinet has also introduced the FortiWifi-30B to support small wireless networked environments.

The FortiGate-30B and FortiWifi-30B can support a number of ROBO/SOHO environment scenarios, and can be centrally managed by enterprises and service providers through Fortinet's FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer products, regardless of deployment size. The FortiWifi-30B adds a built-in wireless access point to the broad, multi-threat protection of FortiGate appliances, making it ideal for small remote offices, retail outlets and telecommuting environments. It offers standard 802.11 b/g support, a Wide Area Network (WAN) port for securing internet connections, and four integrated switch ports for multi-user environments.

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Fortinet announced the release of a carrier-grade version of its FortiGate multi-threat security platform. The new FortiCarrier family integrates many new functionalities to help carriers, service providers, managed security service providers and enterprises better protect their own networks as well as the networks of their customers through cloud-based security delivered as a service. Fortinet’s FortiCarrier platform includes all the capabilities of the FortiGate line plus a specialized "superset" of carrier-class features: securing voice-over-IP infrastructures and mobile operator content, and enabling automated provisioning and management of security policies on a per-user basis. In addition, FortiCarrier provides the intelligent infrastructure to help service providers more easily deliver security as a service to their customers through, among other things, the industry’s only fully virtualized offering to support nine consolidated security features.

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HP ProCurve announced the expansion of its security portfolio with firewall and intrusion prevention offerings that lower costs and reduce the complexity of security infrastructure deployments. As part of the HP ProCurve ProActive Defense security portfolio, HP is introducing the new HP ProCurve Threat Management Services Module, which provides firewall, virtual private network (VPN) and intrusion prevention (IPS) functionality. This multifunction security module eliminates the need for a separate appliance by physically integrating into the HP ProCurve 8212 and 5400 series switches.

HP also unveiled a new version of the HP ProCurve Manager Plus product suite, designed to help businesses secure and simplify network management. HP ProCurve Manager Plus allows businesses of all sizes to prevent security breaches by centrally managing user access for both wired and wireless networks.

The HP ProCurve Threat Management Services Module protects networks, servers and data in transit through firewall, IPS and VPN capabilities. This solution also integrates with HP ProCurve’s existing wireless IPS solution to provide threat management services across wired and wireless networks, supported by the ProCurve Lifetime Warranty.

The HP ProCurve Manager Plus 3.0 management platform enables customers to map, configure and monitor wired and wireless networks. The platform offers a single pane view of network-wide management control, allowing customers to securely add, customize and restrict network management access to users.

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RSA, The Security Division of EMC announced enhancements to RSA Key Manager Suite (RKM), its enterprise encryption key management system designed to manage encryption keys at the application, database, and storage layer. With new integrations and server-side management features, RKM 2.5 can help lower the total cost of ownership associated with encryption by giving administrators strong control over the vaulting and management of keys from one central location. RSA Professional Services now also offers a new Tokenization Service that is engineered to extend RKM by enabling the use of tokens to mask and protect sensitive data.

RSA Key Manager is designed to simplify the ongoing operational headache associated with encryption by providing enterprise key management across multiple encryption points in the enterprise including tape/virtual tape, disk, databases, and applications. The latest offering includes direct integrations with two new technology partners, Brocade and Sun. These integrations are built with a direct communication between the key management server and the devices performing encryption, eliminating the need for unnecessary software layers.

RKM 2.5 is also designed to increase security by centralizing the vaulting and controlling of keys. Administrators can now rotate and delete keys centrally to ensure security requirements are met. This allows administrators to take action quickly if a key is compromised. RKM also includes a centralized key vault with automated replication and failover to ensure that keys are backed up and available at all times.

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WatchGuard Technologies unveiled the WatchGuard SSL 100—a highly secure, easy to use and extremely flexible, all-in-one SSL VPN appliance that gives businesses an affordable way to provide their remote and mobile workers with network access and application delivery for maximum productivity.

Ideal for businesses with up to 500 users, the WatchGuard SSL 100 supports up to 100 concurrent connections. Unlike other vendor SSL VPN offerings that require additional add-ons or expensive service contracts, the WatchGuard SSL 100 provides a complete and comprehensive array of features that are designed to provide maximum ease of use, flexibility and high security for less than $2,000.

Because of its comprehensive authentication technology, the WatchGuard SSL 100 completely eliminates the required burden of integrating the appliance with other third-party authentication systems, such as LDAP, Active Directory, or RADIUS. However, for businesses that already use these types of authentication systems, the WatchGuard SSL 100 can seamlessly interoperate with them, as well. The WatchGuard SSL 100 also provides enhanced access client support. With current client support for Microsoft Windows 32-bit and 64-bit clients, the WatchGuard SSL 100 also supports Microsoft Vista clients and is Windows 7 ready.

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Symantec announced it has expanded its security portfolio by offering new Protection Suites for small business and enterprise customers and adding Web security technology through the acquisition of Mi5 Networks. Symantec Protection Suite Small Business Edition and Symantec Protection Suite Enterprise Edition are comprehensive solutions designed to secure firms against security risks and business interruptions, ensuring systems and critical information are readily available. The Symantec Protection Suites are scheduled to be available in summer 2009.

Symantec Protection Suite Small Business Edition is an easy-to-use suite that protects critical business assets by securing against today’s malware and spam threats and by rapidly recovering client computer systems. This all-inclusive suite provides complete protection, creating a secure environment where computer system failures, malware, and spam risks are identified and addressed immediately. The ease-of-use, fast performance and unmatched protection allows small businesses to save valuable time and money with a suite that requires little administration to install, deploy and manage.

Symantec Protection Suite Enterprise Edition includes Symantec’s endpoint security, messaging security and system recovery technologies that allow customers to reduce the cost of securing their environments and effectively manage the inherent risks of today’s IT infrastructures. Multiple layers of protection ensure customers are accurately identifying and addressing risks while delivering consistent protection across platforms. In the event of system loss or failure, users may recover individual files and folders in seconds, or complete Windows systems in minutes, thus minimizing downtime. By combining security with backup and recovery, Symantec is enabling businesses to completely protect, easily manage and automatically control their valuable assets.

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Transcend Information announced its alliance with Trend Micro to offer advanced Trend Micro USB Security software preloaded on its newest USB flash drive, the JetFlash V15. With this powerful combination of Transcend hardware and industry-leading Trend Micro software, users can now share, store and manage valuable data more safely and securely

When the JetFlash V15 is plugged into a computer with Internet access, Trend Micro USB Security will automatically download and install the latest security updates directly onto the drive. Thanks to its powerful Trend Micro USB Security built-in software, Transcend's JetFlash V15 Anti-Virus USB Flash Drive can freely be used in any computer without having to worry about malicious data hitching a ride while transferring files. Transcend's capless JetFlash V15 flash drive features a retractable USB connector with lock-switch, which makes the drive easier to use and protects it from damage during travel.

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