Stories by: Joel Snyder

We tested the OSPF-routing capabilities of the UTM devices in order to simulate the kind of multiple-exit network (two Internet gateways) that might be common in a large network.

There is no real agreement about whether antivirus software is required in or even a good idea for an enterprise-class firewall.

Most enterprises have some type of messaging security in the form of spam and virus filtering. When installing a new or replacement messaging-security system, key areas to pay attention to are performance, user experience, and management and operational costs. Performance is generally easy to manage. Aside from simply having enough hardware to do the job, there are three keys to keep performance up to par.

Most enterprises have some type of messaging security in the form of spam and virus filtering. When installing a new or replacement messaging-security system, key areas to pay attention to are performance, user experience, and management and operational costs. Performance is generally easy to manage. Aside from simply having enough hardware to do the job, there are three keys to keep performance up to par.

IT managers at small and midsize businesses like unified threat management appliances - firewalls that layer on antimalware protection, content filtering, antispam and intrusion prevention - because deploying a single, multi-function device reduces costs and simplifies configuration.

Microsoft's Vista operating system has been shipping since January, with beta code available for over a year before that. Yet, neither of the two NAC frameworks tested have any inherit support for Microsoft's newest operating system. What gives?

As a product tester, I always tell people: The product speaks for itself. White papers, customer wins, marketing spin: None of that counts. I don't have to be convinced by a public relations person that the product is good, because good products prove themselves in our lab. In 2004, when I last tested mail security appliances, CipherTrust's IronMail was on our short list as a top finalist. It's a good product, and it proved itself in our labs.

I am the biggest defence-in-depth supporter there is, but deep defences don't obviate the need to protect the perimeter. This year, we are going to see a lot of action from security vendors trying to provide better and stronger defences at the border from the growing plagues of viruses, spyware, malware and phishing attacks.

Juniper's Secure Access SSL VPN offering repeats its leadership of our head-to-head testing with a huge set of features, strong configuration capabilities and outstanding interoperability.

As one of the early SSL VPN vendors, Aventail brings heavy experience grounded in both its long-standing appliance product line as well as its years of operating a managed security service.

SonicWall has just recently thrown its hat in the ring with the introduction of its SSL-VPN 2000 appliance but the company's got some feature development distance to go and some bugs to fix in the 1.0.0 version we tested before it can be a serious contender.