NetSecurePoint

I spend a lot of time dealing with Internet Security. This day and age so many things in technology are being thrown at people faster than they can adapt to it or know the risk in it. I am a big believer in stopping the threat level at best on your edge security appliance. Most normal users would say “What The Heck Is That”, many people don’t know of all the great and useful resources on the net that can be used for protecting your network from the threats and hazards of the net.

To be honest, even if people knew of such resources, most would not know where to start with it. Like downloading an ISO, burning it to a disk, installing an additional NIC (Network Interface Card) on an old system, then installing the software on the PC. After doing the steps, then having the knowledge and understanding of how to configure WAN and LAN interfaces, setting up rules inbound and outbound, enabling filters/proxies, or even knowing what they do.

I’m here to “state” that basic off the shelf NAT type 2 wireless and wired routers are not enough. I say before you spend the money on that $200.00 Linksys router, why not spend the additional $30.00 and build a fully equipped UTM (Unified Threat Management) system. That’s right, you’re not an IT expert and if you are, you know what I am getting at. Those off the self Routers worked very well 10 plus years ago, but this day and age, a stateful firewall is not enough.

Just because you are not an IT expert, that does not mean you cannot seek the value in devices such as UTM’s You just need Guidance and someone willing to help. The only thing I ask in return is please share the knowledge with others that are in the same boat as you and I will do my part in helping you. Below you will see a list of security appliance software projects that I have used and setup for business and personal use. Please feel free to contact me over any questions, suggestions or setup questions you may have.

Astaro:
Firewall and UTM (Unified Threat Management System).
http://www.astaro.com

ClearOS: Firewall, UTM (Unified Threat Management System), and Server.
http://www.clearfoundation.com/

Endian: Firewall and UTM (Unified Threat Management System).
http://www.endian.com

IPCop: Firewall and UTM (Unified Threat Management System).
http://www.ipcop.org

IPFire: Firewall and UTM (Unified Threat Management System).
http://www.ipfire.org/

Monowall: Firewall.
http://m0n0.ch

pfSense: Firewall, with some UTM capability, Routing.
http://www.pfsense.org/

SmoothWall Express: Firewall and UTM (Unified Threat Management System).
http://www.smoothwall.org/

Untangle: Firewall and UTM (Unified Threat Management System).
http://www.untangle.com/

Vyatta: Firewall, with some UTM capability, Routing.
http://www.vyatta.org/

Zentyal: Firewall, UTM (Unified Threat Management System), and Server.
http://www.zentyal.org/