Guarding The Gateway

Security solution providers said the new technology will give them another layer of protection and comes as corporate concern over viruses and spam is at an all-time high.

"If you can stop any attack coming in at the gateway level, all the better," said Dave Chittum, general manager for services at Cornerstone Systems, a $45 million systems integrator based in Irvine, Calif. "There are so many levels of entry, and you need to protect at a number of levels."

A multilayered approach is critical in an era of blended threats when viruses can leverage HTTP or other avenues to spread throughout a company, he added.

Trend Micro's new product, InterScan Web Security Suite (IWSS) 1.0, includes a URL filter and supports caching servers via the Internet Content Adaptation Protocol (ICAP) so that it can scan in realtime and take preventive action against viruses or other malicious code, said Bob Hansmann, director of enterprise product marketing at Trend Micro, Cupertino, Calif.

"What you really want is something to stop the spread of the virus," Hansmann said.

IWSS is a counterpoint to the Trend Micro InterScan Messaging Suite, which focuses on protection at the SMTP/POP3 level. It integrates with Trend Micro Control Manager version 2.5, providing a central point of administration for both.

IWSS, due to ship this week, will support Windows and Solaris immediately. A version for Red Hat Linux is planned for the fourth quarter. Pricing, which varies depending on the number of users, starts at $16 per user per year for 25 users.

Also this week, Trend Micro is unfurling Spam Prevention Service 1.1. The primary enhancement is that the service can now be customized by solution providers to delete spam immediately, reducing traffic flow on mail servers, said Dan Glessner, senior director of North America marketing at Trend Micro.

Additional features include integration with the vendor's other antivirus and content security offerings and configuration options that allow it to be installed on the same server as other Trend Micro software.

Pricing for the service starts at $30 per user per year for 25 users, but volume discounts apply as the number of users grows.

Pat Grillo, owner and CEO of Atrion Communication Resources, a $10 million infrastructure solution provider based in Branchburg, N.J., said the spam service has become an easier sell in recent month. "Instead of selling to just the technical people, you have to get the money people involved," Grillo said. About 80 percent of Atrion's revenue is attributable to security solutions, he said.

Finally, Trend Micro plans to ship ScanMail for Microsoft Exchange 6.2 this week. The primary new feature is support for Exchange 2003. The software works with the Exchange Active Message Filter and provides a quarantine management function for viewing and sorting quarantined e-mail.