Linksys Security At Your Service

inksys is offering a home office/small business-focused wireless security service aimed at providing an affordable software solution that enables RADIUS authentication.

Linksys Wireless Guard enables Linksys Wireless-G Access Point users to leverage both personal and enterprise security options available with Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Managed by Linksys Security Operations Center, the solution works like an outsourced RADIUS server to authenticate each user on the network so that only approved users are allowed access.

“Small businesses don’t want to set up a RADIUS server because it can cost thousands of dollars to buy and deploy,” said Mani Dhillon, product marketing manager for Linksys, Irvine, Calif. “This really is a solution that’s affordable and easy to set up.”

Dhillon said Linksys is selling the service via a monthly or yearly subscription, based on the number of users. Initial sample pricing, he said, is about $4.95 per user per month for one user or $3.99 per user per month for bundles of five users and up.

Linksys solution provider partners are being offered incentives such as a free subscription to learn about the software and service, as well as a bounty for reselling the service, Dhillon said.

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For instance, Linksys partners that sign up customers for the service would receive $50 for the first signed subscription, an additional $200 for the next 15 subscriptions, and another $300 for the next 30 subscriptions, he said.

Gary Galyas, IT manager for Everything Wireless, a Pinellas Park, Fla.-based solution provider, however, said while he doesn’t yet have all the details about the program, he’s not yet sold on the need for such a service.

“The thing that I don’t get is that with any Windows server newer than 2000, even if you get 2000 Small Business Server, it has RADIUS capabilities built into it,” Galyas said. “You can keep this type of stuff in house for a minimal cost. I really just don’t see the need for it.”