PR Newswire
Oct 11, 2005 10:30 ET

Astaro Boosts Virus Scanning Speed of Award-Winning, Unified Threat Management Security Appliance

Astaro Security Gateway 425 Uses Specialized Processor and Two Virus Scanners to Protect Large Enterprises from Viruses

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Astaro Corporation (www.astaro.com) today introduced the Astaro Security Gateway 425 -- its most powerful unified threat management, network security appliance. The Astaro Security Gateway 425 builds on the strength of the 420 model by adding a NodalCore(TM) acceleration card from Sensory Networks that more than doubles virus scanning performance. It is also the only product in its category that offers dual virus scanning capabilities.

The latest version of Astaro's award winning software, also released today and which includes dual virus protection from Kaspersky Lab and ClamAV, is pre-installed on the unit. The 425 is easily configured and Intel-based rack- mountable.

Astaro's line of unified threat management appliances integrate nine forms of security to protect computer networks from a variety of threats including viruses, hackers, spam, spyware, phishing, and unauthorized content. The Astaro Security Gateway 425 can serve larger organizations or branch offices of 500-1000 employees, depending on how many security applications are deployed.

"This new appliance really delivers the next generation of network security that enterprise customers are looking for," said Jan Hichert, CEO of Astaro. "The combination of the acceleration card from Sensory Networks together with the dual virus scanning capabilities of Kaspersky and ClamAV provide virus protection and throughput speed at a price that is unmatched in the unified threat management category."

"We have been very pleased with the performance of our Astaro Security Gateway appliance, both in terms of the security it provides and how easy it is to use," said William McGuirk, network administrator of Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Mass. "It is very comforting to know that our Astaro product is constantly evolving to combat the latest threats. The range of services provided by our Astaro Security Gateway makes it the center of our network security."

Advanced Technology, Increased Performance

The Astaro Security Gateway 425 incorporates a NodalCore-X(R) Security Processing Unit from Sensory Networks -- a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), meaning that software enhancements and upgrades can be downloaded and installed over the Internet.

This specialized processor is optimized to perform security functions such as content decompression and pattern matching in order to accelerate virus detection. In addition, it offloads work from the core x86 processor that operates the other functions on the appliance, including the operating system. This means an overall increase in the performance of the appliance as well.

Total Network Security in One Integrated Package, for all types of networks

The Astaro Security Gateway appliances sit between the corporate network and the outside world and provide protection for all types of networks and all types of computer systems, including Windows, Linux and Unix-based PCs and servers.

Astaro develops a complete line of network security products -- Astaro Security Gateway software and an Astaro Security Gateway line of appliances. All Astaro products provide email security, web security, and network security with up to nine critical security applications fully integrated on a single management platform, including:

Email Security
-- Virus Protection for Email -- catches viruses in conventional (SMTP and
POP3) emails and attachments.
-- Spam Protection -- uses nine different techniques to filter out spam
and without stopping legitimate emails.
-- Phishing Protection -- blocks emails from criminals trying to trick
users into revealing confidential information.

Web Security
-- Spyware Protection -- detects and blocks spyware infection attempts as
well as spyware communication from already infected systems
-- Virus Protection for the Web -- defends computers from virus infections
from web downloads and web-based emails.
-- Content Filtering (Surf Protection) -- can block Internet access to 60
categories of web sites.

Network Security
-- Firewall -- guards Internet communications traffic in and out of the
organization with stateful packet inspection and application-level
proxies.
-- Intrusion Protection -- detects and blocks probes and application-based
attacks using heuristics, anomaly detection, and pattern-based
techniques.
-- Virtual Private Network Gateway -- assures secure communications with
remote offices, "road warriors," and telecommuters.

Product Specifications, Pricing and Availability

The Astaro Security Gateway 425, starting at $9,995, has an Intel Pentium 4 3.4 GHz processor, 2 Gig DDRII SDRAM, a high-performance 74GB Serial-ATA disk drive for processing, caching, quarantining and logging large amounts of data and files, and eight gigabit ports, including four gigabit ports connected to a PCI-Express bus for near-line speed throughput. A hardware acceleration card has been added with Sensory Networks NodalCore technology. Its dimensions are 426 x 432 x 43.5 mm (1U).

The Astaro Security Gateway 425 will be available on November 1.

About Astaro -- www.astaro.com

Astaro develops a complete line of network security products including the Astaro Security Gateway software and Astaro Security Gateway line of security appliances. All Astaro products offer nine critical security applications in three categories -- Web Security, Email Security and Network Security -- fully integrated on a single management platform.

The company is headquartered in Burlington, Mass. and with facilities in Karlsruhe, Germany. Astaro's software has won numerous industry awards, and is protecting over 25,000 networks in 60 countries, including such organizations as Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Los Alamos National Labs, Stanford University and Watsco, Inc. Astaro products are distributed by a worldwide network of 350 solutions partners who offer local support and services.