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Astaro, a Sophos company and leading Unified Threat Management provider, has extended next-generation firewall capabilities to the Astaro Security Gateway with the availability of version 8.2. The new version introduces 60 new features and enhancements, including Application Control, Interactive Web Reporting and a new authentication agent. These will dramatically improve network performance, visibility and control.
Astaro Security Gateway version 8.2 provides organisations with the resources they need to meet the ever-changing challenges of securing a business network. The increased control and visibility will allow organisations to make better decisions based on the company’s unique needs and network usage trends.
“As technology changes, so too must the tools organisations use to control their networks,” said Jan Hichert, Senior Vice President, Network Security, Sophos. “With version 8.2, we once again ensure our customers can face current and future network and security challenges by offering the next generation of firewall technology; Application Control.”
“To protect networks from a growing number of emerging threats, organisations need to transition to a next-generation firewall infrastructure for complete security,” said Sunil Sapra, Regional Director – India & South Asia, Astaro. “Web application control has become a defining feature in advanced firewalls with the increasing usage of social media and Web 2.0 applications at work,” he further said.
Some of the key new features include:
Astaro’s Application Control improves network visibility, blocks unwanted applications and empowers IT administrators to prioritize bandwidth usage. This information can then be used to make educated decisions that will have the most impact on the business and their security policy to fit the organisation’s Internet usage. The new engine is up to 100 per cent faster than the IM/P2P control engine in previous versions.
The enhanced Interactive Web Reporting tool will provide administrators with a superior user experience that is customizable. Administrators will be able to save customer filters and subscribe to periodical mail reports.
The Authentication Agent allows administrators to authenticate users by name instead of IP address. This provides increased control over access in profiles and makes reports easier to read.
These include support for 3G/UMTS USB modems, Form Hardening for Web Application Security, Web Filtering Safe Search Enforcement, enhanced virtualisation support, increased IPS performance by up to 250 per cent, SNMP v3, weighted balancing for WAN Uplink and server load balancing, group-in-group support for network groups, SSID to Access Point assignment, rebootless reconfiguration of Access points, VPN performance increases by up to 100 per cent, and more.
Astaro Security Gateway version 8.2 also integrates a technical preview of Astaro’s upcoming Log Management solution. All users will be able to try it out for free. Astaro Security Gateway solutions are available at RAH Infotech Pvt Ltd, authorised distributors of Astaro in India and SAARC region.
With over 56,000 installations worldwide, Astaro protects business, school, healthcare and government networks against IT security threats. Founded in 2000, Astaro, now a Sophos company, continues to be a leading vendor in the fast-growing market for Unified-Threat-Management.