Network administrators or network managers of all business sizes have critical tasks in protecting their networks against any types of external threats (aka Internet threats). Moreover, they also need to protect the organization's information assets against the threats from the inside. In protecting from the insiders, generally they develop the information security policies and enforce them to all the users.
Traditionally network administrators or network managers implement different types of protection systems for each types of the threat to secure the network. For example, you need to deploy a native firewall in each of the intersection between the internet and the private network. And you need to implement a management of antivirus server to provide virus protection for all the computer clients in the network. Or you need to deploy an intrusion detection system (or appliance) to stop the hackers infiltrating your private network.
Implementing many types of different systems or appliances to protect your business networks might raise the overhead cost and administration. Moreover, intruders today are evolving to get smarter and more harmful. Traditional firewalls cannot effectively block those threats anymore. It is therefore, you need a comprehensive network security - an all-in-one UTM appliance or UTM firewall for all the requirements you need to protect your network security.
Check Point UTM-1 Appliance is a single device for all you need to protect your network. The appliance can include flexible software blades you can add and extend as needed including the firewall, IPS (intrusion prevention system), anti-spyware, URL filtering, anti-virus, anti-spam, and web-security software blades.
Normally when you setup and install individual software system for example traditional web-filter or anti-virus systems into a server, you have to collect prerequisite information such as your server-name, how to reach the internet, what account to use in accessing the internet, and so on. But with Check-Point UTM-1 appliance, you can setup the appliance easily using the first-time installation wizard. Deployment process is as easy as plugging in and turning on the appliance; following the onscreen wizard; and launching the management interface.
To optimally use this UTM firewall appliance in protecting your internal network against any emerging threats, you require Check Point Update service. Appliance is just a hardware, but to keep your system updated you must subscribe the update services in a yearly basis. Mostly all the UTM network security appliances include the security update service you have to subscribe in a yearly basis. For example Cisco WRVS4400 for small businesses which supports the optional Cisco Protect Link services, the service to subscribe the dynamic content filtering.
Security is very expensive, but it is worth in protecting your valuable information assets against any emerging internet threats.
For SOHO (small office home office) businesses, spending lots of money for security protection is not sensible. Check Point UTM security appliance is not for SOHO, but it is for small to medium businesses where information security protection is a critical task to do. For SOHO, consider home wireless routers such as Belkin N600 wireless n dual band router. The router supports all the requirements you need to build your wireless network environment for sharing the internet, it includes two USB ports to allow you share the printer and storage at the same time. The router is ideal to start home businesses with standard networking but you still can enjoy the smooth online gaming and high-performance video streaming.
But if you are really serious in starting your small business with limited budget, consider Cisco RV 120W Wireless-N router. The router is an all-in-one device that offers high performance, business-class features, and a simple user interface and is designed for small office which includes the VPN and VLANs features.
By Ki Grinsing
Ki Grinsing was graduated from ITS with MCSE and CCNA certifications. He has prolonged years of working experiences in IT projects. Please visit the articles Checkpoint utm appliance and firewall VLAN router.
