Jon Tullett

We were interested to see how the AEP Netilla Security Platform would shape up, following this year's merger of AEP and Netilla.

Array’s SPX5000 is a fully-featured appliance, with a superb set of VPN features. But it took some time to establish that, as the setup process was challenging. It started with a CLI network setup, complete with out-of-date documentation.

StorageSafe is another offering in the removable-device security space. There are many products rubbing shoulders in this area, and the basics are pretty well covered. StorageSafe is not aimed at high-end environments, with key distribution and management features, but at quick and basic everyday data protection, which it does well.

Nsauditor (Network Security Auditor) is a Windows-based multi-purpose tool designed to scan networks and hosts for vulnerabilities, and to provide security alerts.

DeadmanMan's Handle is a data security product that is simple in concept – if an unauthorized user attempts to use the machine, it deletes any sensitive files.

East-Tec Eraser 2005 is a dual-purpose product, combining secure file deletion with clean-up tools to erase traces from PCs.

Guidance Software's EnCase product is the undisputed heavyweight of the forensic software market, and version 5.0 introduces a slew of new features that will keep its opposition firmly on the ropes.

WiebeTech's forensic kits tackle two very specific points of pain for forensic investigators: conducting field acquisition and transporting data safely (to prevent damage and ensure the chain of evidence is unchallengeable).

This tool is designed to help search file systems during forensic examinations. It collects information and meta data associated with files, and offers strong searching and indexing capabilities, although limited to Windows file systems.

NetWitness is a network forensics and analysis package available in both software and appliance (really just a preconfigured server) formats.

This product is the big brother of its family, including all the forensic capabilities of other versions with the additional ability to conduct investigations over the network and compare live systems to known-good baselines to establish whether a machine has been compromised or tampered with.

Stellar Phoenix is a product aimed at data recovery, rather than strict forensics, although of course recovery is an important part of incident response. Confronted with a disk with damaged or missing data, the software will attempt to recover information and reconstruct partial data.