Features

SecureDoc is a disk encryption product that codes the entire hard disk, including operating system files and boot sector. Therefore it provides authentication of the user before the computer even boots up. It can also be used to encrypt all types of removable drives and media, including Flash cards. Although it can be installed in a password-only single-user environment, it provides an upgrade path to full enterprise-wide PKI and two- and three-factor authentication, integrating with third-party tokens.

Transporting a laptop in a vehicle, it is often too easy to become careless and leave it in full view, inviting a smashed window, loss of expensive equipment and possibly months of work. There is no guarantee that thieves will not break into your car, so a mobile safe is a good investment.

It is not always practical or even necessary to take a laptop on a trip, so a little more steel is needed to be sure of its safety while it is unguarded. That is a job for CompuClamp. This aptly named solution provides a secure fixing for a laptop rendering it immobile. And it isn't a permanent feature; the clamp can be moved to any office desk, hotel room or wherever it is needed.

Cables for laptop security are a good visual deterrent to the opportunist thief, but tests have proven that, with just a little effort and a cutting implement, they are a removable feature.

The fact remains, like them or loathe them, security cables do serve a purpose, even if only as a deterrent. Of course, any determined thief will make light work of most cables if they are armed with stealth, surprise and a pair of bolt cutters but, without them, hardware is a target for the snatch-and-grab variety.

PC PhoneHome differs from the other tracking solutions in that it does not require an annual subscription and is totally self sufficient, reporting not to a tracking center but to the laptop owner. This reduces the cost and ensures a user can pass information onto the law enforcement officer as quickly as it is received.

Even the most vigilant among us can still become victims of crime. But if the worst happens and a laptop is stolen, if it is protected and traceable then the stress involved should be much reduced.

As firewalls go, the CyberGuard SL3200 is a monster: a huge, noisy beast with performance that matches its rugged looks. The name denotes its capacity - 3.2 gigabits of total throughput, shared among a maximum of 26 Ethernet ports. Even more notably, it is able to multiplex several interfaces into a small number of very high-capacity pipes, all secured at wire speed.
Designed for high-demand environments, the box has all the HA features you'd expect - hot-swappable fans and power supplies, as well as RAID 5 storage, with an internal layout designed for maximum airflow and heat dissipation. Fail-over between two boxes is available if you have an extended license.

Qualys has provided an automated remote vulnerability testing service for some time. However, a remotely operated service like that is limited in what it can do when it is trying to access your computers through a properly configured firewall. That is not to say it doesn't do a good job of showing up external vulnerabilities, but it can't give a complete vulnerability picture, as it lacks the 'enemy within' perspective. Incidentally, internal risks are not limited to dishonest or malicious employees - it could apply to an innocent user accidentally running a trojan attached to an email, because he is running it inside the firewall perimeter.
What is needed to complete a security audit is a vulnerability assessment carried out from inside the organisation on the corporate intranet to see what vulnerabilities are exposed to internal users who may be a threat. And that's exactly what QualysGuard Enterprise does with its Intranet Scanner option.

All your personal needs for sign-on can be secured and at the same time simplified by Password Officer Deluxe. This suite is essentially a repository for an individual's passwords so that he or she doesn't have to record them, but it also manages them in several important respects that make the sign-on process to any system, program, database, web site or other resource easier and safer.

PDAs are so portable as to make them susceptible to loss or theft - in a business environment the net result of this can range from inconvenience and embarrassment, right on up to serious problems with the regulatory authorities. Which is where SafeGuard PDA enters the frame. Like similar offerings from F-Secure and Pointsec, the software is designed to make a Pocket PC-based PDA as secure as electronically possible.

Managing a network has never been easy, whether it comprises 100 or 100,000 machines. Even with a dedicated network administrator, the overheads are horrendous. Rolling out new applications, checking for non-licensed software, looking at network traffic... full-time tasks that often have no one with a full-time job to attend to them. This becomes even more worrying when you consider the security implications.

CyberAngel is actually one of several competing packages on the market in the U.S. and Canada that allows a central monitoring station to detect when an unauthorized access to a PC or notebook has taken place, and alerts the owner accordingly.

One-factor authentication (user IDs and password) is still the most widely used method, primarily because it is simple, easy and there are no pieces of hardware to configure. But there are many applications where this is just not secure enough. In two-factor authentication, not only do users need to know a PIN but they also need to possess the correct token. This higher level of security, combined with the token's memory and cryptographic processing capabilities, makes it particularly attractive as a solution for many situations such as digitally signing documents and mails and authenticating the user remotely for access to corporate networks through VPNs.

Cyber-Ark's Inter-Business Vault is designed to protect confidential files in an extranet environment, where secure file sharing with remote offices and business partners is demanded. This requires a combination of secure file storage, encryption for files in transit, authentication and access control. There are many products that tackle these problems individually. For example, a virtual private network (VPN) encrypts files in transit, and access controls are built into modern operating systems. However, OS access controls can often be bypassed simply because unhardened operating systems are themselves so easy to compromise. Inter-Business Vault aims to address all of these problems by integrating a VPN, authenticated access controls and encrypted file storage in a very secure solution.

GoToMyPC takes a radically different approach to remote access. Instead of requiring users to dial into the host PC, the host PC maintains a passive out bound only link with GoToMyPC's servers.

Proxy is less of a remote access package and more of a remote support application, but going significantly beyond the feature set of other products.

Originally developed as a freeware project within AT&T, VNC - short for virtual network computing - now has several freeware variants.

RemotelyAnywhere is a relatively late arrival to the remote access software landscape. Despite this, the package is arguably the most complex currently available on the market, offering the IT professional full access to a remote machine's facilities, even allowing a full reboot on the fly.

Timbuktu Pro, which is available in both Mac and Windows, is clearly aimed at Mac users. The PC version, while functionally similar to the Mac edition, appears to be something of an afterthought, since functionality is limited.